Almost every coworking space faces the same question. How do we attract new members?5 min read

Almost every coworking space faces the same question. How do we attract new members?5 min read

Reading Time: 4 minutes

We prepared a list of hints for you that you might find useful. It’s often the most obvious things that we forget the most!

1. Be unique.
2. Have super fast internet
3. Make social media your best friend
4. Create a community
5. Help your members find new business opportunities
6. Think like one of your members
7. Employ friendly staff
8. Ask for reviews
9. Make members feel part of the family

1. Be unique

According to statista.com around 16000 registered coworking sites existed in 2017. This is a huge number. It is now 2018 and competition is fierce. I currently live in Prague, and I know at least 10 co-working sites that are located in this city alone.

If you want to be successful, you need to be better than the rest. You need to be different, unique. There are plenty of ways to stand out from the crowd. Where is your space located? How big is your space? How it is furnished? Be creative. Do you have a big kitchen at your coworking space? Is your space located in Italy? Everyone likes Italian food, so why not organize an event where you can teach your members how to make real Italian pasta?
Is your coworking space located in Mexico? There are so many people that study or would like to learn Spanish. What about some Spanish courses after work? Why not organize a language exchange meeting, where members can speak different languages?

2. Have super fast internet

What more is there to say?

3. Make social media your best friend

We are currently living in an exciting world of social media. It is extremely important to make social media your best friend. Facebook, Instagram and even Youtube can be used to promote your coworking space. People are usually very visual minded, they check pictures first and read the description later. For this reason you need great pictures of your coworking space.
Another issue is language. There are many coworking spaces that are advertised only in their local language. Co-working spaces are popular places for people from all around the world, so a UX friendly website in English should be one of your main priorities.

4. Create a community

A strong sense of community is one of the main reasons people like working from coworking spaces. So how do we create a strong community? If your cowork can afford it, you should hire a community manager, who can dedicate a majority of her/his time to building a community. Recently I was working from one of the coworking spaces here in Prague and I really liked the approach of their community manager, Bara. She was very motivated. She came to my table various times to show me around and introduce me to some of the members. Afterwards, she offered to order some pizza for the team and we paid her back once we left. This created a great feeling of trust which was very important for me.

5. Help to your members find new business opportunities

I can assure you that the majority of your members that are freelancers are still looking for new business opportunities. How you can help them find new business? You could help by organizing events, where members will be able to meet and share their ideas. If you know members who could benefit from eachother’s business (and are ok with it), why not introduce them to eachother? Some coworking spaces even have a community board with pictures and a short bio for each of their members that you can usually find at the entrance.

6. Think as one of your members

Recently I met a Czech digital nomad that had lived in various different countries and he said something that really surprised me.
I asked him what he thought were the most important services a good coworking space should have. He surprised me with his answer – he told me that for him, while living in Colombia, the number one priority was to have a coworking space with personal lockers – since he did not want to carry his notebook all the time with him. One of the easiest ways to attract new members is to first concentrate on making your current members happy. If there is something your current members need, implement it. The needs of your current and future members are often the same.

7. Friendly staff

Friendly staff that speak English are very important. Your employees are the ones that represent your brand. Members can work in an amazing modern coworking space, with a beautiful view and a nice chill vibe, however, if the staff are not friendly or willing to help, its highly likely that members won’t come back. Pay close attention to your employee engagement. Treat your staff well and keep them happy. As a result, you will find they will do the same for your members.

8. Ask for reviews

Customer feedback is the bread and butter of your business, so don’t forget to ask your clients how they liked your space after their stay. This is one of the easiest ways to improve your services, and it’s completely free!

9. Make members feel a part of a family

In my recent interview with the Community Manager of Paper Hub, she told me that the best feedback she had received was from one IT expert that told her ‘I like the place, because even IT geeks feel at home here’. Don’t forget to make feel your clients happy and relaxed. They’ll appreciate it!

Kika

Kristina Lukacova, a DN that enjoys good food, good wine and good vibes.

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