smart Tan Magazine is the leading source of information for indoor tanning salons, covering everything from the newest tanning technology, Vitamin D and the lastes tanning lotions to detailed ways to improve your salon's success.
Issue link: https://smarttan.epubxp.com/i/242935
ASK THE EXPERT What Can You Say? Clarifying Customer Communications for Managers and Employees Thousands of studies now point to potential benefits of vitamin D and UV exposure. I've been following the evolution of this science for 21 years as a big part of my job. It's important that tanning professionals understand how this research is going to continue to unfold and impact their business. There are two important keys: • While working in the tanning salon, anything you say to customers can be considered the official position of the business. • When discussing tanning issues, you need to be sure that you are delivering a fair and balanced message and not misleading customers in any way. But as an indoor tanning professional, you must be aware of the sensitive nature in which you and your staff communicate with customers about issues surrounding indoor tanning. It's all about balance, and knowing what you can and can't say. There's a lot of conflicting information out there about UV light today, and many people are confused. That's why a tanning salon's communications and messaging must be carefully scrutinized to ensure that the salon and their representatives are balanced and not misleading In November, Smart Tan introduced customers in any way. a new training program – Customer Communications, with tracks for The key to a balanced message managers and employees – to help is to present a fair and honest you better understand how to representation of indoor tanning effectively communicate the nuances without misleading customers of the sun care message with your to believe they are free from risk customers. or have benefits that can't be justified. You must be sure that the We've been teaching this for years, information your staff is sharing in different parts of our programs with customers is factual information in different ways, but with so much approved by your salon business to information and misinformation pass on. floating around today, the Smart Tan family of salons told us they needed There are risks with almost anything this training in a easy-to-understand we do in life and indoor tanning is format. no exception. It is the responsibility Joseph Levy is senior vice president of Smart Tan, the educational institute for the North American professional indoor tanning community. Since 1992, Levy has been interviewed by every major broadcast network in North America and hundreds of print media sources as an expert in UV, indoor tanning and vitamin D research, particularly the politics behind the research. Levy is a member of the American Society of Photobiology 67 ❘ SMART TAN MAGAZINE ❘ SmartTan.com of any business to inform their customers of any risks that may be associated with their product or service. As you're probably aware, there are certain anti-tanning groups who many believe to have blown the risk of indoor tanning out of proportion. Some groups have compared suntanning to arsenic, mustard gas and smoking. Though these claims appear to be ridiculous, as indoor tanning business representatives, we can't attempt to counter these overstated claims by downplaying the potential risks of indoor tanning. Just as important: We can't combat overstatements about the potential risks of UV exposure by overstating or misstating the potential benefits. No matter what your clients hear from sources outside of your salon, your tanning business needs to know how to steer clear of making any therapeutic claims, and how to answer questions from clients about the therapeutic aspects of UV. Our new training modules teach owners and managers how to manage all external messaging from your business, while teaching line-level employees exactly what they should and should not say – with short, structured answers to the 10 most common and difficult questions that convey balance and responsibility. The cornerstone of being a Smart Tan salon has always been effective training. This simple course will help your salon promote itself correctly. What's the scoop? Blog Your Story Blogging is still one of the best ways to gain better search results. If your salon doesn't have a blog, weekly posts can make a big impact! Post reviews of the lotion on your shelf, talk about new products and equipment, introduce staff members, and give beauty tips your customers will love.