SALONTOUCH TANTONE SYSTEM
COMBINING TWO GREAT INNOVATIONS
An Inspired Collaboration
PocketSpec’s Bronz.™ TanTone™ system measures the development of the tanning process by giving a digital tone number, which then can be used by tanning salons for comparison at future sessions to show a client how his or her tan is progressing. PocketSpec’s alliance with IDI formed the relationship the company was looking for—a better way to market its TanTone™ system in the tanning industry.
The original TanTone™ system does not have a computer interface; therefore, a salon employee must record the skin-tone numbers manually, providing he or she wants to track a client’s history. This is a nice match for salons that still use manual index cards. After the product’s successful debut at the ITA World Expo 2002, PocketSpec General Manager Jeff Krupka began re-engineering the Bronz.™ system so it could be integrated with a software program. Pocketspec then approached IDI about integrating its product into IDI’s salonmanagement programs.
IDI has been in the software business since 1990. In 1991, the company was approached by a tanning-equipment manufacturer to create a salon-management program that was powerful yet easy to learn and easy to use, and by 1992 IDI had created SunTouch, the world’s first Windows-based tanning-salon management program. Since then, SunTouch has expanded to SunTouch Plus and SalonTouch, two of the most dynamic programs the industry has ever seen, the company says.
“SalonTouch is an all-in-one management program designed for tanning salons, hair and beauty salons, and day spas,” says Mike Young, IDI’s president and owner. “SalonTouch offers features and benefits for every size salon. It can run as a standalone product, operate in a LAN environment or function in a WAN environment, in both real time and batch mode.”
SalonTouch can be run locally at a salon or by accessing the Internet version at www.salontouch.net.
SalonTouch is the company’s premier product, designed with intelligence for the user. With more than 500 individual configurations and preference settings, SalonTouch easily can be tailored to work the way salon owners want it to work, so it turned out to be the perfect complement to PocketSpec’s TanTone™ system.
“After meeting with Jeff Krupka and evaluating his product, we thought that if we could create a software application to manage the device, we would have something special from which most, if not all, salon owners could benefit,” Young says. “After a short period, we entered into an agreement with PocketSpec that gives us exclusive marketing rights. Judging by the response we received in Nashville, I believe the SalonTouch TanTone™ System is going to be well received.”
In 15 seconds, a salon can measure and store at least two of the client’s TanTone™ numbers. This should be done as routinely as handing out goggles. The internal workings of the system actually allows up to 10 readings, which are then averaged, in as many as 15 different body areas literally from head to toe.
“We suggest reading the left and right forearm and perhaps the stomach to show the client’s tanning performance,” Krupka says. “It is important to ask the client if there are any areas of particular concern. After a couple of weeks when enough information has been collected, a client’s graphs can be reviewed and consideration can be given as to the equipment and lotions being used and, in particular, what changes should be made to his or her tanning regime. With proper training, use of the SalonTouch TanTone™ System will elevate a salon from a body processing shop to a professional skincare salon.”
“This new partnership underscores IDI’s commitment to the tanning industry by integrating the latest technologies into a comprehensive salon-management system,” Young says.
“It’s an important innovation because it will help salon owners increase profits by effectively monitoring the increased level of their tans thus resulting in client satisfaction and retention,” Krupka adds. “Since lotion sales are a large part of most salons’ income, salon owners are now able to track which lotions and which beds provide the client with the best tan. This tends to be a win-win situation for both the salon owner and the clients.”
Since January 2000, PocketSpec has been a two-sided company with a focus on scientific color-measurement devices on one hand and a growing focus on the indoor tanning industry on the other.
“The SalonTouch TanTone™ System will be the gold standard to economically show a client’s progress,” Krupka says.
