The TanWall Blog

What is a brand?

A brand is the identity of a specific product or service, which could be a name, a sign, a symbol, a combination of colors, a slogan, or a combination of those elements such as the Coca Cola brand and its classic red lettering or Apple with its apple icon.

The term “brand” came from the practice of branding cattle. Ranchers would brand their name on their cattle to mark the cattle as their property. In the 1800s certain companies started branding their crates and barrels of goods to designate their product and the practice expanded into the huge marketing science that is branding today.

Brands serve as symbols that embody all of the thoughts and associations that go with a certain product.  

As time goes on, the sum of all of the consumer experience that goes into dealing with a certain business becomes equated with that business’ brand, and the brand becomes a collection of everything the company means and stands for in the consumer’s mind.  

A brand becomes a source of familiarity and trust for the consumer. The more a brand occurs in the marketplace, the more the consumer begins to recognize and become familiar with the brand. Familiarity builds trust. If a consumer sees a brand constantly coming up in the market place, he/or she is going to assume that the company behind the brand is doing something right and must be relatively stable to be around as much as it is. The more familiar with a brand a consumer is and the more trust a consumer places on a brand, the more likely it is that the consumer is going to continue to buy that brand and stay with the brand.

A good brand will become a seal of quality for the product. Brands that last over time are brands that have become associated with a quality product. The brand itself will represent quality in the consumer’s mind. As long as quality is maintained in the product, the brand will continue to represent that quality and the consumer will know where to buy whatever it is that they need when they need it.

So now we have a better grip on what a brand is. In the next post, we will talk about why you should build your brand and what that brand can do for your tanning business.

The Overview

Have you built a solid brand for your tanning salon yet? Are you working at creating one? If you haven’t, you could be missing out on a huge portion of potential customers who are being attracted to other competitors that might have good brand names themselves.

A lot of tanning salons don’t focus as much on branding. They focus on their tanning products themselves or just rely on their location and hope business comes their way.

Now think of the psychological effects of a tanning salon storefront that just says “Sun Tans” or something else similarly generic: you’re going to drive by that place – which features the same architectural characteristics and appearance as the rest of the buildings in the local strip mall – and think, “Oh that’s interesting…tans,” and then you’re going to forget all about that place. You’ll do business at the next salon that’s convenient for you. 

If you’ve settled with a generic salon name such as “Sun Tans” or “Spray Tans” (which is getting very generic, but you get the idea), your business is missing out on market presence and potential business. All of your customers are going to leak out to other generic salons until eventually they settle with a company that has built a brand.

The key to having a growing, successful business in today’s crowded marketplace is being unique and having something to offer that differentiates you from your competitors. You have to find a niche in the market and stand out among the others. One of the best ways to do this is to develop your brand.

A brand will elevate you as a tanning salon “personality” in the tanning market and give your customers a memorable impression to retain when they walk away from your salon. Your personality will gain you customer loyalty if your customers like you and what your business stands for. Branding is a great way to do this.

Coca Cola stands as a giant in the soft drink industry because of the great branding they have done. Same with Starbucks and McDonalds and other huge names. These companies have developed a personality and a unique presence in the market and they have instilled that in their brand.

In the next post we will go over what branding is and in the following weeks we will continue with why you should brand, and how you can build your brand into a marketable personality.

It seems to me like it’s been a mild summer so far. Lots of cloud layers, cool breezes, mild sun rays, at least in California anyway.

But just this week, maybe a little earlier, I felt the heat go up noticeably. I can feel those rays getting stronger now. I don’t know about you but it seems like it’s really starting to feel like summer.

Supposedly the East Coast has been seeing some pretty high temperatures since last week themselves.

Anyways, now is a great time to get your tanning on. Get those bronze tones and you’ll know you’re protected from those UV rays. You can feel it. You get really tan and when the sun hits you it burns less and less. It feels great in my opinion.

I always just got really tan as opposed to putting on sun screen. I never cared for sunscreen: the feel, the smell, putting it on every hour or so, it just made going to the beach kind of a chore.  And now studies are starting to emerge that sun screen is not as good for you as they thought.

I rarely get burned, even after being outside for an hour or two because my skin becomes resistant to the UV rays. What’s better than laying out in the sun with a couple of drinks and a book?

I’m not saying you should abandon sun screen and just run around and get burned up. They say to be sensible and moderate with activities in the sun and I think that’s the best advice for this summer.

Hit the tanning salon and get a base tan, then get out in the sun and soak up some of those rays.

They’ve been making a big deal about Vitamin D lately. How we need to get out in the sun more and stop being so afraid of it. How the sun provides what vitamins and foods can’t. 

Intuitively I think they’re right. I feel great during the Spring and Summer when I get a lot of sun. Fall and Winter come around, and though I love the characteristics of all the seasons in their own way, I do find myself getting lethargic and tired during those seasons when I’m out of the sun more.  

Enjoy the sun everyone. But be sensible! Don’t overdo it.

If you own a tanning salon you probably know how important it is to have a friendly and engaging employee at the front desk. They’re essentially the face of your tanning salon as far as your customers are concerned.

A large part of customer retention has to do with the customer’s comfort level when they come into your salon. A combination of clean, visually appealing tanning environments with personable employees goes a long way in securing the loyalty of your customers.

If customers come in to find the person at the front desk texting or talking with other employees or altogether ignoring them, they might not come back the next time if they don’t turn around and leave on the spot! A customer always wants to be the subject, not an object.

If you have your employees get to know your customers by name, your customers will feel welcome when they come into your salon and will most likely return. Tailor your services to each customer based on their habits. Do they have a favorite bed they always go to? A favorite lotion? Do they feel that their visit is a social occasion and not just something to “get done?”

It is the little things that keep your customers coming back.

Tanning salon businesses across the nation will feel the effects of the new health care insurance bill as early as July 1, 2010. Indoor tanning salon patrons will soon be charged a 10% tax to help fund the $940 billion health care overhaul.

President Barak Obama signed the new law into effect only yesterday, marking a pivotal, and surely controversial, moment in our present history. The controversy is mainly fueled by unclear, and seemingly miscalculated—or at least under-estimated—budget cuts and tax increases; not to mention measures to impose insurance coverage on those who choose not to carry any, the banning of insurance companies to deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions, the banning of insurance companies to drop coverage of an individual due to severe illness, and banning limits on lifetime or annual benefits. Read more…