Customers know that just because a tanning bed has a “this bed has been sanitized” sign laying on it, does not mean it has been properly sanitized. Tanning bed cleaner such as Lucasol is widely used in the tanning salon industry. Lucasol is a hospital grade cleaner that is also known to disinfect HIV. But, if the product is not being used in accordance with the instructions on the label, then it’s possible that the tanning bed is not being sanitized properly. Lucasol is a concentrate and paying special attention to how much Lucasol is being mixed with water, and paying attention to the instructions on the label, is of utmost importance.

Cleaning the acrylics, with tanning bed cleaner such as Lucasol, on your tanning beds is one thing, but it’s also a must to remove hair from under the acrylic, clean air vents, and clean the tops of the tanning bed when you are doing your regular tanning bed maintenance. Keeping the whole tanning bed clean gives a better impression of the overall cleanliness of the tanning salon. In addition, cleaning the vents, filters, lamps, and ballasts will also keep the tanning bed in tip-top shape keeping the tanning bed from that extra wear-and-tear.

Aside from the tanning beds, keeping the rest of your salon clean helps keep customers stay confident in your tanning salon. As I mentioned before, tanning lotion splatter is unappealing and dirty. It’s also tough to clean if it isn’t cleaned up quickly. Having the tanning salon attendant pay attention, not just to cleaning the tanning bed, but to the floor and walls after a customer tans can also help from this unwanted detraction.

Creating a check list helps keep the tanning salon clean. Clean bathrooms, mirrors, floors, windows, counter-tops, lotion displays, all help with keeping customers happy and feeling like the salon they are visiting is in the best shape it can be. A squeaky clean salon gives a positive impression for customers leading to greater retention.

The main types of advertising tanning salons usually adopt are newspaper ads, television ads, direct mail, radio ads, and websites. There are various ups and downs to each of these types of tanning salon marketing campaigns.

Newspaper ads are typically flexible and timely. Newspaper advertising is perfect for tanning salons located in smaller cities where a customer on any side of town might decide to go to your business. Newspapers provide customers with a good sense of believablity. The downside to newspaper advertising is that once the public reads the newspaper, it is basically thrown into the trash. There is no residual advertising and people do not tend to pass these type of ads around to friends. Look to small local publications in addition to the main newspaper in your city. These tend to have better pricing, but not as high a circulation.

Television ads offer a good way to quickly get your tanning salon noticed with mass market coverage. TV advertisements offer good pricing per exposure and appeals to target audiences with careful time slot planning. TV ads can be expensive to produce, however. Contact your local cable provider to see if they offer local television advertising slots.

Direct mail is an excellent way to get your advertising into the hands of potential tanning salon customers. You can be selective as to who receives your direct mail by buying lists and mailing to certain zip codes, or people who have signed up for other services that are similar to that of a tanning salon. Depending on how many pieces are designed, printed and mailed, prices may vary.

Radio ads offer a wide audience. You can be selective as to which radio stations air your advertising and what time they air, targeting specific audiences. Tanning salons tend to do fairly well with radio advertising in the pop genre. The only down to radio advertising is that people tend not to pay as much attention to the ads, so it is extremely important to have an advertisement that appeals to the target audience and sticks out from the rest of the ads.

Door hangers, and leaflets are another great, low-cost way to advertise your tanning salon. You can market your salon to select audiences. Hanging advertisements on the handle of people’s doors puts the advertisement right in their hands. Apartment complexes are excellent for leaving this type of advertising because of the high density of people. Leaving leaflets on cars in parking lots is another good way to get advertising in people’s hands. The only downside to using either of these is that people may find this type of advertising annoying.

Advertising your tanning salon is extremely important, whatever method you decide on. Once you have a general idea of what you want to do, call around locally and see what kind of prices, offers, and other ideas you can get from marketing agencies. You want to increase traffic to your tanning salon and marketing is an essential way to do so.

Editor’s Note: Check with your local government prior to using marketing tactics such as placing leaflets on cars and hanging advertising on door handles, as permits may be required.

Just because money is rolling in during the season does not mean it can be spent frivolously. Putting money aside for basic operating costs should be a primary goal heading into the off-season. If you plan for the basics you will be able to successfully manage your tanning salon without having to close up shop.

Obviously, without the basics, your business would easily close. Rent is the first of the basic costs. It is important to have at least 2 to 3 months of rent saved up for the off-season. If you have a few really bad off-season months, at least you’ll have saved up enough money to keep your doors open without your landlord re-taking possession. You want to keep your salon doors open; otherwise, you will not be making any money to keep the salon afloat during these rough times.

Basic costs such as electric, phone and employee salaries are also extremely important. For utilities, such as electric and phone, You should save up at least one third of what you spend on these during the busy season. In other words, if you’re spending $1000 a month on utilities, you will want to put away $333 for the off-season. Your utilities will probably not be a third of your cost during the off-season, but it will help cushion the expense.

Tanning salon owners tend to forget that, not only do they need to keep basic operating costs going, they must continue to maintenance equipment and keep them running for customers during the off-season. These customers are of utmost importance because without them, you will not survive the off-season. Without keeping up with the maintenance on your equipment, like changing lamps, acrylics, etc. the customers will be turned off and either find another place to tan, or stop tanning altogether. Budgeting for lamps, acrylics and other equipment maintenance items will keep your salon in tip-top shape during the off-season. Not only that, but your salon will be ready for the busy months without having to scramble to put cash together to get everything in operating order for the season.

Survive the dreaded off-season simply by putting money aside. With these few areas of your business that need budgeting, you will be better poised for the off-season and will likely see another successful year.