ETS Tanning Bed Blog

Installing tanning beds is one of those details whose timing is critical. There is actually a bad time and a good time to install tanning beds. Finding the right time can make everything go smoothly, keep installation times short, and can even save money. A bad time can result in damaged beds and delayed openings.

Installing a bed while the building contractors are still working is risky. It's just smarter to have the contractors doing their finishing touches, or even finished, when the beds are installed. If installers show up too early, and have to work around the contractors, it can actually take longer than waiting until the contractors are done.

If contractors are still fixing drywall, installing the floor, or painting, the tanning beds can be damaged. We've had clients who ended up with paint on their beds, drywall dust, and even dents and scratches.

One of our customers, who's opening his third salon, understands what it takes for a smooth installation. He makes sure to have everything ready for us, and as a result, his installations are the smoothest we usually have.

Everything in his new salons are nearly complete – rooms are drywalled and painted, the electricity is on – which ensures his contractors and our installers are not disturbing each other or waiting for others to finish. The installers can actually get done in a single day, rather than working for a day-and-a-half. This saves installation costs, and makes sure his salon opens on time.

We understand the eagerness for new salon owners to get their tanning beds installed. But it's more beneficial to have everything in place rather than to rush and risk damage to the beds. By making sure everything is completed before the installers show up, you can reduce the risk of damage, and keep extra costs at a minimum.

Yesterday, we talked about how tanning salons can get started on Twitter. Today, I want to give you some ideas on how you can use Twitter to grow your tanning business.

CoffeeGroundz, a coffee shop in Houston, Texas, is credited with having one of the first commercial transactions on Twitter. It all started when one of their regulars sent a direct message (DM) to the shop for a breakfast burrito pickup. Since then, they have turned their Twitter presence into a regular communication method with their customers, even holding a special Twitter meetup (called a Tweetup) that not only let their regulars meet with each other, but brought in big sales that day.

So how can you use Twitter to grow your business?

CoffeeGroundz tapped their regulars for their efforts, so start with yours. Ask them if they're on Twitter – if they're not, get them on it – and start following them. Send out regular Tweets to your clients, and build the expectation that you use it regularly. When that happens, your clients will start communicating with you too.

Once you've built up a Twitter following, and are using it on a regular basis, here are some ways to use it.

• Send out announcements, sales, and special offers to your followers. ("Special Twitter sale: Refer a new member, get 2 weeks of free upgrades.")
• Send out cancellation notices to fill a spot: ("We had a spot open up from 3:30 - 4:00. First DM gets it.")
• Forward articles to your followers about the industry, tanning techniques, and things that might affect them (this is where it pays to get to know your clients).
• Create a "message-ahead" program. Let clients DM you for appointments and cancellations.
• Use GroupTweet.com to create groups of clients. Maybe you can communicate with your premier members with one message, regular members with another, and a third to occasional members.
• Run Twitter-based contests where the winner gets a special prize. ("Tell us your most outrageous vacation story, win a free bottle of tanning lotion."
• Make sure you send Tweets that are actually interesting to your clients. While it's good to have 1-on-1 conversations with your followers, if that's all you're doing, your followers will get bored. Get a personal Twitter account if you want the personal conversations.
• On the other hand, participate in group conversations with your clients. See if you can stimulate conversations between them, and build a community of Twitter tanners (Twanners? Why not?). (Asking questions to your followers, like the outrageous vacation example above, will generate this conversation.)
• Use a program like Tweetdeck – a Twitter client that sits on your desktop – and keep it open all the time. If you have an iPhone or BlackBerry, there are special Twitter clients for them too.
• If your clients are going on vacation and putting their tan to use, encourage them to Tweet photos to you via TwitPic , and retweet them to all of your followers. This will help build your community.

If you can build your Twitter following, you will have made your tanning salon a special place to be for your clients. The more they feel a sense of belonging – a sense of community – the more they'll stay involved. Occasional clients will become regulars, regulars will become premier members, and they'll refer their friends.

That's a great ROI for a free application that only lets you send 140-character messages.

Twitter has been in the mainstream media for the last several weeks, which means it has probably reached its tipping point. It was on Charlie Rose last night, on our local FOX station this morning, in the New York Times, and a lot of other mainstream media outlets.

Tanning salons are in a great position to take advantage of social networking tools like Twitter. Twitter is an important way for people to communicate with a lot of people quickly and easily. By typing a 140-character message, you can ask questions, provide information, tell people about books or articles you're reading, and even make plans with friends.

You build up your readers – called followers in the "Twitterverse" – by following them, and they'll follow you in return. Pretty soon, you have a small community of people with shared interests, geography, or relationships. Then, when you send out a message, your followers will see it, and respond. If they write a message back, their followers will see the response. It's like instant messaging in a crowded room.

Your hands are very important in the self-tanning process.

When you're applying self-tanning lotion, the problem is that you'll end up rubbing more tanning lotion onto your hands than the rest of your body, and they'll look unnatural.

If you want a natural looking, glowing tan, the last thing you would have is tanned palms. If your hands are orange or built up, everyone will know it's fake. Of course, the best tans come from tanning beds and indoor tanning, rather than lotion. But if you're traveling, or your schedule doesn't let you visit your regular tanning salon, then this will do in a pinch...

The best method is to wear gloves while you're applying the lotion. You can buy latex gloves at Wal-Mart or Target, and these are ideal. They're thin, inexpensive, disposable, and they don't soak up the lotion like cloth gloves will.

If you don't have any gloves, then it's important that you wash your hands several times during the application process. Be sure to scrub the creases in your hands and in between your fingers. You don't want any build-up in those areas. But don't skip the gloves if you can help it.

After you're done washing your hands, be sure to use a moisturizing lotion so your hands don't get dry and cracked. Repeated washings can dry out your hands quickly, so be sure to take care of them.

To stay competitive in the tanning bed industry, you have to stay on top of what your customers are thinking – what do they like about your salon? What don’t they like? What new tanning bed options they would like to see? How could you improve? And, most importantly, how can you keep them as a customer.

Remember, a satisfied customer rarely speaks up whereas an unhappy customer usually just leaves. Instead of watching that business walk out your door and never come back, start talking to your customers, get their feedback and implement it.

You can get feedback in numerous ways:

• A printed survey in your lobby.
• Specific questions asked by your front counter staff.
• An anonymous feedback section on your website.
• Encouraging customers to use business rating services like Yelp.com.
• Start using Twitter to both track your feedback and comments, but also respond.
• The old-fashioned suggestion box.

One salon we work with has set up a text messaging account that lets them survey customers after their tanning bed appointment and get feedback via SMS. It’s innovative, fast and definitely appealing to that 18-40 tanning demographic.

For texting or SMS customer feedback solutions, there are a number of services that will automate the process for you. For example; Clickatell, a bulk SMS gateway that also offers a retailer’s marketing package; Touchwork, a company that specializes in customer feedback text messages; and ResponseTek, another firm that sells a CEM (Customer Experience Management) text messaging package.

Anybody opening up a business, whether they’re a tanning salon owner or not, needs to make sure that the people supporting that business are capable of providing them with the key tools they need to not only survive, but thrive.

Most new businesses aren’t successful and failure rates are high. So, what’s going to keep you, a prospective tanning salon owner, from joining those failure-rate statistics? The answer is... good people and vendors that are going to help you remove hurdles (instead of setting them up)

In the tanning salon industry, there are typically three services that you provide:

Tanning regularly is the key to getting the best tanning bed tan. If you let your sessions lapse, your tan will soon follow.

Building Up a Tan

When you first start building a tan, you should be going to an indoor tanning salon between three and four times a week. Once you’ve built up that base tan, you’ll only need maintenance sessions between one and three times a week, depending on your skin tone. If you’re using a high-pressure bed, you can often get away with going once every two weeks.

Most people see results after just a few tans, but it can take about three weeks of regular tanning before you’ll see a deep, noticeable tan. Remember, tanning is a process not a race. So, if you’re trying to get a base tan before your next vacation, you’ll want to plan ahead and start working on your tan three to four weeks ahead of time.

The Benefits of Lotions

When tanning indoors, you don’t have to wear an SPF lotion. Why? Because an SPF lotion is designed to protect you while spending an extended amount of time in the sun. When you’re using a tanning bed you’re only getting a few minutes of exposure as opposed to a few hours.

You also want to avoid using outdoor lotions in indoor tanning beds. These lotions can harm the tanning bed acrylics and adversely affect your tan. Instead, use products that are designed specifically for indoor tanning. These lotions are sold at all tanning salons and are designed to both moisturize the skin and help you achieve a deeper, better tan.

Tanning Safety

A good tanning salon will be able to offer you a skin analysis and recommend a tanning program that will help you achieve the color you want. For example, someone with fairer skin may need to start with a shorter exposure time, gradually increasing their tanning bed time with each visit. You can tan up to a maximum of once every 24 hours, but you should wait at least 48 hours between tanning sessions.

Finally, you should never tan (outdoors or indoors) if you’re currently using photosensitizing medication. Drugs like Accutane, Cipro, Intal and even Benadryl can dramatically increase the risk of overexposure. If you’re not sure, speak to your doctor, pharmacist or consult a tanning professional.