They weren’t your average business networkers: six cute, cuddly puppies frolicking happily with members of our coworking space, who also got to stretch and revive in a yoga class. Not one of these adorable animals handed out business cards or recited their elevator pitch to our humans.
But this event, Puppies and Poses, at one of our Venture X spaces was a networking experience in the best way: It brought people together in a relaxed, engaging setting that helped them get to know each other in a real, personal way. We also raised money and awareness for the non-profit pet-rescue group that brought the puppies, and cross-promoted with another local coworking space that provided the yoga instructor.
Gatherings like Puppies and Poses help coworking providers create a sense of community for members, which is an important differentiator. As coworking becomes more popular, it’s getting harder to compete on technology, décor and amenities. Community is a differentiator; only you can offer the events that make members want to be part of your space, and it can even compensate for a higher price point than your competition charges.
There’s room for traditional networking like business card exchanges and happy hours if they work for your members. But offering both social activities and business-focused events, from pop-up pizza parties to highly planned cross-promotions with neighboring companies, makes the entire community come together, work together and stay together, which ultimately can boost your membership and retention rates.
Mixing It Up
A combination of internal and external events makes a good mix.
Internal events are meant to build connections among your members and bring people out of their offices to mingle and get to know each other. External events bring the community into your space to show them its value or allow them to present a service or product to a new audience. Then there are industry-specific events that bring a combination of internal and external attendees.
There’s a step below the full-blown event that I call a ritual – something you do for your members every day. In one of our spaces, the community manager brings out a nice pot of hot chocolate every day at 3 o’clock. People come out of their offices, step up to the desk and chat with each other. It’s a low-key gathering that doesn’t take much work, gives members a break from the mundane and is a little more special than coffee. It has no real purpose except to bring a little joy to their day.
We’ve done other member appreciation activities, like buying Colorado Rockies tickets and offering them to the members. We got everyone in the building to play hooky on Thursday and go to the Rockies game.
External events connect members with other local businesses and people in our neighborhood. They create awareness for the members and make our space known to businesses. And as an operator, the big value was we didn’t have a big spend or lift. These outside parties were invested in making sure that this was a successful event because they had some stake in the game.
One of our big events is the Summer Soiree, which is coming up in June. We’re partnering with a local hotel and several restaurants and other businesses, which will be promoting their services and products and offering discounts to our members. It can lead to word-of-mouth referrals for prospective members. We’ll have an event and two months later, someone’s emailing me and connecting me with somebody they met at a different networking event who is interested in membership. We brought them into our space and showed them a good time, and they’re spreading the word about us.
Planning to Succeed
How often should you offer events? Do a member appreciation once a month or once every other month. If it becomes too frequent, they come to expect it and they might say they’ll catch the next one. Significant events like the Summer Soiree are quarterly – you want to take the time to plan it properly. Between major events, offer a regular schedule of smaller, fun events to keep them feeling part of the community.
If you pay attention and get to know your members, they’ll tell you what they want. You should know everyone on a personal level, so don’t just say, “Hey, that’s Bob. He’s in law,” but something like “Hey, that’s Bob. He’s a lawyer. He works with this kind of clientele. He likes to hike on the weekends, and he’s got two springer spaniels.”
There are several ways to tell if the event was a success. Attendance numbers are helpful but can be a false flag because you never know what else is happening. For instance, a company that is usually involved in your events could be having a big push on a project. You can learn a lot by listening: When you’re in the kitchen or another common area, what do you hear people saying? That’s a key indicator that it was a successful event – when people are still talking about it, or when people who didn’t attend come up to the desk and ask when the next one is happening.
It’s essential for you and your community manager to have a good relationship with people in your building who can grab all their colleagues and rally them to your event or whatever it is you’re planning. This is your chance to show your community. When it’s over, put it out on social media; you can bet someone who may be thinking about joining our space is going to see it and think about it more seriously.
Bringing Members Together
Your events can have a surprising effect beyond business. At one of our locations, a few members met in the coworking space and learned they all played music. They threw a summer party where they just jammed out all day playing music as a band. But at check-in, they didn’t have a name. So, every person who came to the event got to submit ideas for a band name.
That was a year ago. They’re still together, and they just played their first paid gig.
Your members may not end up forming a band, but meaningful events can create other synergies that make a difference in their businesses – and in your membership numbers. It starts by planning events with the members in mind, to get everyone excited and make them aware of who their neighbors are and how they can help each other.
