Who owns your customer list?
Why the place your customers book matters more than the software, and how to keep the relationship with them yourself.
Your customer list is the most valuable thing your business owns after its reputation. It’s the people who come back, recommend you and fill the quiet Tuesdays. So it’s worth asking a blunt question about every tool you use: if I stopped paying tomorrow, would I still have it?
Booking tool or marketplace?
A booking tool is software you pay for to run your diary. Your customers book with you. The data belongs to you, and the tool processes it for you.
A marketplace is a shopfront where lots of businesses are listed side by side. Customers book through the marketplace, often with their own account on it. The marketplace has its own relationship with them, and its own interest in them booking again, not necessarily with you.
Many platforms are both, and the line between the two isn’t always obvious when you sign up.
The problems owners run into
The complaints that come up in reviews of marketplace-style platforms:
Rivals on your page. A customer looking you up sees other businesses nearby, sometimes cheaper, sometimes with a “book now” button.
Pay to be seen. Owners who don’t pay for promotion say their profile sinks in search results.
Rules about steering. Some partner terms limit how you can encourage marketplace customers to book with you directly.
Thin exports. You can download names, but not the booking history, notes or marketing consent that make the list useful.
How to keep the relationship yours
Use your own booking link everywhere you control: your website, Instagram bio, Google Business Profile, confirmation messages and receipts.
Collect marketing consent yourself, with a clear tick box, so you can email people under your own name.
Export your list regularly, every month or so, and check it includes contact details, history and consent.
Treat a marketplace as advertising, not as your home. If it brings new people, good. Then give them a reason to book with you directly next time.
A note on GDPR
Under UK GDPR, the business that decides why and how customer data is used is the controller. If a platform is only processing data for you, you should be able to get it back. If the customer signed up to the platform themselves, the platform may be a controller too, and that’s exactly when your access can get complicated. It’s worth asking any provider which it is.
With hackney.club, your booking page is yours: no other businesses listed on it, no pay-to-rank, and your full customer list to export whenever you like. See yours in two minutes →
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