The most difficult part in creating a coworking space is to define the offers you will submit to the coworkers. What kind of offers (hourly, daily or monthly…) should you market? Should any complementary service be added to the formula? Follow our Coworking Marketing 101 guide!
One can identify two main offers for coworkers:
- Short-term
- Long-term
The best deal for a short-term coworker:
Short-term offers are a solution to people who only ‘pass by’ your coworking space. These coworkers need a working space occasionally. The offers you will propose to this population will be daily or hourly (or even half-day). This option is flexible and suggests the coworker will have a working space in an open space: he will be able to go around as he wishes but he will not have a dedicated office.
According to a study published by Deskwanted, the price of a short-term package in Europe is circa 189€ a month for coworking spaces with day-time opening hours, and around 232€ a month for unlimited access to the coworking space.
By offering daily packages, you can significantly raise your income. Beware of the possible evolutions during the year: your coworking space will not have as many short-term coworkers in august for example.
You can also offer to rent meeting rooms (by the hour or half a day). Indeed, some freelancers just want a place to make presentations or have meetings with potential investors. Renting out meeting rooms is a good way to make your coworking space profitable! You should create a booking platform.
Long-term coworker: what kind of deals can you offer to your core clients?
Your core clients are your long-lasting members. They can have a monthly or yearly subscription. They have a dedicated office and can enjoy the place with no restriction. According to the same Deskwanted study, the price of a fixed office in a coworking space is circa 245€ a month.
This kind of long-term pack can create a closed community. This is why it is important to balance the number of short-term and long term coworkers in order to foster exchanges between coworkers and create a homogeneous community.
A good marketing strategy should include optional services and coworking packages
Some services will automatically be included in the formulas such as:
- Access to the meeting room
- Access to the reprography service
- A storing space for personal belongings
The advantage of optional services is to encourage cross selling. It is essential to find the right balance between included services and added products (for example: invoicing additional hours in the meeting room, printing or coffee tokens). It is a dimension that needs not to be neglected, as optional services are real sources of additional earnings which will increase the profitability of the coworking centre.
Our advice: to attract your coworkers, offer a competitive package with standard services. You will increase your revenue by proposing premium services.
Managing the packages you market is the key to your success
To manage subscriptions, booking and optional services, an online platform is the best solution. The software will enable your coworkers to handle their requests from a distance.