When commercial UV tanning first came on the scene in the 1970s, marketing the service wasn\u2019t as simple as just putting an ad on the radio to remind people to come to your \u201ctanning salon.\u201d Half of them wouldn\u2019t know what the heck you were talking about, and the other half wouldn\u2019t know when, why or how they should use a \u201ctanning bed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today, while most people have at least heard of a spray tan, promoting the service is still similar to the early days of UV. The idea might not be totally foreign, but that doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re just going to come take a chance on something they\u2019re not sure about just because they see a Facebook post.<\/p>\n
Like UV then, your best strategy to grow your spray business is to do whatever it takes to get people to try it. Accomplishing that often requires a more personal touch than a radio ad or Facebook post can provide \u2013 either that, or an incredibly compelling offer.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack in the day, I remember we launched our tanning salon and had free tanning weekends, and there would be a line down the street. It\u2019s the same thing with spray. You have to have an introductory spray that\u2019s inexpensive or free \u2013 something to attract people,\u201d says Dennis Ligon, owner of Sunday\u2019s Blue Box Sun Spa Shop.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like at the mall food court. There\u2019s an Asian place, and somebody hands you a toothpick and you go \u2018Wow, that tastes good!\u2019 Next thing you know, you\u2019re there. You hadn\u2019t had that food yet, so you weren\u2019t sure. The problem with promoting spray is if it\u2019s done right, nobody\u2019s going to notice it\u2019s a spray tan. So, I think it\u2019s very important to introduce them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Introducing substantially more people to sunless tanning requires approaches that differ from traditional marketing. To maximize the potential of the sunless industry, tanning businesses around the country need to increase the spray tan market by taking a page out of the book of the person at the food court with the toothpick. That\u2019s a quintessential example of grassroots marketing.<\/p>\n