Apps are everything these days. Go to a movie? Get the app for tickets. Heading out to dinner? Use the table booking app. Checking out a library book? Start with the app.
The coworking industry has lagged a bit, despite membership having seen a steady rise in recent years, with more and more freelancers, remote workers, and small business owners flocking to shared office spaces. Coworking offers the community and amenities of an office without the cost and hassle of managing your own space.
But as coworking spaces compete for members in an increasingly crowded market, they need to find ways to deliver more and more value. One way to do this is by developing a mobile app specifically for their members. Here's why a coworking app should be a top priority for your operation.
Convenience drives member satisfaction
Many coworking members may not realize it, but their top priority is convenience. And we often don’t notice how much we need convenience until we experience inconvenience. Members want an office space that is easily accessible, with everything they need onsite so they can be productive.
A well-designed coworking app makes it easy for members to:
- Book meeting rooms and workspaces
- Manage their membership and billing
- Network with other members
- Discover events and activities happening in the space
With a few taps on their phone, members can take care of tasks that would otherwise require tracking down a community manager or visiting the front desk. The app puts the power and convenience directly in their hands.
Let your members engage with amazing events
Coworking is about more than just a place to work — it's about being part of a community. Your app can strengthen those community bonds by creating connections and conversations between members with events.
One of the most useful features a coworking app can provide is a customized feed showing upcoming events and activities happening in the space. For members, having all events consolidated in the app makes it easy to stay up-to-date on networking meetups, educational seminars, social gatherings, and any other programming offered. They can quickly RSVP or add interesting events to their calendar right from the app.
An event feed also exposes members to new opportunities and events they might not have discovered otherwise. The more they engage with the programming at your space, the more value they get from their membership. Plus, it helps drive participation at planned events when members have them readily visible. For the community manager, an event feed gives a way to broadcast offerings and get members excited about what's happening in the space.
Activating your space and helping your community members connect is a top priority for competitive coworking spaces.
Create connections among your community
In addition to event listings, another essential component of community-building is a member directory within the app. This allows each member to create a profile showcasing their interests, skills, job title, and more. They can manage their own information and privacy settings. The directory makes it simple to search and connect with other members, which facilitates networking, collaborations, and referrals.
Members can search for peers by job title to find expertise or services available right in their own workspace community. For example, a social media manager could locate photographers, graphic designers, writers, and other creative professionals to partner with on client projects.
Teams and companies based in the space can also create profiles displaying all their members for heightened visibility. Offering this direct access to the talent pool and specialties of fellow members unlocks countless opportunities for cooperation and growth.
Simplify booking meeting rooms
At its core, the Coworks coworking app aims to make reserving workspaces and meeting rooms effortless for members. Coworks has real-time calendar integration with Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook. Members can instantly book meeting rooms that sync across all their devices and calendars.
For solopreneurs, small teams, and remote workers alike, access to bookable meeting space is a major need. It allows them to host clients, lead presentations, conduct interviews, manage offsites, and facilitate all other types of in-person meetings required to run their business.
Having instant booking capabilities at their fingertips eliminates all the back-and-forth traditionally required to reserve space. Further, Coworks centralizes data on meeting room availability and utilization across the coworking location. This provides managers with usage insights to optimize resources for members. By making frictionless booking an app focus, Coworks becomes an indispensable daily utility for members.
Go a step further with a white-labeled coworking app
For coworking space owners, Coworks offers the option to completely white label the mobile app. This allows your brand, colors, and logo to be displayed prominently throughout the interface instead of any Coworks branding.
Members engage more when the app reflects the customized brand experience you have built. It feels like an extension of your physical space instead of generic software. White labeling also serves as a subtle but constant marketing reminder about your community with your branding in front of members multiple times per day.
By associating your brand with the convenience of the app, it furthers affinity and loyalty with your audience. In a market becoming increasingly crowded, differentiating your community through owned technology like a white labeled app helps attract new members and aids retention. It's a powerful tool for making your space and brand stand out.
Put resources right where your members need them
Coworking members have questions that pop up all the time.
How do I access the WiFi?
Where's the bathroom on the 3rd floor?
Can I bring my puppy to work tomorrow?
It's easy for little questions like these to fall through the cracks. You don't want your members constantly pestering the community managers because they can't find info on the copier repair guy or the procedures for receiving mail.
That's why we loaded up the Coworks app with a robust Resources section. This is your one-stop shop knowledge base where members can hunt down answers to their pressing coworking questions at any hour of the day.
Load it up with documents, PDFs, FAQs, instructions, contact info, links to websites — whatever helps explain the ins and outs of your workspace. Members can dig up answers to question about parking, coffee making, and repair requests fast and easy.
Help members manage their own info
Building your member profile on the Coworks app is straightforward and customizable. You're able to create a profile page that highlights your skills, interests, job title, business goals, and more. Upload a professional headshot, write an informative headline, and provide details about what makes you and your work unique. The profile is a great way to showcase your abilities to others in the coworking community.
When you need to update your employment status, add new skills, or feature a recent accomplishment, you can easily edit your profile right in the app. Change and refine it as often as you want to keep your page current. If you prefer, you can connect your social media profiles to your Coworks profile to cross-promote your personal brand.
The member directory is a valuable networking and collaboration tool, so take advantage of the profile builder to create an engaging snapshot of who you are and what you do. Use it to form meaningful connections with fellow members who may share common ground.