SUNLESS MARKETING 101
The Importance Of A Positive Sales Pitch
by Scott Eric Barrett

Sunless tanning is trendy, effective and fast. It’s a great way to build your business and increase profits. It provides a new service for your existing clients looking to enhance their traditional tanning sessions with sunless tanning, as well as bring in new customers that either cannot or choose not to get a traditional UV tan. Unfortunately, spa-goers aren’t always in the loop because spa owners often don’t understand how to market this profitable service.

A Booming Marketplace

There are 14,032 spas in the United States and 71 percent of those are some form of day spa, says Melinda Minton, The Spa Association’s executive director.

“More than 13 million Americans visited spas in 2003 more than once,” she says. “Combine that statistic with the fact that roughly 29 million people tan indoors every year and spray tanning becomes quite an attractive treatment to offer.”

While those kinds of statistics are very enticing, selling a vanity service often can be tricky. Most sunless-tanning manufacturers agree that using scare tactics about UV tanning isn’t the way to go. The key is to keep the message positive. Tell clients to imagine walking into a spa and leaving 20 minutes later with a perfect streak-free, sun-kissed, just-off-the-beach tan.

“People look thinner when they have a tan,” says Jason Durnett, vice president of Sportarredo-USA in Fenton, Mo. “Remind clients of the confidence that comes with looking and feeling healthier and show them how easy it is with today’s new—stress the word new—sunless-tanning equipment.”

Spa employees always should greet potential spraytan clients with endorsement terms such as “24-hour miracle” and “instant fix.” They also should mention that sunless tanning complements traditional tanning by filling in tan lines and darkening hardto- tan areas such as faces, hands and feet.

After the basics are covered, spas need to focus on several key marketing points, says Lester Szurko, CEO of Fantasy Tan in Hilton Head Island, S.C.

“Educate your clients and be clear about what you are offering,” he says. “Many salons make the mistake of not distinguishing between tanning lotions, spray booths and airbrush tanning.”

To avoid confusion, make sure any advertising and promotional material clearly indicates in some way that the service is airbrush tanning or a spray booth.

“It’s also critical to go out of your way to create awareness,” Szurko says. “Words sometimes just aren’t enough to create awareness for your sunlesstanning service. Put posters and fliers throughout the spa recommending the service. Before and after shots are great photos to use on these. Also, use your employees as walking advertisements by keeping them tanned. This is a simple and effective means of promoting sunless tanning to your clients. They get a real-life example of the wonderful results your service provides.”

Creative Approaches

Often a misunderstood term, marketing in its broadest definition encompasses every facet of running a business. In order to have a prosperous year, a spa owner must be prepared with a creative, well-organized marketing strategy and an advertising budget large enough to accommodate the entire year’s plans.

A marketing strategy is such a huge part of this business and it seems to be the one area that most salons and day spas have difficulty implementing, says Denise Hofstadter-Crask, president of VenturaTan in Savannah, Ga.

“Salons and day spas of any size can reap great benefits from offering what we call the Nocturnal Sun Circuit,” she says.

In this campaign, clients are invited to a special evening—after hours—where they can enjoy a blend of mini-spa treatments ending with a fabulous airbrushed tan.

“Depending on the level of clientele, refreshments for the evening could be wine with cheese and fruit tray or as simple as personal-sized veggie wraps with the clients’ choice of flavored waters,” Hofstadter-Crask says.

“This is the perfect way to introduce the service and expose clients to the entire line of services the spa has to offer. Discounts or gift certificates normally are an added treat for all those attending.”

Carole Bjorkman, owner of Sanibel Tan & Spa in Raynham, Mass., features the Mystic Tan spray booth.

“Mystic was the anchor when I set up my spa,” she says. “It literally jump-started my business.”

The company provided Bjorkman with great support nationally and locally. She sells a single Mystic session for $25. Package pricing also is available.

For clients who need a more visual explanation, the apple analogy usually does the trick. When you take a bite out of an apple and set it down, the fruit begins to turn brown after it is exposed to the air for a while. This is a very similar chemical reaction to what takes place with the DHA and your skin after an airbrush/spray-tan session.

“We have provided sunless tans to more than 1,000 clients in the last year and they love the results,” she says.

For advertising, Bjorkman has a large Mystic Tan banner in front of her spa; she also offers a referral program to her spray-tan clients, student discounts and coupons in the local newspapers.

“Curiosity is a big factor,” she says. “We encourage people to come to the spa, ask questions and take a look at the sunless unit. Most try it immediately and virtually all love the results, so word of mouth is our best form of advertising.”

Independent spas that are not affiliated with another business like hotels, golf clubs, etc., can build alliances with radio-station personalities, hotels, closed-membership clubs, large corporations, travel agents, etc., says Hofstadter- Crask.

“Offer these companies discounts for services; spray the front person for free so that he or she can then be a walking advertisement,” she says. “The best result comes from prospective clients actually getting to see the sunless tans being worn.”

Training Essentials

A salon that is kept spotless, has the most beautiful, up-to-date, well-maintained equipment and a wonderful location still is not immune to losing customers if those tanners are not happy with the treatment they are receiving from the staff. Customer service plays an even more important role with spray-tanning systems, especially airbrush tanning, which requires a skilled technician. Having employees trained as professional airbrush-tanning technicians boosts their confidence and greatly increases the quality of the service.

“This can give you an edge over the untrained competition in your area,” Szurko says. “A bad tan is something your client will have to live with for several days, so you don’t want your employees practicing on them. Your employees should be trained in advance by tanning professionals so they are comfortable and knowledgeable about different skin types and the different methods to apply the formula correctly to various size and shaped bodies.”

Since sunless tanning is a very visible treatment, spa owners always should make sure their employees follow up with their clients.

“Listen to your customers to make sure their tans and tanning experience went well,” Szurko says. “Keep a record of any customer comments or concerns to help you improve upon your services.”

To provide a competitive edge to salons offering airbrush tanning, the National Tanning Training Institute (NTTI) now offers the industry’s only program specifically designed for the airbrush technician. The Sunless Airbrush Technician Course is based on research and tests conducted by some of the leading manufacturers of sunlessspray systems; this course takes the technician from setup to application while discussing technique, safety, pricing and more.

“With this course, professional tanning salons and day spas now have the ability to offer superior sunless airbrush services delivered by well-trained and certified sunless airbrush technicians,” says Rick Mattoon, NTTI technical training director.

NTTI also offers its Introduction to Sunless Tanning Course. “This course provides the sunless tanning basics, an understanding of how they work, clears up misconceptions and provides you with tips on using this service to increase your profits,” he says.

Spreading The Word

Day spas are viewed as a haven for relaxation. People don’t want to have to work hard to relax. What used to be considered only for the elite now is available to everyone everywhere, says Hofstadter-Crask.

“Spas now are offering a full course of services including spray tanning,” she says. “Its popularity continues to increase due to the immediate gratification, a minimum amount of time invested, individual results and the level of expertise expected from a spa application.”

Spas that offer this service can see profits almost as fast as machines deliver the tans if they remember the three most important words: advertise, advertise and advertise.

“How will customers know you offer sunless tanning if you don’t spread the word?” Szurko asks. “Advertising doesn’t have to be a huge burden or expense. You should focus on strategically advertising your sunless-tanning service in areas where you know you can generate new clients. Fitness centers, clothing boutiques and local resorts are great places to start. Do your own research and test different areas until you find what works.”

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