Posted : 10/01/2002

Posted : 10/01/2002

The Loyalty Campaign
Strategies To Retain Current Customers

by Scott Eric Barrett

Concocting a clever advertising campaign to lure new customers into a salon is a good way to increase profits, but spending a little extra time trying to enhance customer loyalty may pay off even more when all is said and done.

A loyal customer is priceless in any business. Loyal customers are more likely to sign up for long-term packages, spread the joy of the tanning experience to friends and co-workers and, perhaps best of all, aren't afraid to tell salon operators what's working and what isn't in terms of equipment, advertising, new design ideas, etc.

Friendly Impulses

When salon operators have personal relationships with their tanners it's like free advertising. Unfortunately, retaining loyal customers isn't just about being their buddies. According to Michael Lowenstein, managing director for Customer Retention Associates--a customer and staff loyalty consulting organization-- customer retention and customer loyalty are pretty straightforward for small businesses. It is important to focus on seven key points, Lowenstein says.

1. Know customers, and understand their needs and requirements.

2. Rank customers according to what you can do for them and what they can do for you.

3. Make sure employees focus on the best customers and prospects; recognize and reward best customers.

4. Make continuous knowledge and insight about customers a religion.

5. Create marketing and communication programs that build equity and differentiation.

6. Get rid of bad customers and non-contributory customers.

7. Continuously take the pulse of relationship with customers.

"Principally, a company will want to learn how customers define value, and deliver at a higher, more desirable level than competitors," Lowenstein says.

Different Strokes For Different Folks

There isn't just one way to spawn loyalty. It really depends on the salon operator's personality. Customer loyalty is a state of mind where the customer feels his or her tanning salon is satisfying all of his or her needs and therefore feels no compulsion to shop around for something better, says Troy Cooper, president of Palm Beach Tan, Inc. in Carrollton, Texas.

"We foster customer loyalty through higher quality, which we maintain by equipping each tanning room with state-of-the-art tanning equipment that is checked regularly by specially trained technicians to ensure that it is functioning properly and providing the appropriate amount of UV rays necessary to produce quality tans," he says. "All beds are sanitized after each use. Towels and eye protection are provided to every tanning customer. The stores are clean, brightly lit and well-maintained at all times."

Cooper says Palm Beach Tan assures superior service by requiring each location consultant to complete a tanning consultant's certification course. The course includes modules on the history of tanning, the science of tanning, UV and health, indoor tanning equipment, and its proper operation, tanning laws and customer service. The consultants are trained to identify skin types, advise customers on proper tanning techniques, and recommend proper lotions, sunscreens and tanning creams.

"All of our consultants are courteous, attentive, knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and the customers notice that immediately," he says.

Chad Shelton, owner of Beach Zone Tanning in Frederick, Md., says to keep customers happy you must always follow up with them. "Don't just make the sale and treat them like a number," he says. "Get to know them and their families. Ask them about work and always address them by name. Don't forget to use that database and provide them with special mailings. We are in a service industry and it is precisely that. We must provide our customers with the utmost service."

Happy customers bring referrals, says Natalia Erdahl, president of The Copper Zone, Inc. in Olympia, Wash.

"Our highest form of advertising--about 80 percent--is referral business," she says. "By retaining current customers and keeping them happy, you get both current and new customers. It's a win-win situation."

In addition to the standard customer-appreciation sales, Erdahl also mails Copper Zone-embossed note cards to its customers for various reasons--thanking them for their business, wishing them well during hard times, congratulating them on accomplishments, etc.

"It's amazing how far a little note card goes in the eyes of a customer," she says. "It's a great way to build and strengthen the relationship with the customer. We really get to know our customers by building relationships with them--knowing about their personal lives, what types of lotions they like, etc. It's the little things that really make a big difference in their eyes."

Happy customers are usually loyal customers, and loyal customers are the most cost-effective form of advertising.