With Christmas just around the corner (where has this year gone?), there’s a general acceptance on our side of The Pond that footfall through salons will start to reduce temporarily, with consumer spending diverted toward the additional expense of the Holidays. Traditionally, I know this can be the case; but personally, I just don’t get it.[gap height=”15″]
If ever there’s a time when Joe Public (J.P.) deserves some TLC and reason to look and feel great – along with all the fabulous benefits of UV light exposure in the dreary winter months – it’s got to be Christmastime![gap height=”15″]
Is there really any more stressful time of the year than balancing all the demands and commitments that come with the Holidays? Managing expectations probably comes close to the top of the stress list: finding and funding the “must have” Christmas toy for J.P. Junior, with endless hours spent online and queuing in stores only to find the last one’s been sold; where to spend the Holidays versus which relatives are coming to stay this year, and just what to get for that special person in your life. And that’s all without the year-end demands of work and fighting off the bugs and germs that seem to proliferate in the run up to Christmas.[gap height=”15″]
So, what could be more enticing than a little “me” time soaking up the rays and leaving the salon feeling ready to face the world and look good doing it? And that’s exactly what we do – bring a little ray of sunshine to peoples’ lives in more ways than one![gap height=”15″]
It’s no coincidence that companies ramp up their marketing activities at this time of the year. We all want something to look forward to with the long winter months stretching ahead, and certainly in Europe that means an aching desire for sunshine! But of course, consumers with their “must have it now” mindset can have just that in tanning salons – we simply need to remind them not to forget us at this busy time of year, by delivering a focused approach to “Holiday” marketing and promotions.[gap height=”15″]
We also encourage customers to focus on this time of year as a great opportunity to shift stock that may be hanging around, putting together some special offers and gift ideas, clearing space for new lines ahead of spring and before we know it, the start of the new season.[gap height=”15″]
Most tanning salons are located in areas with a high footfall and the perfect platform to promote to the consumer as they go about their Christmas shopping – an activity which seems to stretch for an indeterminate number of weeks. Consumer research in the UK shows that tanning salons secure most of their revenue during the lead-up to and post-summer holiday season. Why people who like to tan don’t always continue their tanning throughout the winter is something that has always puzzled me.[gap height=”15″]
Perhaps it is simply down to how we market our offering to consumers: a need to remind them how good it feels to be tanned, and how easy it is to have that year-round by tanning responsibly in a professionally-run salon.[gap height=”15″]
In the same way that puppies are not just for Christmas, tans are not just for summer!
We need to remind consumers not to forget us at this busy time of year, by delivering a focused approach to “Holiday” marketing and promotions.
