The Model: A
platform where users can discover the different beauty and wellness outlets
around them, read about them, get customer reviews and then make a booking as
well. Discovery is great, but if you can add a booking facility as well, the
customer experience grows multifold.
Startup Doing It: Treatwell
(Dutch startup)
What I Like:
Core Idea – End
to end services, from discovery to booking, for beauty and wellness. Experience
is great and more complete for a user.
Revenue Model – Commission
on bookings is the obvious. Even advertising can kick in.
Barrier to Entry –
Since bookings involve setting up a proper booking management system (which
includes inventory management and bookings management), the barrier for a new
entrant to enter is higher than the barrier in say a discovery only tool.
My Concerns:
Difficult to Scale
– A lot of time and effort has to be invested to scale this model, vis-à-vis a
discovery only tool. Outlets need to be contacted, convinced and a system has
to be put in place.
Requires Better Control on Processes –
If a customer makes a booking, which the outlet does not honor, it will impact your
brand at the end of the day. Startups need to establish and work on the back-end
systems, so that the process flow is smooth and customer experience is not
hampered.
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