Launched this April, The Massage Company’s driving philosophy is set to change the way the British public views massage treatments. The concept, successful in the US and new to the UK market, brings together the idea of massage treatments fitting into people’s lives with ease of access for town centre workers and the surrounding population.

“If you look at the UK, only 8 per cent of people have regular massage treatments. We’re looking to grow that number. In Europe, it’s around 15 per cent and in the US it’s 20 per cent,” says Charlie Thompson, founder and operations director of The Massage Company.

The concept is to deliver high quality massage treatments through a very simple menu and membership system, similar to a gym. Members pay a fee of £44.95 a month to receive a monthly 50-minute massage, or £54.95 for a non-contract membership.

Allocating credits
“We really needed a software provider that we were already familiar with, and that could meet our business needs without additional development,” says Thompson. “We also needed a turnkey solution: database, online sign-ups for members, online functionality for booking – and we definitely wanted the marketing element and business insights, because we’re looking to create a national brand.”

He continues: “It was also crucial to find a software provider that could deliver our membership concept, whereby each direct debit sees a credit allocated to that customer for a treatment. As members don’t have to use the credit that month, we also needed a system that would allow people to build up their credits. At the same time, it needed to offer flexibility to take additional payments from those wanting to include the add-ons and upgrades we offer.

“CORE by Premier works really effectively here, and its multi-property capabilities fit in with our plans to open the concept up to franchise opportunities.”

Thompson continues: “We use CORE’s online sign-up and online booking systems. We’ve found that over 50 per cent of our massage bookings have been online since we launched. We can take bookings 24/7 – we’ve had night shift workers from the hospital booking in at 2.00am or 3.00am for a massage appointment.”

The Massage Company was initially conceived to target women aged between 30 and 60 years, but in fact 40 per cent of its members are male. Thompson believes that men tend to be more comfortable booking their massage treatments in the digital space rather than face-to-face.

Reporting capabilities
When discussing CORE by Premier’s reporting capabilities, Thompson highlights several that offer crucial business insight. “We use the allocation analysis from a staffing perspective, as well as financial reports, client listing and, increasingly, staff reporting as we want to be able to give the team a breakdown of their performance.”

Thompson sees The Massage Company as being a category disruptor: “If we can get this industry and customers in the UK more open to the idea of regular treatments, then the whole health, fitness and spa industry will improve. That’s what we’re looking to do.”

www.premiersoftware.co.uk

London-based leisure trust activeNewham has collaborated with Gladstone Health and Leisure to dramatically change the way customers access its sites – including the new £20m Atherton Leisure Centre, which opened on 2 April with 2,750 pre-sold members.

activeNewham moved to Gladstone from another software supplier in 2013, after taking over the management of Newham Borough Council’s leisure services from GLL. Since then, it has introduced a wide range of Gladstone products across its existing three leisure centres and one fitness centre, including but not limited to Plus2 membership management, Connect for online booking, the smartphone app MobilePro, Learn2 for course management, the business intelligence tool eyeQ and Business Process Manager for streamlining administrative tasks.

A self-service model
In January of this year, the trust took the unusual step of replacing staffed reception desks at all its sites with an entirely self-service system using Gladstone Kiosks.

Keiron Butcher, activeNewham’s IT and communications director, says the move was part of a wider efficiency project that has also seen activeNewham stop taking cash payments: “Now, all customers are required not only to pay with debit or credit cards but also to ‘self-serve’ their way into our centres – although we do make sure that a member of staff known as a ‘concierge’ is on duty at all times to assist people where needed.”

The process to install the kiosks was very simple and the trust has upgraded the software since with no problems, adds Butcher. To meet activeNewham’s specific needs, Gladstone has also extended the cashless module within Plus2 to the kiosks. This means customers can now top up their cashless account at the kiosk using a single membership card, as well as online or via the trust’s call centre. They can also use their membership card instead of a credit or debit card to pay for activities or services at the kiosk.

“It works in a similar way to Transport for London’s Oyster Card system,” explains Butcher, who adds that the development of this functionality was very straightforward and took only eight weeks.

More accurate data
So far, activeNewham could not be happier with the results. “Since introducing the kiosks, we’ve eliminated all queuing in our facilities and seen a 9 per cent increase in usage, which leads us to believe we’re now counting the number of people using our sites more accurately,” says Butcher. “We’ve also seen an 8 per cent increase in casual income since bringing in self-service.”

This all bodes well for the new Atherton Leisure Centre, which in addition to the full range of Gladstone products on offer at the other centres, has been equipped with four new kiosks and is a completely cashless site.

“The kiosks have been a crucial factor in the success of our efficiency project,” concludes Butcher. “Generally speaking, this project amply demonstrates Gladstone’s willingness to develop new software and expand its current systems to meet its customers’ unique requirements, which is one of the reasons we value the company as a technology and software partner.”

www.gladstonemrm.com