GrabYour Share!
Take Advantage of Incentive Programs
by John P. Ribner

Many of your favorite tanning product manufacturers offer you a reward for selling their products. Typically called “manufacturer incentive programs,” they run the gamut from cash rebates to product discounts, free merchandise and even co-op reimbursement of your advertising expenses. For those of you who are already making the most out of these types of programs, good for you! But it’s to those who aren’t utilizing these generous offers – and we know there are still some of you out there – that this story is directed. As a salon owner, if you’re not taking advantage of lotion manufacturer incentive programs, you’re leaving money on the table! And in today’s economic climate, who can really afford to do that?

Australian Gold
The folks at Australian Gold know that money talks. The company’s CASH BACK incentive program is designed to reward salon pros with cold, hard cash. “We are the only manufacturer that pays cash, not product, to participating salons,” said Tracy Ring, Australian Gold Director of U.S. Sales. “With our co-op program, salons can earn up to 28 percent cash back on their Australian Gold and Swedish Beauty lotion purchases, and we reimburse 100 percent cash back for all qualified product advertising. We also have a per-bottle spiff for 100 percent of our tanning lotions for six months of the year.”

Perhaps what makes Australian Gold’s cash back programs so popular is that they allow salon pros to spend their reward money however they choose. “They can double their advertising budgets, purchase more product, or even go on a vacation with their family if they choose to,” Tracy added. “This is the beauty of the entire program – they don’t have to do anything but purchase the product and advertise our brands, and the distributor does the paperwork for them!”

California Tan
California Tan encourages you to utilize its Salon Co-op Program, and the company has made it easy to do so. “Any salon that sells California Tan and/or Emerald Bay products can participate in the program,” said Andrea Adrade, California Tan Vice President of Marketing. “It rewards salon pros for every purchase of any retail product, equipment and in-salon item from the lotion brands, and it gives them the flexibility to use the co-op funds to build their businesses by creating their own unique promotions and employee incentive programs, or simply redeeming the funds for cash to assist with expenses such as salon advertising or direct mail campaigns.”

Every product invoice earns Co-op Funds (there are no minimums) which can be used toward business-building items such as displays, T-shirts, banners, collateral and select California Tan retail products, or you can simply redeem their co-op funds for cold, hard cash. Bonus perks for California Tan salon partners include faster fund accrual and exclusive redemption items such as limited edition promotions, special travel and gift-with-purchase sizes, and advanced salon trainings.

You must enroll to gain access to the program and shop the online co-op catalogs. To enroll, simply visit caltanbiz.com. Once in the website, click on “MY CO-OP,” click on the “ENROLL” option and enter all requested information, then click “SEND.” An email will be sent directly to the address you listed on the form. You must click on the link included in the email to activate your account; once you’ve done that, you will have access to your co-op account information.

“ Savvy salon pros have been using our incentives at an increasing rate,” Andrea commented. “We expect a 40 percent increase in participation this season due to the ease of use and flexibility of the new program.”

Designer Skin
Designer Skin has a variety of incentive programs designed to save you money, and best of all, they’re very easy to utilize. “Our customer service department is dedicated to working with salons through the requirement process for maximum redemption,” said Jennifer Clayton. “To get involved, salons can simply log into our Salon Business Center on designerskin.com and download the appropriate forms. It’s that simple!”

Designer Skin offers you a host of incentive programs. Their co-op advertising program reimburses up to 28 percent of your total Designer Skin lotion purchases for your product advertising efforts. In the Salon Rebates category, Designer Skin gives you up to a $3.00 product credit for every bottle of tanning lotion you purchase between January 1 and April 30. The Salon Promotional Program is designed to support salon events such as grand openings, customer appreciation days, and anniversary celebrations – they send you a prepackaged promotional kit that includes a complimentary and generous array of Designer Skin sample packettes, apparel, posters and literature. Finally, there’s Designer Skin’s Consumer Coupon Program, which offers consumers the opportunity to download a “FREE Packette” coupon to be used at your salon in conjunction with the purchase of one tanning session. Since this runs from January 1 to May 31, it’s designed to drive consumers back into your store.

“ Programs such as these help salons at all levels,” Jennifer Clayton commented. “The rebate and co-op programs increase salon profits by giving them credit for product purchases and reimbursing them for advertising our brand. Our promotional program and consumer coupon campaign increase both product awareness and product knowledge, which in turn increases lotion sales.”

Devoted Creations
Devoted Creations reports its various incentive programs are a great success with salon pros nationwide. “We have seen a huge increase in the number of tanning salons taking advantage of our programs this year compared to last year,” said Lewis Henry, Devoted Creations President. “The salons that participated in the past are running even more promotions and doing more advertising this year. Programs such as ours are set up to award salon owners with cash back for their efforts during the tanning season so they can reinvest in their business, which goes a long way toward ensuring a bright and prosperous future.”

The company offers a cash back per-bottle-rebate program that runs from October 1 to July 4. You can qualify by purchasing as few as eight bottles of tanning lotion!

To help you increase business through tanning product advertising, the company offers a cash co-op advertising program with no minimums to qualify for reimbursement. And Devoted Creations is especially proud of its Unlimited Salon Promotion program – the company will sponsor every promotion as long as you consistently purchase their lotions from an authorized Devoted Creations distributor. In addition, DC offers personalized product training, sending representatives to train your staff on-site and work behind your counter to show you exactly how to sell the lotions and optimize your profits.

Supre
Supre is no stranger to offering incentive programs to salons. “For over 10 years, we have provided incentives in some form to tanning salons, and these programs are an important part of our relationships with our clients,” commented Scott Olsen, Supre National Sales Manager. “Our promotional programs are a very effective way to create excitement about our products while also driving sales. Depending on the size of the salon or promotion, we typically send anywhere from 40 to 250 lotion packettes, as well as T-shirts and other fun items to create product awareness and generate excitement.”

Supre’s incentives start with its aggressive Salon Rebate Program, which offers up to $5 back per bottle and runs each year from January 1st to May 1st. Supre also has one of the tanning industry’s longest-running Salon Co-op and Promotional Programs. This is for those salon pros who want to not only advertise their stores, but want to let potential customers know they carry the Supre lotion line. The company pays you back for that brand exposure with free product of your choice, adding even more to your retail sales opportunities. In addition, Supre offers a free Salon Merchandising Kit that contains a window cling, mouse pad, counter mat and salon mini-posters to each salon pro who orders just $200 of Supre Products from their authorized distributor.

“ While many of our salon clients take advantage of our incentive programs, there are still some who don’t,” Scott commented. “We would like to encourage everyone to participate by calling their Supre distributor, visiting supre.com or calling us direct.”Tan Incorporated
When it comes to incentive programs, the folks at Tan Incorporated believe there’s no better time than the present to reward tanning salon professionals. “We give salon owners instant free product rewards to benefit them now, not at the end of the year,” explained Greg Jordan. “Giving Instant Free Product Rebates at the time of the lotion order allows the salons to work with their money now, and there is less paperwork involved. The free product makes a great addition to salon anniversary celebrations, grand openings and various specials and deals designed to attract new customers.”

Tan Incorporated’s Salon Instant Free Product Rebate Program offers different instant rebates each month, including free lotion packettes, bottles or half-gallons. Check with your distributor each month to see what’s being offered, or call the company for more details.

“ The Salon Instant Free Product Rebates have been a huge success,” Greg added. “Those who have taken advantage of this program have reported increases in sales!”

Don’t Forget the Distributors!
While the lotion manufacturers represented here offer some amazing and generous incentive programs, don’t forget your distribution companies – more times than not, it’s the product distributors that administer these programs for salon pros. Each of the companies represented in this story report that their incentive programs are typically handled by their authorized distributors, making it very easy for you to participate – the distributor will do all the necessary paperwork for you! And some distribution companies might even be offering some type of incentive program of their own, thus adding to your savings. So there’s really no reason not to take advantage of some type of lotion manufacturer incentive program.

Do It Now!
Interested in checking out a manufacturer incentive program yet? You should be – it’s a great way to improve your lotion sales, earn some much-needed benefits and strengthen your relationships with your distributor and lotion manufacturers. As you can see, the lotion companies represented here certainly have a lot to offer. Time to grab your share!

Island Sun Times wishes to thank all of the lotion manufacturers that contributed to this feature.