An anniversary celebration turned into a month of sales 30 years in the making this March for North Carolina independent salon Le Tan.

In recognition of its 30^th year in business, Le Tan held its annual customer appreciation week in March, featuring great deals on tanning and lotions and a visit from Supre Tan representatives – a tradition customers have grown to look forward to each year. Le Tan’s customers responded by showing some appreciation of their own, racking up enough tanning and product purchases to make March the best sales month in Le Tan’s 30-year history. The salon also signed up 222 new members during the month.

“Because it was our 30^th [anniversary] we did 20 percent off all packages and 35 percent off all lotions. We had refreshments brought in Saturday. But the craziest thing about this was the only advertising we did was Facebook, advertising and put a banner in front and we had more response than when we did with newspaper, fliers, and radio [in previous years]. We put the specials on our website, and that John and Maggie [from Supre] would be there, and it just escalated.” Le Tan co-owner Teresa Ledford-Burnette says.

To have the highest sales total in 30 years is quite a feat, and even more remarkable, this resurgence comes at the tail of Le Tan’s roughest stretch of business in many years – even worse than during the heart of the recession, according to Ledford-Burnette.

“We’re in a small town, but the economy has been up and down. A lot of people have lost jobs, but it’s been in odd job markets,” she says. “The stock market really doesn’t bother the average person. I’ve got [clients at] every income [level], but when the government shut down I really felt the effects and I did for several months. We did run specials, but I didn’t start revamping my prices”

Le Tan stuck to its guns, and now momentum seems to have carrier over, as the salon followed up its record March with its best April since 2005.

So, how have they managed to endure the more difficult times and emerge back at the top? At Le Tan, customer appreciation is a business model, not just a yearly event. They pride themselves on customer service, and customer loyalty and satisfaction are evident by their 1 percent customer turnover rate. And perhaps even more notable, 97 percent of their new customers come from referrals and word of mouth, according to Ledford-Burnette.

The lesson: Put the people first, and the sales will come. Ledford-Burnette says that Le Tan’s equipment is good enough that they should be the most expensive salon in western North Carolina, but they’re not. They look at the big picture, maintain prices that their customers can afford, and continue to provide the little extras that keep clients coming back and telling their friends. That’s why they have clients that come from upwards of 45 minutes away, even from across the Tennessee border, to visit Le Tan.

“Our clients are family. We don’t give them a membership card or a number. We know them by name,” Ledford-Burnette says. “We’re personable with our clients. We make them feel welcome. I don’t have 16 year olds back here on the cell phone. I don’t have drama in my salon. We’re a faith driven business that puts our customers first.”

This philosophy goes back to the start of the business in 1984, when Ledford-Burnette’s mother and father, added some tanning units in the video store they had opened to keep them busy and supplement their income in retirement. They moved to a new location with 12 beds two years later, then again to an 18-bed location in 1997. After maxing out that space with 22 beds, they added an additional 1800 square feet in 2011 and now currently have 30 beds, a standup unit, airbrush sunless, and room to expand more as needed.

After working in the salon from the start, Ledford-Burnette has developed a positive outlook on the future of the industry, and locally owned salons like hers, even though she hasn’t always felt that way.

“The crazy thing about it is I never thought that the industry would take off the way that it has,” she says. “I really thought Daddy was crazy. I didn’t expect it to grow the way it has, and I think it’s just going to get better if people do right by the industry. If everybody sticks together and becomes one […] if everyone becomes one voice and stays together nobody can touch us and we’ll come out on top […] at some point we’re going to have to get back to basics and have one voice. The industry is wide open and we can take it to whatever height we want, but I think it will be the mom and pops that will do it.”