Co-Ops, Rebates & Promotions

When retailers—the salon owner in the tanning industry—buy merchandise from distributors, they expect, like regular consumers, to pay the price on the sticker or at the bottom of the invoice. But what if they could always cut into that price and get some money back? What if product manufacturers helped with the costs of advertising those items? Forget the "what if" ... many manufacturers, particularly those that manufacture lotions, do offer ways to get free money back through rebates, co-op advertising and promotions.

Get Some Back

Rebates are ways for manufacturers to reward salons for products bought and sold, and lotion makers are perhaps the most notable potential partners. Some companies give salons a choice of whether to receive their rebate in product credit or in cash. Industry insiders advise salons to choose their distributor or manufacturer carefully and make sure the distributor will keep a log of all purchases salons make. Salons need to keep track of invoices meticulously, as they all must be turned in to the manufacturer before its deadline.

Salons also can qualify for assistance with promotions, which are an important conduit to exposure and customer appreciation. Some companies provide unlimited promotions for a salon for loyal customers.

It Pays To Cooperate

Co-op advertising, on the other hand, allows salons to be refunded a percentage of what they spend on advertising the merchandise of a specific brand. These agreements are particularly important to salons that are trying to win over a consumer base, and the deal varies from company to company.

Some companies offer aggressive co-op programs that usually require salons to sell their brands exclusively.

Along with invoices, the salon also must provide print advertisements—Yellow Pages, fliers, posters and periodicals—that have a percentage of space covered with the manufacturer’s logo and product.

Buying the product is still the most important qualifier for co-ops. Even if a salon advertises a company’s models and logo shots in the ad, if they didn’t spend a dollar with the company, they are not going to get advertising dollars back.

Nearly all manufacturers run programs like this because they realize that a good co-op, rebate or promotions program will keep their best customers coming back. Running a tanning salon piles up numerous other expenses, and one thing all the major lotion makers seem to agree on is that their customers should have choices. But if you don’t go after the free money, you don’t have any choices at all.