Are you Ready for Summer?

Although the frame of time we’ve come to know as “busy season” has somewhat transformed and evolved from what we are used to, you’re likely winding down from a prosperous period for your salon. Now is a better time than ever to look at what you can do this month in preparation for the upcoming summer months.

Even if you historically earn much of your annual revenue during busy season, there are ways to keep that cash flowing all year round.

Do you have fairly regular patrons who will purchase a package from time to time, but once they’ve used up all of their sessions you don’t see them again for a while? I’m willing to bet that many of these same tanners have visited your salon this busy season and purchased a package in order to tan for an upcoming event such as spring break or prom.

The month of May is a perfect time to convert these customers to a recurring monthly membership! The key is to incentivize the purchase of an EFT membership by offering promotions that are only available for redemption this month.

The month of May is a perfect time to convert seasonal tanners to a recurring monthly membership!

With a little creativity, there are a number of different ways that you can encourage customers to purchase an unlimited recurring membership. If you typically charge an upfront activation fee at the point of sale for your EFT memberships, you might consider waiving this fee for anyone who purchases from May 1-31. Or perhaps, you offer the first month of tanning free for those who sign before the end of the month.

Another way to boost membership sales, as well as repeat product sales, is to offer a substantial discount on retail items purchased on the day that an EFT membership is purchased. You never know – your customer might just get hooked on their favorite new product that they may not have otherwise tried!

Making the terms of the memberships you offer as flexible as possible is vital not only to closing the sale, but also to ensuring that the customer retains their membership for a long time to come. Allowing tanners to freeze their memberships without a minimum draft requirement will diminish any buyer’s apprehension, especially for those who may have summer travel plans. Charging a nominal freeze fee each month that the membership is frozen, with the option of refunding the dues upon reactivation in the form of reward points will entice customers to unfreeze sooner than later.

Each year, we have an idea of when our peak and slower seasons tend to cyclically occur. To create balance of the revenue you generate throughout the year, give some thought to instituting an annual supplemental fee into your membership agreements; drafted automatically from your customers’ accounts in August, for example. The amount of the fee will seem inconsequential to the customer, but multiply that by the number of your active memberships, and the result will be significant to you!

Incoming cash flow is imperative not only during busier times of the year, but in the off season as well. During slower time periods, implementing a robust EFT membership program is not only rewarding for your customers, but it can be for your business, too! With a solid salon management software program, the possibilities are vast.