Why the Most Profitable Salons and Med Spas Are Saying “No” to Marketplace Platforms

A few years ago, online marketplaces seemed like the perfect solution for busy salon, spa, med spa and clinic owners. They offered more visibility, easier bookings, and a steady stream of new clients – what wasn’t to love?

But something has changed.

The most profitable businesses – the ones with fully booked calendars, thriving teams, and steady growth – are stepping away from these third-party platforms. They’ve seen behind the curtain. And what they’ve realized is simple but powerful: growth without retention isn’t growth at all.

Because if a new client books through a platform, walks in once, and never returns, did your business actually grow?

Today’s most successful salons, spas, and med spas aren’t chasing short-term bookings. They’re building long-term relationships. They’re investing in loyalty, branded experiences, and client journeys they control – start to finish. This isn’t just a shift in strategy; it’s a shift in mindset.

What is a salon or med spa marketplace platform?

A marketplace platform is a consumer-facing app or directory where clients browse and book many different salons, spas and clinics in one place. Businesses usually get free or low-cost software in exchange for being listed. The platform then earns money through commissions, booking fees, featured placements or marketing credits, often charged on the new clients it sends you.

On the surface, it looks like a win-win: free software, more bookings, and less admin. It’s no wonder so many salons, spas, and clinics jumped on board.

Why do marketplace platforms hurt salon and med spa profitability?

Marketplace platforms hurt profitability because their business model depends on clients moving between businesses, not staying loyal to yours. The platform owns the client relationship, promotes competitors and discounts to your clients, and often charges fees on the bookings it sends you.

The truth is this: you’re not getting something for nothing. You’re trading control for convenience – and it’s costing you more than you think.

These platforms are built to drive volume, not loyalty. The more often someone switches salons, spas, or clinics, the more the platform earns. That means it’s in their interest to keep clients browsing, comparing, and bouncing between businesses.

Even when a client has a great experience with you, the platform doesn’t want them to return to you directly. Instead, they’re nudged to rebook through the app, where they’re shown:

• Discounts for other businesses nearby
• Targeted ads highlighting your competitors
• Premium placements for salons, spas, or clinics they’ve never tried
• “Recommended for you” suggestions designed to tempt them elsewhere

In other words, these platforms are quietly training your clients to shop around – not stay loyal. You don’t own the relationship. You don’t own the data. You don’t even own the first impression.

You’re renting clients, not building a business.

While that might fill a few gaps in your schedule today, it’s undermining your long-term growth. Every booking that goes through a third-party platform is another chance for that client to be steered somewhere else.

Does Phorest have a consumer marketplace app?

No – and that’s a deliberate choice. Phorest isn’t a race-to-the-bottom discount marketplace. There’s no Phorest directory listing your business next to the salon or clinic down the road, and no app sending your clients offers from competitors after their visit.

Instead, every booking happens under your brand: on your website, your social profiles, your Google Business Profile, or your own branded app. Your clients stay yours, your client data stays yours, and your prices stay yours.

That doesn’t mean Phorest leaves new client growth to chance. It means you grow through channels you own and control, as the next sections explain.

Do clients from discount-driven platforms stay loyal?

Mostly, no. Clients who book because of a discount tend to leave for the next discount, so they rarely become the regulars who drive long-term profit.

Here’s the hard truth: when price is the only reason someone books, it’ll also be the reason they leave. Marketplace platforms are built for volume, not value. The clients they attract tend to be deal-chasers, not loyalists. When they’re always looking for the next cheapest offer, it’s your business that pays the price, through lower margins, more no-shows and constant pressure to discount.

To paraphrase Bernd H. Schmitt, a professor at Columbia University and marketing expert, “Discounts are forgotten. Great experiences are remembered. Loyalty is built.”

When you stop selling on price, you start attracting clients who are truly aligned with your brand – clients who want to be with you, not just with whoever’s offering a discount this week.

How do salons and med spas get new clients without a marketplace?

Salons and med spas get new clients without a marketplace by using channels they own: targeted Facebook and Instagram ads, a well-reviewed Google Business Profile, client referrals, fast follow-up on new inquiries, and branded online booking.

Not all new clients are deal-hunters. With the right tools, you can attract people who are aligned with your brand and ready to spend, without listing yourself next to your competitors. The most successful businesses combine a handful of owned acquisition channels:

A note on local search: Most new clients start with a Google search for “hair salon near me” or “Botox near me.” A strong, well-reviewed Google Business Profile with a direct booking link works like your own marketplace listing. The difference is that clicking through lands people on your brand, not on a page of alternatives.

Why is client retention more profitable than new client acquisition?

Client retention is more profitable because returning clients spend more per visit, rebook on a predictable schedule, and don’t need to be won all over again. A returning client spends 67% more than a first-time visitor.

So why do so many salons, spas, and clinics focus only on chasing new clients, when the real gold lies in nurturing the ones who’ve already walked through the door – and making space for more just like them?

Retention isn’t flashy. It doesn’t feel urgent. But it is the most powerful driver of long-term profit, stability, and brand growth. Top-performing businesses aren’t relying on hope to bring clients back. They’ve built systems that do it for them:

Client Reconnect

When a loyal client hasn’t returned in a while, Phorest spots it and gently brings them back with a personalized message that feels thoughtful, not salesy. It works quietly in the background, reigniting relationships before they fade.

Automated Marketing

Forget one-size-fits-all email blasts. Campaigns are triggered by client behavior – birthdays, visit gaps, post-treatment check-ins – so your message is always relevant, always timely, and always yours.

Digital Loyalty Card

This isn’t a stamp card from the ’90s. It’s an engaging digital experience that builds momentum with every visit. Clients don’t come back for points. They come back because they feel valued.

Memberships and packages

Especially popular with med spas and skin clinics, memberships turn one-off treatments into predictable, recurring revenue and give clients a reason to stay with you rather than shop around.

It’s not about working harder. It’s about making every new client worth more over time. The businesses that master this aren’t just busy. They’re booked with purpose.

Why are marketplaces a particular risk for med spas and aesthetic clinics?

Marketplaces are a particular risk for med spas because aesthetic treatments are chosen on trust and clinical credibility, not price, and because med spas handle sensitive patient information that belongs in their own system.

Everything above applies to med spas, and some of it matters even more. A marketplace that lists injectables by price-per-unit alongside nearby competitors turns a medical decision into a bargain hunt. That’s bad for your margins and bad for your reputation.

Med spas also have more to protect. Consultation notes, consent forms and before-and-after photos are sensitive information, and they shouldn’t be spread across a third-party platform.

Phorest is an all-in-one platform for med spas that keeps the whole patient journey under your brand:

• Online booking and automated reminders for consultations and treatments
• Pre-appointment digital consent and consultation forms
• Face-mapping with markup tools and before-and-after image storage
• Automated rebooking reminders timed to treatment cycles, so clients come back when their results start to fade
• Memberships and packages for predictable recurring revenue
• A HIPAA-compliant platform

And because marketing, booking and charting are connected, you can see which campaigns actually bring in the clients who rebook. That’s something a marketplace listing will never tell you.

Salon-owned systems vs marketplace platforms: what’s the difference?

The main difference is ownership. With a salon-owned system like Phorest, your business owns the client data, the branding, the pricing and the whole client journey. With a marketplace platform, the platform owns the client relationship and uses it to keep clients moving between businesses.

You’ve worked hard to build your brand, your vibe, your team, and your values. So why hand over your client experience, and your client data, to a platform that doesn’t share your vision?

With marketplace platforms, your business becomes part of a directory. Clients book through their system, get emails with their branding, and receive offers for other salons, spas, and clinics, sometimes just minutes after visiting yours. With Phorest, your business stays front and center: your logo, your voice, your booking link, and your app.

With Phorest, you reclaim that ownership without sacrificing simplicity or speed. You’re not paying for visibility; you’ve already earned it. Because when your brand is the experience, loyalty naturally follows.

Is a marketplace ever the right choice?

Sometimes, but only as a short-term bridge. For a brand-new business with an empty column, a marketplace can bring early foot traffic. It shouldn’t be your long-term growth strategy.

Move every client you win onto your own booking channel as quickly as possible, collect reviews on your own Google profile, and build your client list somewhere you control. The goal is for every new client to become your client, not the platform’s.

What are top salons, spas and clinics doing differently?

Top salons, spas and clinics are growing through channels they own: automated rebooking, targeted social ads and branded online booking, instead of relying on marketplaces for new clients.

Across the UK, Ireland, Australia, North America, and beyond, leading salons, spas, med spas and clinics are building loyal communities driven by brand power, not booking platforms. They’re not waiting around for “new client spikes” from discount-driven platforms.

And it’s working.

Reclaiming profits and rebooking

Beauty Secrets, a multi-branch group of salons and spas across the south of England, switched to Phorest after expanding. They generated 1647% ROI from sending automated rebooking reminders and reduced their no-show rate to less than 2%.

“Phorest has really helped us to grow as a business – it has an amazing marketing suite, which is [one of the] reasons why I moved to Phorest in the first place.” – Karen Thompson, owner

Growing without discounting

Zazou Salon & Academy, a hair salon and academy in Canada, transformed their marketing strategy with Phorest Ads Manager. They had run numerous Google Ad campaigns but found them difficult to track. One of their most successful ads, run on Facebook and Instagram for 28 days, has made $27.42 for every $1 spent.

“Phorest takes away a lot of the guesswork that can feel overwhelming, especially for those unfamiliar with the Meta Business Suite. The support team has been responsive, guiding me on metrics, budgeting, and ad setup.” – Janine, Brand & Business Development Lead, Zazou

Building a brand, not just a book

Zinc, a premium hair and beauty salon in Dublin, realized that Phorest was “leaps and bounds” ahead of any other software company. They saw they could curate their brand presence with Phorest’s branded app and custom online booking.

“The online booking system was something that I thought was going to revolutionize how we would take appointments in the salon… even when we were closed, we were going to be able to take appointments!” – Lisa Eccles, owner

Top salons, spas, and clinics aren’t just busy. They’re intentional, branded, profitable, and booked on their terms.

Own your growth, own your future

The most profitable salons, spas, and med spas have one thing in common: they’ve stopped outsourcing their growth to platforms that don’t share their goals.

They’ve moved beyond short-term fixes and reclaimed long-term strategy. They’re not chasing price-sensitive clients; they’re building communities. They’re not competing for space on someone else’s platform; they own their client journey, from first click to lifelong loyalty.

So ask yourself honestly: are you growing your business, or are you helping someone else grow theirs?

Every time a client books through a third-party platform, your brand takes a backseat. With Phorest, you stay in the driver’s seat. Phorest is more than just technology. Many of us have worked in the industry ourselves, in salons, spas, and clinics, and we get it.

Phorest is software for premium salons, spas and aesthetic clinics focused on growth, team performance and client retention. Whether it’s education, innovation, or day-to-day support, we’re with you every step of the way. We’re your growth partner, not just a provider.