Mindbody, the premier technology company focused in the health and wellness space, went public last month and is releasing their Q2 earnings in just a few days. We at Bowery are bullish on Mindbody’s long term success in the healthcare vertical. Small to medium size businesses are seeing an increasing need for technology adoption; we believe that Mindbody has novel software-based solutions that not only provide ease on the consumer side, but more importantly also offer significant management improvements to a variety of wellness vendors as well. We have highlighted some of these key trends/opportunities in the healthcare vertical – if you are interested in similar research in other sectors, be sure to check out our publication on niche software verticals. Below are the top three offerings that place Mindbody’s product ahead of the curve:
1. Mobile Interface (with integrated payment platform): A mobile-centric product is not just a growing trend in the healthcare vertical. Besides the healthcare vertical, we have emphasized an increasing need for mobility in the past within the hospitality, real estate, construction, and manufacturing sectors so this movement is becoming more apparent in multiple industries. Within the wellness/healthcare vertical specifically, consumers often find it complicated and inefficient running a web browser in order to find, compare pricings, book, and pay for health services mainly because this market is so localized and divided. Mindbody Connect is the mobile app that allows consumers to manage multiple wellness activities at convenience. Consumers can discover, learn, and schedule with real-time availability local wellness services on-the-go. It is also significant to note that Mindbody offers their own integrated payment option within their platform. This payment platform has generated $4.3 billion of their $6.3 billion in recorded transactions between their consumers and subscribers, undoubtedly confirming the popularity of this feature. This simple-to-use mobile application is a strong solution for fragmented processes that inconvenience the industry today.
2. Cloud CRM: We see a vendor-side trend in the healthcare vertical moving away from traditional on-premise software and into hybrid-ERPs and pure cloud-based offerings. Existing small businesses in the wellness industry use basic, cumbersome tools like spreadsheets and forms to manage customer relations. Mindbody keeps all client information in one place where subscribers can securely store information in a unique profile and keep track of visits, purchase history, account, as well as distribute promotions/discounts to a targeted audience for more effective service. This simple offering provides business-changing value to most wellness vendors.
3. Cloud HR Management: In general, we believe that most SaaS companies have an extremely difficult time selling HR/HCM tech to target businesses of 20-200 employees. Small businesses are not only usually less sophisticated and have smaller budgets to sell software to, but also are more focused on only improving urgent tasks. In other words, the best product usually packages HR solutions that enhance multiple day-to-day, essential activities. The healthcare vertical trends towards management software that automates vendor tasks such as assigning work and monitoring performance. A problem is that these management tasks are generally more time consuming and may prevent business owners from focusing on delivering other core services. Mindbody provides a cloud-based HR management system for all of their local wellness clients. Their software integrates into the consumer side to synchronize customer schedules in order to organize staff appointments. Subscribers keep all the integrated schedules in one place and can manage staff availability, hours, substitutions, commissions, and other compensations at ease. The software includes a tracking feature for hours clocked and even automates payroll calculations to allow for efficient, accurate resource planning for local enterprises. This multi-functional platform makes it an attractive product for even the most conservative of SMBs.
