To a guest, a spa is a relaxing oasis. Mellow, new age music plays in the background, a trickling water fountain bubbles in the corner, and the smell of essential oils helps people unwind. But somewhere “in the back,” it’s a different story. While guests lounge at the front, in the back, a stressed small business owner may very well be pulling her hair out as she looks over this quarter’s financials.

This is where a well-built mobile app or website comes in.

With every passing day, mobile becomes more and more important to small businesses. Using the right features, mobile solutions can boost revenue and customer satisfaction, and can deliver highly useful insights to the spa owner.

So, what can a spa do with a mobile app or website that makes these tools so powerful? Here are five features to consider:

1. Mobile reservations

Taking reservations through a mobile app or website can boost bookings, smooth out demand, and enable better planning and staffing. Some guests simply don’t like talking on the phone, and will even be more likely to book a visit if they can do so online. Moreover, online bookings are easier to administer and analyze when compared to a classic paper schedule, and can also help with unobtrusive upsells for add-on services.

2. Information

A mobile app or website lets you share information with prospects. This information can be simple things like your hours, address, phone number, or your mapped location. But you can also upload things like your menu of services, details about products used, your therapists’ skills, and more. Quickly being able to get info helps customers make decisions and ultimately boosts sales.

3. Offers and coupons

Offers and coupons are great for getting bookings for unpopular time slots, and guests will appreciate discounts or other benefits. If you’ve published an app, these can be delivered via a “push notification,” which means that your offer message pops up on a user’s device at a time you schedule. This can be an effective way to increase conversions, and users can opt out of these notifications if they find them irritating.

4. Learn about customers

With analytics, mobile apps and sites can provide you with information about your guests that can be very valuable. You can learn which pages or pieces of information they visit most, so you know what is on their minds and where to focus your efforts. You can also solicit feedback, and learn even more. Some examples include: 1) What treatments do they want to see offered? 2) What price would they pay for certain services they don’t currently use? 3) Who is their favorite therapist? 4) Do they like the music? 5) Do they like the products?

The list goes on and on.

5. Get social

Mobile apps and websites allow you to turn each prospect and guest into a mini-relay through social sharing. If they book an appointment, give them a chance to post it to Facebook or Twitter. Or if they enjoyed an appointment, send them a follow-up message and ask if they’d like to post a simple “Thank You” to their social media accounts.

There are a lot of possibilities, here, and mobile apps and sites make it happen.

It may seem like just another task to add to your list, but the opportunities far outweigh the costs. In fact, a basic app can be created quite easily and cost-effectively using Bizness Apps. For more info on how we can have your app up and running in short order, please click here.

(Also, if you’re a developer who’d like to take advantage of the opportunities the small business mobile app market presents, click here for more information on our app reseller program.)