Awesome Promotional Idea for Tanning Salons

If you’re looking for an innovative, cost-effective way to market your salon and bring in new business (and who isn’t?!), allow me to introduce you to one of my favorite new finds: Groupon. It’s where the power of the Internet meets the allure of the coupon meets the mother lode of mass marketing.

The basic premise is this: Five to six days a week, registered users are e-mailed a killer special called the “Deal of the Day” that’s available in their selected area. It’s also posted on Groupon Twitter and Facebook pages for those specific cities. If a person is interested in getting more information or purchasing the deal, they hit the link to Groupon’s Web site, www.groupon.com. There, they’ll find the specifics of the deal, along with information about the featured business: a profile about what makes the business special, contact info, snippets of good reviews from sites such as Yelp and Yahoo or local newspapers, as well as a quirky section of related anecdotes from the folks at Groupon. (Their humorous approach to life is part of what I love about the whole scenario.)

The “deal” itself is set up between the selected business vendor and Groupon, and it hinges on a collective buy – meaning: the discount will only become valid after a predetermined number of people have agreed to purchase it. On the site, users can see the real-time “tipping point,” or number of people required to purchase the deal, and they can monitor how many deals have been sold throughout the day. This helps more deals get “made” because people can encourage their friends and family to act on specials they know they’ll appreciate – especially if they’re hopeful that the deal will tip.

Personally, even when I wasn’t interested in a particular deal, I still forwarded it to others who would be. For example, I sent a friend from work a deal being offered by a yoga studio I knew she frequented, and I sent my mom the deal when it was offered by one of her favorite bakeries. Groupon helps motivate referrals through a $10 credit program. When my mom purchased the bakery deal using the code I sent her, I got the credit.

If it doesn’t sound like much, you may be surprised. Take Phoenix’s Friday, March 12 Deal of the Day for the restaurant Z Pizza. For $10, participants received a coupon for $20 worth of food. The deal tipped at 6:51 a.m., when 100 people had taken advantage of it. (I wasn't even awake yet!) This special happened to run through midnight on Sunday, and it closed with 2,383 sales. That’s more than $23,000!

Tanning salon owners in some cities have already been featured in a Deal of the Day; for instance, Absolute Tan and Spa in Detroit offered a 60 percent off special one day – with $100 of tanning and spa services going for the special rate of $40. Groupon works with the salon to determine an appropriate deal and tipping point, as well as expiration date, terms and conditions, etc.

By now, you must be wondering what I was ... What’s the catch for the businesses? I went directly to the source for that. “There is no cost for a salon to be featured on Groupon,” shares Julie Mossler, the organization’s PR/consumer marketing manager. “We take a percentage of the revenue gained if the deal tips. If it doesn't, the deal is off and neither the customer nor the merchant pays. It's a no-risk marketing strategy, different from traditional advertising where you pay up front and typically are disappointed.”

So, the only question that remains is: Have you gotten your Groupon yet?

–Karen

Visit www.grouponworks.com if you’re interested in seeing if your business is a contender to participate.

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