This is an installment in an ongoing series highlighting statistics from a recent Coworks survey of coworking space operators and managers. The goal is to illustrate the scope of their daily responsibilities and answer the question, "Which tactic do you think is the most effective for converting new members?"
The responses didn’t stutter. The survey clearly shows that nothing replaces face-to-face interaction when it comes to converting new members to a coworking space.
What does that mean? It means understanding lead sources, perfecting your tours, incentivizing referrals, and automating follow-ups are key skills for driving conversions.
Potential members discover spaces through various channels including Google searches, social media ads, sponsored events, partnerships, brokerages, signage, and word-of-mouth.
Savvy managers optimize online visibility across platforms to capture initial interest. But to convert looky-loos into committed members requires customized onboarding for each lead. This is where CRM software helps track interactions while automating follow-ups at scale.
Coworks incorporates a lightweight, easy to use lead management database to identify hot prospects and trigger targeted emails, calls, and pricing proposals. Drip campaigns, lifecycle messaging, and analytics reveal what content works best at moving leads toward decisions.
Ultimately though the real win happens with in-person interaction via tours and referrals.
Humans do it best, and even better when technology provides the assist.
Tours ranked the most effective tactic for converting leads — and it's easy to see why. Coworking is about community. It’s about people and interactions. Guided walkthroughs make spaces come alive through sensory immersion and personalized conversation.
Savvy managers conduct frequent tours as the centerpiece of their sales strategy. Let's examine some best practices to maximize their impact and close more deals:
Referrals from current members ranked second most effective for conversion. Satisfied members serve as authentic evangelists to invite their networks.
Spaces should absolutely incentivize referrals through rewards programs. But avoid putting pressure on members for introductions. Instead focus on recognition.
When members do refer new leads to your community, prompt thank you notes and gifts go a long way to encourage repeat sharing. Coworks software enables customized referral tracking and notifications to easily trigger appreciation.
Consider referral bonuses like credits for gifts, swag, or subscription extensions too. Just don't let incentives overshadow community goodwill. The member directory within the Coworks mobile app also helps members see who is already in their community and who else might be a great fit.
A customer relationship management (CRM) framework ties together lead management orchestration across your discovery channels, tours, referrals, promotions and beyond.
When paired with tools like Coworks' own CRM or integrated into your Mailchimp or HubSpot CRM, automation clears administrative hurdles so managers focus on sales conversations and community cultivation.
The takeaway is that converting coworking leads balances both human connections and process efficiency. Warmly welcoming visitors while swiftly advancing them through clear onboarding funnels wins members.
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