Coworking: Partnering with Neighbourhood Businesses for Member Perks

Running a coworking space is about so much more than desks and Wi-Fi. You’re in the business of community, culture, and experience. Your members don’t just want a place to work; they want a place to belong.

In a competitive market, the perks you offer can make all the difference. But when free coffee is the baseline and every competitor has a ping-pong table, how do you stand out? The answer isn't inside your four walls. It’s right outside your door.

Imagine turning your membership into an all-access pass to the neighbourhood. A free coffee from the cafe next door, 10% off at the lunch spot around the corner, and a discount at the local gym. Suddenly, you’re not just offering a workspace; you’re offering a curated lifestyle. This is the local advantage, and it’s your key to retaining members and attracting new ones.

Why Bother? The Real ROI of Going Local

Forging local partnerships might sound like a lot of faff, but the return is enormous.

1. It Makes Your Membership Stickier: When a member’s perks extend into their daily life, your value proposition skyrockets. The thought of leaving your space means losing not just a great desk, but their discount at their favourite bar and their deal at the dry cleaners. You become deeply embedded in their routine.
   

2. It Builds Genuine Community: You instantly become the hub of a local ecosystem. You’re not just a tenant on the street; you’re the heart of it. This creates a powerful sense of place that is incredibly attractive to freelancers and small businesses who crave connection. You're creating real B2B connections, making the whole neighbourhood greater than the sum of its parts.

   
   

3. It Creates a Free Marketing Channel: Your partner businesses become your advocates. The barista next door will tell their customers about the brilliant coworking space they’ve teamed up with. It’s the most powerful marketing there is: authentic, word-of-mouth endorsement from another trusted local business.

The Playbook: How to Build Partnerships Without the Pain

This is where these brilliant ideas often fall apart—in the execution. Juggling handshake deals, forgotten discount codes, and dog-eared loyalty cards is a nightmare. Here’s how to do it properly.

Step 1: Map Your Member's Day. Think about your members' routines. Where are they getting their caffeine fix before work? Where are they grabbing a sandwich for lunch? Where do they go for a pint after a long day? This gives you an instant hit-list of high-impact businesses to approach first.

Step 2: Make the 'Ask' Irresistible. Walk into that coffee shop. You’re not asking for a favour; you’re offering them business. The pitch is simple: "We have over 100 people working from our space every day. We’d love to make you their official coffee spot. Would you be open to offering our members a small perk, like their first coffee free, if we promote you?"

Step 3: Use Technology to Eliminate the Hassle. Here’s the secret sauce. The old way of managing this with plastic cards or verbal agreements is doomed to fail. Staff at the cafe will forget the deal; there’s no way to track if it's working, and it feels clunky.

This is precisely the problem meed was built to solve. We’re dismantling the old, fragmented model and putting together something new.

With meed, you can create a seamless perks programme:

• One Simple Platform: Your space and your local partners all use the same system. The coffee shop and the bookshop can link their programmes, and you can act as the central hub, offering rewards redeemable across your network.

  
  

• Effortless for Everyone: Your members join your programme with a quick QR scan—no app download required. They get a single digital pass on their phone with all their local perks in one place. Your partners can get set up in as little as one minute.

  
  

• It Just Works: When your member goes for that coffee, they show their meed pass. The cafe scans it with their own device. The system recognises them as one of your members and applies the perk. No hassle, no forgotten codes, no awkward conversations.

  
  

Partnering With Neighbourhood Businesses

Stop thinking of your space in isolation. Your greatest, most unique asset is the vibrant neighbourhood around you. By building simple, tech-powered partnerships, you can unlock that potential, offer unbeatable value, and build a coworking community that people will queue up to join.

Partnering with neighbourhood businesses is easy with meed.