Is Your Customer Base Really Yours? An Insight into Online Booking Platforms

Ever wondered if those customers you’ve worked so hard to win over are actually staying loyal to your business? With the explosion of online booking and automation platforms in 2024, this question is more relevant than ever. If you're a business owner, you're probably familiar with the likes of Mindbody, Vagaro, Booksy, Altegio, and Treatwell. But have you ever considered whether these platforms are truly working for you, or if they’re driving your customers right into the arms of your competitors?

The Big Five: Who's Eating Your Lunch?

Altegio: The Protector

Founded: 2022
Headquarters: Budapest, Hungary
Price: Starts at $11/month
Clients: Over 10,000 businesses

Altegio stands out by not “cannibalizing” your customer base. Unlike the others, Altegio doesn’t promote competitors’ services to your clients. Their focus is on giving you all the tools you need—from booking widgets to centralized management—without the risk of your customers getting poached.

Key Features:

• Customizable Booking Widget: Fast and easy to tailor to your brand’s look and feel, making it seem like an integral part of your website.
• Optimized Interfaces: Designed for maximum speed and ease of use, minimizing booking friction.
• Integrated Payments: Customers can pay directly through the widget, simplifying transactions and enhancing convenience.
• Multi-Language Support: Ideal for businesses with an international clientele.
• Aunio App: Facilitates various customer interactions, repeat bookings, and unlimited free notifications. Customers can also purchase and renew memberships or gift cards.
• Chain Management: Centralized management of multiple locations, with unified booking, customer databases, and comprehensive reporting.

We've taken a deep dive into the five heavyweights of online booking to see how they stack up when it comes to protecting—or poaching—your customer base. Here’s what we found:

Mindbody: The Old Guard

Founded: 2000
Headquarters: California, USA
Price: Starts at $120/month
Clients: Over 60,000 businesses

Mindbody is a pioneer in the business management game, especially for fitness and wellness. They’ve got a robust platform, but they openly push their marketplace, which means your customers can easily find and book with your competitors. Commissions here can be hefty, ranging from 2% to 10% depending on various factors.

Key Features:

• Mindbody Marketplace: This extensive marketplace connects clients with a wide range of fitness, wellness, and beauty services, making it a comprehensive solution but also a potential risk for losing customers to competitors.
• ClassPass Integration: Especially valuable for fitness businesses, this feature broadens the reach to a network of users looking for fitness classes and wellness services.
• Automated Marketing: Mindbody provides automated email and text campaigns to help retain customers, though the effectiveness can be undercut by marketplace competition.
• Staff Management: Tools for scheduling, payroll, and performance tracking to streamline staff management.

Vagaro: The Jack of All Trades

Founded: 2009
Headquarters: California, USA
Price: Starts at $30/month
Clients: Over 50,000 businesses

Vagaro offers a bit of everything—from beauty salons to fitness studios. They’re not as pushy with self-promotion, but their marketplace model still means your customers see plenty of other options, potentially diverting them away from your services.

Key Features:

• Comprehensive Booking: Clients can easily find and book services online through the website or mobile app.
• Service Promotion: Businesses can enhance their visibility with promotional tools, but this can lead to increased exposure to competitors.
• Customer Management: Includes detailed customer profiles, appointment history, and preferences to personalize the client experience.
• Reports and Analytics: Access to business insights through detailed reports on various metrics like client retention, sales, and service performance.

Booksy: The Networker

Founded: 2014
Headquarters: Warsaw, Poland
Price: Starts at €34.99/month

Booksy makes a big deal out of customer base sharing. While they don’t charge commissions on repeat bookings, their focus on app distribution and competitive offers means your hard-won customers are just a tap away from booking elsewhere.

Key Features:

• Map Search: Users can locate salons on a map, making it easy to find and book nearby services.
• Convenient Booking: Streamlined process for clients to find available time slots and book services.
• Reviews and Ratings: Encourages user-generated content that helps attract new customers but also highlights competitors.
• Client Communication: Automated notifications and reminders help maintain customer engagement and reduce no-shows.

Treatwell: The High Roller

Founded: 2008
Headquarters: London, UK
Price: Starts at €30/month
Clients: Over 25,000 businesses

Treatwell operates as an online marketplace for beauty and wellness services, but watch out for those commissions—up to 20% on bookings! Plus, you’ll often need to offer discounts to attract new clients, which can eat into your margins.

Key Features:

• Wide Range of Services: From haircuts to massages, the platform covers a broad spectrum of beauty and wellness services.
• Paid Listings: Businesses can pay to boost their visibility, which can be effective but also means your competitors are doing the same.
• Payment Processing: Handles transactions, deducting commissions before transferring funds to businesses.
• Promotions and Discounts: Regular offers to attract new customers, which can increase your client base but at the cost of higher discounts.

Common Tools Across Platforms

Regardless of which platform you choose, they all offer a suite of tools to help you manage your business efficiently:

Schedule and Appointment Management

• Mindbody: Extensive calendar tools with color-coded appointments, waitlists, and automated reminders.
• Vagaro: Easy drag-and-drop interface for scheduling and rescheduling, with built-in conflict checks.
• Booksy: Real-time availability updates and seamless rescheduling options.
• Treatwell: Comprehensive appointment management with automated reminders and confirmations.
• Altegio: Highly customizable scheduling widgets that integrate seamlessly with your existing website.

Customer Base Management

• Mindbody: Detailed client profiles, visit history, and preferences.
• Vagaro: Customer segmentation and targeted marketing tools.
• Booksy: Robust customer database with easy search and filtering options.
• Treatwell: Tools to track client visits, feedback, and retention rates.
• Altegio: Centralized customer database with segmentation, visit history, and personalized marketing capabilities.

Notifications and Reminders

• Mindbody: Automated email and SMS reminders.
• Vagaro: Customizable notification templates for SMS and email.
• Booksy: Push notifications via mobile app, SMS, and email.
• Treatwell: Automated appointment reminders and follow-up messages.
• Altegio: Unlimited free notifications through the Aunio app.

Reports and Analytics

• Mindbody: Comprehensive analytics dashboard with customizable reports.
• Vagaro: Detailed business performance reports, including revenue and client retention.
• Booksy: Insights into booking trends, client behavior, and financial performance.
• Treatwell: Reporting tools that provide data on appointment trends, customer feedback, and financial health.
• Altegio: Powerful data analysis tools for both individual stores and entire networks, providing actionable insights.

The Verdict

In a world where customer loyalty is everything, you need a platform that supports your business without undercutting it. Most of the big names in the game—Mindbody, Vagaro, Booksy, and Treatwell—operate as marketplaces, which can inadvertently steer your clients towards your competitors. Altegio, however, is the outlier, designed to keep your customers loyal by not promoting other businesses to them.

So, if you're looking to safeguard your customer base while leveraging powerful booking and business management tools, Altegio might just be the ally you need. Keep your clients focused on you, and let your business grow without the worry of losing customers to the competition.

In addition to choosing the right booking platform, leveraging no-code website builders can further streamline your online presence and enhance customer engagement without requiring extensive technical skills.