There are many ways to increase the visibility and success of your coworking space. One of the best ways is to build a local partnership of nearby businesses in your community that increases the sense of community both in your workspace and neighborhood. This partnership is a collection of complementary services, discounts, free products that you can offer to your members provided by third parties. Businesses such as restaurants, coffee shops, and gyms are obvious choices for partnership.
As you initiate and cultivate local partnerships, you are:
Providing added value to your members
Imagine the excitement of your members that they have something to look forward to becoming part of your coworking space. You can showcase these perks like discounts, promos, and rewards, Other than that, you can include it as part of their Membership Plan benefits. For instance, a member can avail of a Plan that offers free access to the gym with the corresponding fee that is attached already to the Membership Plan.
Increasing your revenue
With the partnerships, this increases the chances of profitability since its a good marketing strategy for member retention and inviting potential members. It may be a risk for a start, however, you can mitigate the risk by surveying first the culture of your coworking environment on what kind of local partnership suits best.
Offering free advertising for your space and the local business as well
Isn’t this a good avenue for advertising? You are not just promoting your coworking space, but also, the local business benefits from the promotion you are offering to your members. More people will come to know about their business, and more will visit them. With the influence of social media, both the coworking space and the local business benefits the influx of more customers.
How to Build Local Partnerships
Identify the business to partner with
A partnership is essentially important since it can boost profit and brand recognition. For example, if you partner with spas, you can get your members discounts and rewards as perks of joining the space. This can encourage your members to join and invite other potential members. At the same time, you are also showing support to the spas or any local businesses nearby with free marketing and more customers. There may be tons of businesses that you can partner with, but not all of them are suited to your coworking space. How do you know the right one for your coworking space? Ask your local members so you will get informed feedback from them.
- What local businesses they frequently visit
- Which business draws the best local crowds
- What do guests mention when they visit the space
With these questions, you can identify the right business that is favorable to your members.
Does it fit into your Vision as a company
You may receive a lot of requests for partnerships and most of it sounds great, however, you should pay attention to the bigger picture to not cause friction with your coworking space’s original purpose. Ask yourself these questions:
- How does the partnership support my vision
- Does it support my business’ objectives and goals
- Does it reflect and foster our values
Make the deal
Once there’s a verbal agreement on the proposed partnership, it’s time to draft the details of the agreement. Make sure to include the duration of the promotion, the type, and value of products or services provided, and any discounts that will be applied. Include other relevant details if there’s promotion to be done via flyers, email or social media on the said partnerships. Be sure to consult with your attorney about the terms of the contract.
Spread the good news
Now the deal is sealed and you’re ready to grow your business with this partnership. Just like in doing your events, you can promote these by showing it to your website, sending emails to members, give welcoming leaflets, and announce it on your members’ platform.
In building partnerships, consider that your members will benefit from a variety of promotions. Reach out to restaurants of different cuisines, including gyms that offer a different type of programs, beauty salon, and spas that gives out a different style of service and many other options that you can choose from. With these, your members will surely enjoy the new and fun opportunities that wait for them.
Final Words
In conclusion, your members are getting most of the privileges and perks of being part of your coworking space as you partner with local businesses. That is why a local partnership is a great coworking strategy. With a successful partnership strategy, you would see the benefits mentioned above in your coworking space. Do you think local partnership is a good business strategy?