GROW YOUR beauty business

During the pandemic, Mark Alexander chose to change the software used at his business, Natural Balance Therapies. Since, the business has grown to a “centre of excellence” with the help of Fresha

Mark Alexander, founder and owner of Natural Balance Therapies, set up his spa with the goal of becoming a centre of excellence for massage and osteopathy. 15 years on and the business has expanded to acupuncture, beauty treatments and more.

Alexander is something of a veteran when it comes to wellness and beauty. With over a decade and a half of experience as owner of Natural Balance Therapies, he is also a member of the Institute for Soft Tissue Therapists and has lectured on the University of Brighton’s Complementary Healthcare course.

Pioneering even in its early days, Natural Balance Therapies was one of the first massage businesses to have a bespoke booking software – but as business grew, so did its requirements.

“During the lockdown I wanted to change the system, and Fresha really stood out because it was mobile-friendly. The functionality is fantastic across all devices, which was a really big consideration for us.”

Managing a growing business

Natural Balance Therapies has come a long way since opening; having changed locations, built a team of 14 therapists and grown its client base to over 1,000 people. Having an easy-to-use booking software has been a major factor in its recent growth. “All of my therapists have the Fresha partner app, so they can manage their diaries and reschedule clients. I wouldn’t be able to manage a team of 14 without Fresha helping me,” says Alexander.

Fresha’s fully integrated payment system means business owners like Alexander can keep everything easily organised. They were able to take card payments on a previous system, but without the integration provided by Fresha, things weren’t always straightforward.

“There would often be discrepancies as the card machines we used didn’t keep a record of payments, so it created a lot of administration. Fresha’s integrated payment system is fantastic, you can’t get it wrong.”

With Fresha’s reporting feature, Alexander is able to check on his business when and where he wants. “Reports have made everything much more streamlined, I use it to do all my accounts and finance, and I can look at them from anywhere, even 5000 miles away on holiday. I love the reporting on Fresha,” he says.

Promoting business

While Natural Balance Therapies has been around for a while, it isn’t a high-street business and its location is rather hidden away. This means Alexander depends on a web presence to bring in business – and Fresha’s marketing tools help him stay connected to his clients.

With Fresha’s blast campaign feature, he is able to reach out with targeted messages via email, text message and in-app notifications – agreat way to promote products and services, helping you stay in your clients’ thoughts. “We use Fresha blast campaigns for our monthly newsletter, but we also sent out a blast message by text with a 10% offer when bookings were a little slow. We targeted 1,400 of our clients, and when you send them out they work extremely well,” he says.

Simple solution

While Fresha comes with a range of great features, for Alexander the main benefit is that it’s simple for everyone who needs to use it, giving all his staff the ability to manage their bookings, calendars, and payments. “It allows our clients to make or amend bookings without having to phone us. I’d definitely recommend Fresha to other businesses, it’s given me freedom,” says Alexander.