Free Tans

[daredvl_edm]

I am curious to know on if people give out a free trial tan. I have in the past, but find that these people are just wanting a freebie. What are peoples thoughts on this?

[W8INLINE]

I think EVERYONE should be entitled to a free tan. Why the hell not? I mean after all...tanning is not a "real" business like McDonalds, coffee shops or ANYONE ELSE who has overhead, pays for their equipment, has payroll and other expensess.

They DON'T give their services FREE if you never been there before, they just try to attract their customers with better service, clean attractive enviroment, friendly staff etc. Obviously tanning salons are all the same...no difference from one to another so FREE is the only way to get people to come in....I say go for it!!!

[daredvl_edm]

Well i have been offering free tans, but here is the thing. One high school girl brought in her friend and i let him tan for free this time. The next day she brought in another friend and expected the same thing. Now i am having an issue, so I told her one free tan per friend.

[Din]

And there's your answer.

[Tan_Lines]

I run coupons for a free tan in a local mailer....then if they bring in the coupon, they get a free session in the base beds. Hopefully they will come back again. The coupon also stats "good for one session - new clients only" so that takes care of my established customers not getting one.

[eyecandytanning]

I have referal cards that offer a free tan on them as well as a lotion discount. Dont get much action from them, but those that do come in only tan that one time. So next card will have a special, but no free tan.

[Island Cove]

We tell them that we would be happy to take off the drop in rate they paid to use the unit, from a package . this keeps the people just hunting for a free session away.

[daredvl_edm]

I am finding most people who want to tan, just pay and get a package because they know what they want. If they want a free tan, then this is what they will only get and go to the next salon for another free tan.

[EliteMike]

Once all my free tan cards are out of circulation, they are done. NEVER EVER EVER again will i print a free tan coupon. BOGO, that's the best!

[uv2021]

Depends,if the client who is bringing in the freind is a 300$ plus per sale client or a1000K plus a year client then ,potentially, for the price of a tan you have a like minded individual sampling your product.Who could love it and also become a 300 plus or join the 1 k club.At worst you make the original client feel special by having a guest "on us" so that client is happy.And you got one of the "no's" that you get in sales during your day out of the way.

Have you ever anylized the cost of getting a client thru the door for the first time from traditional advertising?I have paid as much as 3,000 $ to have someone walk thru the door!!!! But often it can be 40-50-100 $ per response.

[TropBrez]

I offer a free tan coupon in the back of one of the phone books. Every single person who has brought it in only came for the free tan and I have not seen since. Our new customer special is "Try each of our beds for half off your first time". That way they can try each of our beds and decide for themselves what they like best and it doesnt de-value our salon. That also gets them to try our High Pressure bed and most people come back and use it again. Everyone loves this offer and it gets people in when talking to new clients on the phone.

[SSmith]

this is always an on going battle.. Why not give a free tan.. So you get one or two people per month trying to take advantage of it but you get 10-20 that sign up because if it.. If you are a new salon I would offer it in your base bed so that you can say you offer it and get people into your slaon. Once you are established then you can look at not offering...

Why the hell not? I mean after all...tanning is not a "real" business like McDonalds, coffee shops or ANYONE ELSE who has overhead, pays for their equipment, has payroll and other expensess.

I have been in numerours businesses that let you sample their coffee or treats or special offers. Even Starbucks and McDonalds.

Get people to try it and they will buy it
If you are not comfortable with first free visit there are other options:
second visit free
or like island cove suggested take the price of the drop in of the package

[W8INLINE]

I have been in numerours businesses that let you sample their coffee or treats or special offers. Even Starbucks and McDonalds.

Starbucks does not give free coffee on your first visit and mcdonalds does not give you free hamburgers on your first visit.

That is their money makers and tanning sessions is ours. Misc. items fine buy a session and I'll throw in a free pkt or something....but that's not what were talking about.

Dont get me wrong....I was the first in my area to do free tan weekends, free tan week...I throw in free HP sessions with purchase of a membership and all that. What I am talking about is

"HI I'VE NEVER BEEN HERE BEFORE AND I WANT A FREEBIE JUST TO SEE IF I LIKE IT.... MY SALON GIVES FREE 2 NEW CUST. WHY NOT YOU!!!!"

SSmith...try the above sentence next time you go to ANY business for the first time.

I am not talking on promo's some might be running...I'm talking about customers EXPECTING it because YOU made your service seem FREE!!!!

Don't believe me? try this. Ask ANY of your customers how much they think tanning beds cost. They all think it's a couple of grand and our expences are covered for $100 a day.

[bimmerboy]

well I guess I am the only one on this board that is profiting from giving away a free service ie free TAN to other salons customers. I just sent out 10,000 free session cards last week total expense $1700.00 first day had 16 new customers who were so impressed with our salon. out of those 16 9 had purchased pckges and lotions totalling $750.00. As of yesterday our client base has added 75 NEW customers to our client list from this promotion alone.. so continue doing whats working for you.. in response to mcdonalds starbucks and other major corporations not offering free products to new customers. well I cant remember ever seeing any of your salons advertised on TV. RADIO. OR NATIONAL TELEVISED SPORTING EVENTS.... and if so then you really dont need to offer anything for FREE!!!

[W8INLINE]

Congrads bimmerboy. You advertised a free session to bring people in and then sell them on your product. Very smart and in general a very succesful and PROVEN way to gain new customers.

WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH GIVING FREE TRIAL TANS TO EVERYONE ON A REGULAR BASIS!!!!!

Sending adds out and offering free anything is not the question at hand... don't confuse an advertising campaign with a daily habbit most salons have.

[ekc123]

we offer the first visit free to new customers if when they come out they want to join, we waive the price of the single visit, but they have to join that day. if not, they pay for the single.

[SandiGirl]

Originally Posted by daredvl_edm

Well i have been offering free tans, but here is the thing. One high school girl brought in her friend and i let him tan for free this time. The next day she brought in another friend and expected the same thing. Now i am having an issue, so I told her one free tan per friend.

I'm confused. She brought in a different friend you're only allowing her to bring in 1 friend to tan for free?

Do the drop in price off the package deal.

[daredvl_edm]

Originally Posted by SandiGirl

I'm confused. She brought in a different friend you're only allowing her to bring in 1 friend to tan for free?

Do the drop in price off the package deal.

She brought in one male friend to tan and i let him tan for free, then 2 days later she brought in a different guy to tan. I asked him if he has ever been here before he says "No, I never tan". So she is just letting him come here so he can tan for free, so I asked her if she wanted him to use some of her minutes, or if he wanted to buy a session. She said, well what about the free tan "BINGO"!!!!!! I then mentioned that you are allowed a free tan for a friend, and she has already used up her free tan. So he used some of her minutes. :-) Problem solved. If I would have let him tan for free, next week she would have brought in another friend. Nope, it doesn't work that way, so I put a stop to it right away.

[Glowtanning530]

You sell minutes?

[daredvl_edm]

Originally Posted by Glowtanning530

You sell minutes?

I am honoring the previous owners minutes, so whom ever has minutes in the system, i am still honoring them, and when they re purchase they get sessions.