Before getting into the coworking space business, it’s essential to learn the fundamentals of strategic marketing. By having a clear coworking space marketing strategy and understanding key metrics, you can effortlessly position yourself as a leader in this fast-growing industry. What is the reality of marketing coworking space?
Why does Coworking Business Grow?
The changing nature of our economy today has altered several aspects of business structures. For example, once occupying 24/7 play spaces, tech companies have downsized to standard office locations, and the napping rooms and all-you-can-eat, 24/7 buffets have been removed.
Within these and many other economy-related changes, many companies are re-considering plans to build private offices or office compounds and opting instead for shared working spaces in leased buildings. Besides, individual freelancers, consultants, and contractors are also opting for shared working arrangements.
The increasing need for flexibility in the economy and culture has led people to prefer a more fluid working environment.
However, renting or purchasing a suitable office space has become unaffordable to many businesses. For example, the retail price of commercial properties in San Francisco, CA, has become $720 per square foot or higher, while New York, NY, and Washington, DC, average between $750 and $890 per square foot in 2022, according to Zillow, United States.
The pressure to expand and compete against larger companies has also forced smaller local businesses to outsource work, leading to increased square footage. This can be costly for any office space, and the increase in square footage has less to do with productivity than with surface area and wasted space.
The coworking business model takes a different approach. By leasing a building that combines office and residential space, a coworking business allows its prospective members to optimize their output by saving on overhead costs and lowering the price of square footage.
But how does this work?
First, coworking leases office space from a building owner and manages the leased space; this is considered a “serviced” area. The coworking business model then offers potential members hot desk access, office supplies, and other amenities in exchange for membership fees.
This is an effective way for coworking space operators like Knotel, Techspace, Make Office, and WeWork to offer their services and businesses to save on overhead costs while benefiting from an entire office setting.
One of the highest overhead costs for any company is that of office space, which explains the interest and enthusiasm of your clients, who make coworking space locations an attractive alternative to the expenses of purchased real estate property.
Coworking space companies are seeing a significant surge of interest from clients who want to lease coworking space. If you’re launching a coworking company or have started a coworking space company recently, we offer six ways to strategically market and position your coworking spaces for sustained success.
Six Tips for Marketing Your Coworking Company
Follow these six ways to strategically market your coworking company for sustained success.
1. Consider the Needs and Wants of Your Clients
Clients re-positioning divisions or bringing in new staff members will want assurances that their staff needs will be met while using your coworking space company.
The clients will enjoy security and stability within any building considered for lease, and they’ll want specific amenities, such as a snack bar. These will be required to keep staff members satisfied within the coworking spaces. Your clients will also want variable contract timeframes and flexibility in pricing for the meeting rooms.
2. Create Networking Events for Coworking Space Clients and Their Staff
One of the best ways to strategically market your coworking spaces is by encouraging the community of clients and staff to gather regularly for a casual event.
This may include game nights, movie screenings, bingo contests, and other fun gatherings, which encourage staff who are in virtual office spaces to feel connected as a whole.
These efforts will result in referrals by clients and those in coworking spaces alike, who build a sense of enjoyable community.
3. Use PPC and SEO to Drive Traffic to Your Site
Clients will find your coworking space company by the direction of the SEO on your site.
Advertize your coworking space with Google’s PPC Ads and optimize your website for terms that rate high in SEO, such as “flexible office space,” “collaborative space,” and “shared office space.”
4. Create Video Content for Social Media
A short video displaying all the features of a coworking space will invite viewers into the concept of coworking.
Videos can also demonstrate the best qualities of coworking spaces that may have not before been considered, such as a video highlighting a kitchen or exercise room, along with comfortable coworking spaces.
Humorous social media video clips will garner even more attention from your target market audience; work with a video company to produce such clips, if needed.
5. Start a Coworking Blog
Use your website for digital marketing and organic SEO by including a coworking blog authored by a seasoned associate.
The words of a peer are often more inviting than those of others who may not be informed about the “boots on the ground” work environment.
Include videos on your site that demonstrate the environment of a co-space experience. This helps reduce the mystery of the concept for those who haven’t yet considered it.
6. Market the Unique Aspects of Your Coworking Space Company
In order to stand out from other offers, you’ll want to maximize the unique or different aspects of your company.
Consider why local companies will want to use your coworking spaces over others and then emphasize those differences in business plan templates that include the essential elements of your marketing strategy overall.
Look at both the physical enhancements of the spaces and the intangible amenities.
For example, maybe the interior of the building has a skylight in the center with lush greenery growing all around it. This description gives a visual impression of space, air, and a healthful environment, so it would be an excellent unique aspect to highlight.
Perhaps the differentiation between your coworking spaces and that of other offers is the level of security offered in your buildings.
If you own a security company, you may also want to include that feature for marketing purposes. Include this security company business plan in your overall direction and create marketing strategies within it that will coincide with those of the coworking space company.
Conclusion
Consider the unique aspects of your coworking spaces and use those strategies to overcome your competitors.
Much of the need for strategic marketing comes from the realization that people are often negative about the unknown, and coworking spaces are, for many, just that.
Use visual images and videos to overcome those emotions, offer excellent security and walk-throughs, and gather social media comments to help make your shared working space company shine!