New customers just don’t walk through your salon door every day. Aside from the traditional channels of advertising—print, TV and radio—there are other ways to get prospective tanners through the doors. Advertising requires careful planning and conviction, and a little fine-tuning along the way. The effort may produce a small boost in business now, and lead the way to large long-term gains. The following are specific advertising campaigns that worked well for tanning salons over the past few years.
“I’ve done TV, radio and mail-outs, but I truly believe memberships and referrals are the most helpful in getting the word out. Location and signage also are important factors when it comes to successful advertising. We have four locations in high-traffic areas, and I definitely think that helps bring in customers.”
Lisa Russom, owner
Island Tan & Swimwear
Jackson, Tenn.
“Word of mouth is by far the best form of advertising for our salons. We give people free tans for referrals. It’s a win-win situation because our customers get a free tan and we have satisfied repeat customers and their friends.
We also use the tried-and-true Yellow Pages and we do some print advertising, but we have found it’s spotty in terms of effectiveness. The more localized a newspaper is, the more effective the advertising. For example, if we advertised in the San Francisco Chronicle the response would be low. Our response is much higher in the community’s free distribution weekly. It’s in the neighborhood newspapers where we always see cost-effective response to an ad.
We try to do something in every ad that allows us to track its effectiveness, like a coupon with an expiration date and a code telling us where it came from. At the end of the campaign we can judge the effectiveness.
This season we are cautiously optimistic about e-mail advertising to existing clients to promote specific sales. We signed up with an e-mail marketing list management company that will send and track the messages and responses.”
Craig Joyner, owner
Sorrento Sun Center/Great Tan
San Francisco, Calif.
“Over the years we’ve done all kinds of advertising, with the exception of billboards. The fact is that all of it will work; if it didn’t the advertising venues would be out of business. But it is important to realize that all media has to be used differently, and it’s important to tailor your message to the audience. For example, advertising a $14.95 special on a radio station aimed at an older demographic probably won’t work because those customers most likely are looking for an upgrade bed and a better tanning experience. A lot of people will say radio doesn’t work, but I disagree. Radio works in every market if you send the right message during the right time of the day.”
Rich Morgan, partner
Oasis Tanning
Topeka, Kan.
“Radio is the most cost-effective way to reach the markets for all of our stores. We run 60-second, call-to-action pieces during drive times. We’ve increased the amount we’ve spent on radio each year and likely will continue to do so. Be wise about your spending. Radio can seem inexpensive, but that usually means your spot will air at 3 a.m. It’s important to spend money that will yield the most return.
Our goal this year is to focus on branding and who we are. The public is bombarded with so many different ads in a day that it’s important for businesses to find an identity they can run with.”
Michael Blore, CEO
California Sun Centers
Roseville, Calif.
“Of course it’s nice to attract new customers, but we’ve had success with working our database to cultivate existing clientele. We use direct-mail pieces and keep things lively with different promotions to keep people coming back. We also have an e-club that offers specials to members. It’s a great way to get more people involved without huge advertising costs.
To attract new customers, we stay active in the community by donating to local fundraisers. We have 19 locations, and since we can’t be at every store, we participate in local events, stay involved and give back to the community. People take notice, and that brings them into the salons.”
Teri Bostelman, owner
T-N-T Tanning
Mentor, Ohio
“While we do newspaper and TV buys, radio is the No. 1 vehicle driving business to our salons. The tanning salon customer is a young female who listens to the radio more than she watches TV or reads the newspaper. She also is Internet savvy.
In order to increase my reach, I hire a production company to create a new jingle every year and we use it all year. It’s familiar and people will know it is our salon, but it won’t be stale.
We’re going to start advertising more on the Internet because it is the second most-effective way to reach our demographic. We’re scaling back on TV and newspaper and will start a direct-mail campaign offering free upgrades with referrals.
Additionally, we are going to explore text messaging to our client’s cell phones. This is one of the newest trends in advertising.”
Rocco J. Viele, Sr., president
Golden Tans of Rochester, Inc.
Rochester, N.Y.
“We’ve tried a little bit of everything but have found radio to be very effective. We’ve done six or seven spots each year for the past three years to advertise sales and specials. The 60-second spots feature two girls talking back and forth, asking each other what they’re doing over the weekend. We’ve been doing the same thing for three years, but with different messages, so it’s consistent, but fresh every time.
We have many locations throughout western New York, so we buy space on many stations. We tend to choose pop and rock stations with a younger demographic. We also take the advice of our area managers, but the ads usually run on stations that anyone young and fun would listen to.
We also do direct-mail pieces and we’re starting cyber-lists so we can e-mail our existing customers.”
Jessica Siekmann, marketing coordinator
Tanning Bed
West Seneca, N.Y.
“Our best results have come from referral cards, coupons, our Web site and house postcards mailed to existing clients. It’s important to keep the coupons so you can assess what worked and what didn’t. You also need to know your customer demographic. For example, out of seven stores, coupons work great for three locations. The other four locations cater to a wealthier demographic that just doesn’t use coupons.
Referral cards are also an easy and inexpensive method of advertising. We had 500 new clients come in with referral cards. The Web site also is effective and inexpensive to maintain.
Advertising can add up to a lot of money, but I believe the more you spend on advertising the more you get back.”
Jeff Bennett, president
Casa del Sol Tanning Club
Bethesda, Md.
“We ran television ads during “American Idol.” The ads appeared on the FOX network in the western Washington region from mid-March through mid-May 2005.We bought 10 spots for $8,000 each, but we really got a total of 36 spots since FOX also aired the ads on other shows like “The OC.”
It was a huge investment, but it paid off and we saw instant results. The first night the ad ran, the hit meter on the Web site went crazy. The next day all 14 locations experienced a 20-percent increase in session numbers. We also followed up the spots with direct mail.
The 30-second spot showed images of the salon employees with customers and a couple of shots of the tanning equipment. We also pointed out five reasons to come to our salons. Our goal was to show that tanning is good and fun.”
Jim Pizl, president/CEO
Pink Coconut Tanning Boutique
Puyallup,Wash.
