Let’s be real: the beauty industry is booming (more than ever), and with the growth comes the challenge of scaling your business to stay atop. As businesses in this ever-growing domain expand, they offer a myriad of challenges, like managing bookings, inventory, and multiple marketing campaigns at once. Here’s the dilemma: SaaS vs. Custom Software - which one should you count on to breeze through business challenges?
Both options have their pros, but when it comes to scalability, the choice isn’t always simple. Let’s explore SaaS vs. Custom Software in detail to choose one that best serves your beauty venture!
Scalability Challenges Beauty Businesses Face
Last year, the US reported around 178,724 Beauty businesses, which grew around 5.3% from the preceding year. With so many players operating in the market, it’s no surprise that emerging on top takes more effort than anticipated. The typical scalability obstacles beauty businesses face include the following:
1. Managing Increased Client Volume
As your beauty business grows, so does your clientele. While that’s a great thing in bringing multiple opportunities, handling a huge pool of customers is easier said than done.
Scheduling, juggling appointments, walk-ins, reducing wait times, and other operational tasks quickly add up. You don’t want to come off as a busy salon where peak hours are a nightmare, leaving clients waiting for hours. If not addressed, managing increased clients can be a major threat to your scalability.
2. Expanding Locations
Expanding locations is exciting for any business, but it isn’t without challenges. Managing multiple branches with rigid subscription tools isn’t enough.
For example, limited features for handling inventory or coordinating staff often fall short when handling more than one location. Unless you’ve got tailored software at your disposal, it’s quite a tough spot to be in.
3. Personalized Client Experiences
When it comes to standing out in a market as competitive as the beauty industry, the secret lies in creating personalized experiences for your clients. If scaling up is your ultimate goal, sticking to standard platforms won’t suffice. They don’t allow you enough room to customize loyalty programs or send out personalized service reminders.
Without the required custom tools, businesses struggle to track critical details like client preferences, allergies, or past services. This, in turn, makes it harder to deliver ‘just’ what your clients seek, and they’re quick to switch.
4. Managing Different Time Zones
If your beauty business transcends borders, another big hurdle comes up: managing different time zones, especially when offering remote bookings. If you don’t weigh the pros and cons of SaaS vs. custom software beforehand, it becomes a hassle to handle the complexities of scheduling across regions.
Clients booking from various time zones could face constant scheduling conflicts, making scalability much harder than it would be otherwise.
Limitations of Subscription Platforms for Beauty Businesses
If you’re a beauty business competing with the big names in the industry, counting on standard subscription platforms limits your growth. While they might help your venture take off, these platforms don’t suffice when it comes to attaining your long-term goals. Here’s how they limit your scalability:
1. Lack of Customization
The most obvious setback of using subscription platforms is that they cannot adapt well to your business’s unique needs. Oftentimes, their predefined features don’t align with your specific workflows, which limits you from exploring your true potential.
To put this into perspective, you might struggle to create unique promotional campaigns or service bundles specific to clients. Being unable to make the software work can be frustrating, particularly when it hampers your growth.
2. Scalability Issues
When it comes to scalability, subscription platforms fall short by a huge margin. They often fail to handle the pressure during high-traffic times or peak season. These scalability issues aren’t just frustrating; they cost you clients and sales before you realize it.
A good example of such issues is your booking system crashing right in the middle of a holiday promotion. The result? Your campaigns don’t reap the benefits they deserve, and that’s the last thing you want.
3. Hidden Costs
Unlike custom software platforms, subscription platforms also have multiple hidden costs associated with them. What starts as a lucrative option quickly adds up with extra charges and add-ons. Just when you need the software to help more or scale beyond a certain limit, it starts multiplying the charges that you didn’t see coming.
4. Data Ownership and Security Risks
Most importantly, data ownership and security risks are pretty common when you resort to subscription platforms. Since your data is stored on third-party servers, there’s little chance your information is protected. For instance, you could lose control over sensitive client information like contact or payment details, which is a huge risk to your credibility.
How Custom Software Solves Scalability Challenges
According to Grand View Research, the global custom software development market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22.5% from 2024-2030. The growing inclination towards custom software solutions indicates that they solve major scalability challenges within competitive markets. Here’s how it helps beauty businesses scale up:
1. Flexible Appointment Scheduling
Flexible appointment scheduling is the biggest plus of turning to custom software solutions. With dynamic tools, it becomes a breeze to manage peak bookings, group appointments, and even last-minute cancellations. For instance, real-time calendar updates and waitlist management keep things running smoothly, even on the busiest days.
2. Multi-Location Management
Since managing multiple branches with standard solutions is a headache, custom software solutions step in to save the day. Featuring centralized dashboards, they let you track inventory and staff schedules and monitor performance all in one place. You can easily manage stock levels across all your salons without running multiple systems.
3. Personalized Client Management
Clients want a ‘personal’ touch in services, especially when it’s about beauty businesses. Custom software has the necessary tools to help you track client preferences and past services and even manage loyalty rewards. As such, you could pitch each client by sending automated reminders based on their past services.
4. Scalability Without Performance Issues
Best of all, custom solutions are built to handle higher traffic and bigger operational demands. For instance, automated workflows can smoothly process hundreds of appointments daily, keeping things working optimally!
5. Enhanced Data Security and Ownership
Another fantastic perk of turning to custom software solutions is that they’re equipped with enhanced data security and ownership features. This allows you full control over your client information, backed by advanced security. Hence, you keep third-party risks at bay, paving the way for customer loyalty.
6. Seamless Time Zone Management
When operating globally, custom software solutions can automatically adjust for different time zones, ensuring effortless scheduling for international clients. For instance, bookings are synced to local times for both clients and staff, so everyone remains on the same page!
When to Transition from SaaS to Custom Software
Once you dive into the SaaS vs. custom software debate, it’s evident that the latter helps your business scale like never before. However, one question remains: When to transition from subscription to custom software? Well, these shall clear the air for you:
Signs Your Beauty Business Has Outgrown Subscription Platforms
Now, SaaS vs. custom software: which one should you opt for? Here are some signs that your business has practically outgrown subscription platforms and urges a switch:
- Your system lags or entirely crashes during peak periods.
- You’re unable to create custom marketing campaigns or run unique promotions.
- The costs of subscription platforms keep adding up or scaling beyond the limits you signed up for.
If you are facing these problems, then it’s time to go for custom development from SaaS vs. custom software.
Benefits of Making the Switch
When wondering what to choose between SaaS vs. custom software, the latter brings you a myriad of benefits that you can’t find elsewhere. Here’s how it benefits you:
- You enjoy long-term cost savings due to custom features built specifically for you.
- Your operations run more smoothly, leading to better efficiency and happier clients all around.
FAQs
1. Can SaaS solutions be customized for beauty businesses?
Yes, SaaS solutions can be customized to fit the specific needs of a beauty business, but that’s usually a headache. It’s best to opt for custom software from the get-go to ensure your platform fits with the industry’s needs.
2. SaaS vs. Custom Software: Which solution is more future-proof for beauty businesses?
When comparing SaaS vs. custom software for your beauty business, the right choice depends on your goals, budget, and your venture’s unique needs. While a SaaS solution is generally more cost-effective, it often limits your growth when going international.
3. Can I begin with SaaS and shift to custom software later?
Yes, for beauty businesses on a budget, it’s generally a good idea to begin with standard SaaS solutions. When scaling up later, they can shift to custom software development for advanced features that support their growth.
Conclusion
The choice of SaaS vs. custom software can vary based on your business scale. Subscription platforms can be great if your venture is just starting out or on a budget. However, as you scale up and the demands become more complex, they’re just not enough to help you through the growth journey. Luckily, custom software takes care of the evolving demands, letting you move past the limitations and welcome growth!
Now that you know all about SaaS vs. custom software, it’s time to choose one already.
Ready to build your custom software? Book a free consultation with CodeBudee to discuss your custom app idea and get a quote!
