It’s often said that “time is worth more than money,” and this time of year in the tanning business, we sure hope that’s true.

Regardless of your position on that statement, we can probably agree that during summer and fall, time tends to be your more plentiful resource. With slower traffic and a reduced budget for marketing and payroll, your off-season success depends on finding ways to turn your extra time into money, whether it’s realized now or later.

After briefly celebrating successes and basking in the glory of the respite, it can be tempting to look at JASON as a worthless time. But, a more constructive approach is to view it as a vital part of the tanning business calendar. It’s the time you desperately need to make the adjustments improvements you didn’t have the time to deal with during the hectic season. Instead of looking at the downside, take stock of all the opportunities you have to get better as a business.

“Slow season can be a negative time of year for a lot of people, but to me, it’s a time of year when you can build rebuilt and focus and still do well,” says SunSeekers by Rosie General Manager Scott Nichols. “During busy season, I don’t have time to build my sunless business or EFT business. We have the time to build all this during slow season. Busy season was our battle. Now, how do we recover, and how do we improve?”

Particularly with the emergence of sunless and diversification services in the industry, summer and fall isn’t only a time to recharge. Despite the conditions, you can still be reasonably successful with a little extra attention to marketing messaging, community outreach and shrewd promotions. The good news is you have more time to cultivate and execute your approach.

There are also less tangible opportunities to devote your human resources to this time of year. You can utilize extra time to build better relationships with your most loyal customers that will help you now and later. When you aren’t as rushed, you have the opportunity to connect with customers on a different level and build their trust and loyalty. You can also impart and gather information that will help improve the client’s experience and present opportunities to make additional sales that meet their needs.

“This is a time to get to know your clients and their lives. This will really help you gauge what they’re doing and what you can potentially sell them,” says Devoted Creations Director of Brand Development Lisa Parsons. “Your year-around people are your biggest advertising advocates. Make sure you have a great relationship with them, that you’re treating them well, that you know what’s going in in their life. People feel more loyalty toward the person than the business.”

Click here to read the entire article in the latest issue of Smart Tan Magazine online.