Flexible office space providers have focused on simply surviving the past 18 months. Covid’s impact has forced us to make adjustments to the services we offer and our branding strategy. Now is the time for space operators to take inventory of your marketing tool kit. Here are a few best practices to ensure you have sound fundamentals that align with the pandemic-based shift in consumer behavior.
Coworking Space Products & Services
Customers expect you to have what they want. The services you offer should be relevant to what your members are looking for right now. For instance, employees have come to expect a more flexible work model in which time is split between the office and home. Work-from-home (WFH) professionals are also looking for ways to break-up their work routine, but still want to work near home. Does your space offer membership plans and products that speak directly to this need? For instance, Pacific Workplaces has added a new All Access Pass membership to its offering that is specifically designed for WFH professionals.
Additionally, larger companies are using technology and collaboration tools more than ever to their benefit to cater to a distributed workforce. A company’s future employees can work from anywhere, which gives them a larger pool to choose from and the ability to hire candidates from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences. Partnering with an aggregator or channel partner like CloudVO or Liquidspace provides flex operators an additional avenue to market your coworking passes, virtual office plans, and meeting rooms to corporate users and sales leads you would be unlikely to get otherwise.
Once members are in your coworking space, make sure you have the technology and tools they’re looking for. Employees need workplaces conducive to hybrid teams. Consider creating multiple meeting room options equipped with electronic whiteboards or smartboards, and professional video conferencing technology so hybrid teams can collaborate effectively. Think tanks and phone booths where people can do heads-down or more focused work between meetings are also in high demand. Reimagine your workspace configurations around these goals. Remember, your new Covid-conscious members need a reason to come into the office. If your space doesn’t suit their needs, they will look elsewhere or just WFH.
Commerce and the Customer Experience
Your post Covid consumer expects a seamless experience throughout their interaction with your coworking brand. Here are some specific items you should audit to ensure you’re creating relevant and frictionless customer experiences:
- Virtual tour options. Now more than ever, consumers are looking for a hybrid experience during their shopping process. A quality virtual tour allows prospects an easy and immediate way of getting a feel for your brand and space before taking the time to come in physically. The idea of going somewhere in-person is more of a commitment then it once was. Leverage virtual tours as a marketing tool to help you attract new members.
- Promos and special offers. The world experienced widespread job losses and layoffs during the pandemic. Even as things reopen, consumers remain price-conscious. Get creative and tailor promotions that are relevant and offer solutions to what your future members need. For instance, earlier this year while shelter-in-place orders were still in effect in many areas, Pacific Workplaces offered a “Reserve Now, Start Later” promotion where users could lock-in up to 50% discounts on private office space and move-in anytime before June 1st. This allowed new members to ease into the idea of returning to the office. Create special deals that offer the flexibility your prospects are looking for and don’t be afraid to be aggressive with pricing.
- Make checkout easy on your website. Here are questions to ask yourself about the user experience on your site:
- How easy is it for someone to navigate to what they need?
- How many clicks does it take to go from information to checkout?
- How quickly can a casual user purchase a day pass, coworking membership, virtual office plan or book a meeting room?
- Do you anticipate customer needs by offering relevant add-on products that can easily be added to their cart during the checkout process?
Content & SEO
A lot has changed in terms of content marketing since Covid. More of your customers are working from home and are online, and have the time to read and research what your coworking brand has to offer. Take inventory of your content calendar and make sure what you’re posting is relevant. For instance, if many of your members are on a hybrid work schedule and splitting time between working from home and coming into the office, then post content that reflects that reality. Educate your audience about how your space is delivering value to its WFH members. Content should inform and facilitate. Entertaining content is also a plus!
As far as SEO goes, here are a some quick tips:
- Make sure your local SEO is on point. Your Google My Business profile should be optimized. Ensure your listing has updated photos of your space, leverage the services and messaging features, and respond to your reviews in a timely manner.
- Revisit the keywords you are using. Leverage Google Trends and Google Search Console to update your keywords list and then implement these updates into your site including title tags, meta descriptions, as well as your link building and content strategies.
- Lean into videos for social media. The trend towards videos on platforms like Instagram is undeniable. Create casual video reels to show off your unique brand which will encourage engagement.
The post-pandemic world offers us an opportunity to make adjustments to our short and long-term marketing goals. Now is the time to rethink your playbook, do your research, and implement new ideas in order to adapt to your new Covid-conscious audience.
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