By Matt Russell, Smart Tan CEO

Owner Education: If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.

Hey, no one said this would be easy. But, when you consider that red light therapy could become a keystone service in your business, attracting non-tanners of all ages, and demanding solid pricing, it is definitely worth putting the work in. And like with any other business opportunity worth exploring, education comes first.

If you have purchased red light therapy equipment, and you haven’t done your homework, you’re undoubtedly missing a lot of opportunities for business growth. Full-body medical-grade red light therapy is not a sideline service to just be added to your showcase to hopefully push customers off the fence when deciding whether or not to say yes to your all-inclusive tanning packages. Don’t get me wrong: Adding this service to your memberships is a good idea, but if your all-inclusive tanning price didn’t change after this service was added, you’ve definitely missed an opportunity.

If you haven’t already, please complete the SmartSun Therapy 30-minute certification course. There’s a quiz at the end, and it’s totally free to take the course. I would also recommend you read “The Ultimate Guide to Red Light Therapy” by Ari Whitten. There are dozens of other books and resources, but reading even one book like this can transform your thinking about this service. I can’t say this strongly enough: Red light therapy, done right, is a keystone service with huge potential. If you’re not convinced, do a quick Google search for “Red light therapy franchises” and watch how many new red light therapy brands pop up on your screen. In one year, red light therapy focused businesses have grown exponentially. It reminds me of the indoor tanning industry 30 years ago. My point in all of this is to tell you that there’s a huge opportunity to make money integrating red light services into your salon, but you need to do it the right way or you’re missing a great opportunity. And the right way is to do the work, read the books, develop an independent plan for red light therapy services, and don’t make it a sideshow.

Come on. You should own all forms of sunlight therapy in your community. Don’t let these Johnny-come-lately interlopers grab your sunlight therapy business!

Training your Red Light Therapists

Like any service that’s going to thrive in your business, your team members need to be completely bought in. Getting them properly trained and immersed into this new and exciting service is the first step toward moving forward. Smart Tan has virtual red light therapy training available for free on our platform. The course was developed using solid scientific information put into layman’s terms for quick and easy comprehension.

Get involved with your team members’ training. Make sure they understand exactly how red light provides so many benefits. Get them excited about this new service and how it can literally change the lives of so many consumers who aren’t even aware that this service, and the benefits it can provide, even exist. Teach them how to evaluate and prescribe appropriate treatments for the various maladies your customers are suffering from. Make them the most credible source of red light therapy information in your community, just like they are with your UV services.

Consumer Education

A lot of people are already aware of what red light therapy can do, but there’s even more that don’t. It’s up to you to show your existing customers, and your soon-to-be customers, what red light can do for them.

Just like you’ve done with your UV and spray consumer education efforts over the years, make red light therapy marketing a priority and watch what happens. There is already a lot of excitement about red light therapy that already exists, as it’s becoming more and more common in so many other service businesses. But these businesses haven’t been delivering sunlight-based services for decades like the indoor tanning industry. We are in the best position to capitalize on this exciting new technology. We already have a strong customer base that trusts you for your UV services. Educate them properly on the many results medical-grade red light therapy can provide, and get them excited about red light too.

Don’t forget to have team members follow up with your red light therapy customers with every session. Note why the customer is using the service in their records so team members can ask follow-up questions that are relevant to the individual treatments. “How was your red light session last time? Did you notice improvement in your skin? Did you use the take-home product I recommended?” Red light customers need to be constantly re-evaluated. Session and product recommendations should be evaluated and adjusted just as you’ve done with your successful UV and spray business over the years.