145. Is it Time to Rethink your Target Member?

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145. Is it Time to Rethink your Target Member?

00:00:01 Welcome to the everything Coworking podcast, where you learn what you need to know about how the world wants to work. And now your host, co working space owner and trend expert Jamie Russo. Welcome to the everything Coworking podcast. Today's episode is brought to you by my program Community manager University. I launched the program back in December to support the training and development of community managers around the world, and we have had an amazing participation, and we're in an interesting time right now. So we are in the middle of managing through covert 19.

00:00:44 You might be listening to this episode much later or just when it's coming out. So if you're listening just when it comes, it's coming out. You might well think, Well, this is an odd time for me to be investing in my community manager, but I will tell you that we've had a great experience with the folks in the group because they're hanging in there and they're supporting each other, and they're trying to be as productive as they can as they manage their members and their team through this time.

00:01:13 So they're focusing on things like setting up virtual mail programs. We have detailed training and how to do that engaging members with virtual programming. We constantly share ideas on what's working, what folks are testing and how to sort of keep folks engaged through this time because I think we have a couple of more months with this. So we're going to continue to evolve what that looks like. And so these folks are sharing and testing together and getting together on a monthly call and in our daily slack group to share. And then we're going to start focusing on some projects that we can do while working at home to get ready for the end of cue to Cue three and cue forth e marketing projects such as writing email,

00:01:59 nurture sequences, planning content, calendars, things that we can do to kind of get ahead on some of those bigger projects so that when we reopen, we can really focus on getting our members back in the door, rebuilding our communities and being successful through the rest of the year. So if you have a community manager that is at home right now and you want to get them involved, I'm gonna open the program back up so that you can do that and we will help your. And also, if you're a parent who's at home home schooling kids and trying to manage the business but trying to manage family aspects,

00:02:33 this will be a comforting way to help your community manager be more productive and have community instead of being stuck at home on their own. So I'm gonna open that back up. If you're interested in getting involved, you can opt in to get more information at www dot community manager Universe. Actually, hold on. Uh huh. Let me make sure have the you are you are real right? Hold on. It's everything. Coworking dot com Ford slash community managers. Sorry, I will put that link in the show.

00:03:14 Notes. E should've had that ready to go. Okay, so www dot everything coworking dot com forward slash community managers, and we'll get you some more information about how that works. Okay, so today we are going to talk about your ideal member. So this is a great topic for any time. If you are new to opening a space, then this is the single most important step that you can take to ensure your success because having that target member identified is what will. You will base every decision you make when designing your co working business around that member.

00:03:58 So if you take my co working start of school and you're starting a new space, the first thing we do is identify your ideal target member and we get super detailed and we create a profile. If you have a marketing background, you know what this looks like. And then we based all decisions on that ideal member because were creating a business that attracts that ideal member, which will make us more successful, build a stronger community and be stickier to our members in the long run. And if you already operate a space,

00:04:31 then you've tested your target member. You had an idea of who you wanted to attract, whether you were super explicit about that, wrote it down, you had in your mind you know who you were serving, and you've had some time to get some feedback on that. So this is a great time to ask yourself again. Right now, we're in the middle of Covert 19 and our members have all gone home, so it's a particularly interesting time, but you can do this at any time and make adjustments.

00:04:59 So when you're kind of reviewing your business and evaluating how are things going in? Um, I on track and our things, how I thought they were. And if I may be behind on my projections, you know, what are the drivers for that? And one of them might be. Are you serving your ideal customer? And are you communicating very clearly to draw them into your space? So if you already have a space and you have some feedback on drying your target member and this could be a great time to ask yourself a few questions one.

00:05:33 Have you attracted your target member, or did you end up with sort of a mishmash of people? So one of the immediate questions folks always ask in Michael Working Startup School is Can I have more than one ideal member? You can. So you're probably gonna have one like really primary member who you think is just the best fit for your business and the person you really want to design. For now, they don't all do the same job. They don't all live in the exact same place. They don't drive the same car.

00:06:03 You know their unique people. But they have some things in common that allow you to speak to them. And so we'll get into examples toe help. You kind of see what I mean. So they may not be all the same person or do the same job, but they have kind of a similar profile.

00:06:20 They have a common denominator versus having a mishmash of folks, and if you have a mishmash than you know what I mean and you might be happy with the mishmash that might be your exact Tito.

00:06:32 Reason for being is because you want a complete mishmash in you love the diversity, and you have a talent for bringing out the commonalities and helping these folks help each other and build a community.

00:06:45 But ask yourself, Have you gotten have you achieved your goal of who your target member was? Are you happy with your membership makeup?

00:06:53 Or is this an opportunity to clarify your target member and re enter the market with a crystal clear offering and message?

00:07:02 Is your target member as profitable as you need them to be to make your business sustainable? so I'm gonna give you a fictitious example.

00:07:11 But he could be absolutely be riel. So we're gonna talk about Dave. He is a co working space owner in a major metro market.

00:07:20 He owned a creative agency before opening a co working space. And he is now also a small business coach.

00:07:28 So he loves helping business owner scale their businesses like he did grow a team and see riel success. Success could be different for everyone.

00:07:37 He helps him figure out what that looks like when he opened his co working space. It was really because he needed an office to house his own team when he had the agency,

00:07:47 and he ended up leasing more space than he needed. So we had extra space, and he fell into co working because he started to invite people from his network to come work in the space and pay him to have a membership in the space.

00:08:01 So Dave eventually closed the agency and started focusing full time on his co working and his business coaching businesses.

00:08:10 So before the pandemic, Dave's members were mostly freelancers and kind of side hustlers. They tended to be friends of his that were maybe in sales and just needed a landing pad to get some paperwork done and occasionally meet clients.

00:08:25 His membership base was friendly enough but fairly casual users of the space. And frankly, Dave was just about breaking even each month on the co working aspect of his business.

00:08:36 And he was paying his bills at home with his coaching income. And when Cove in 19 hit, Dave's members sent him emails about how much they loved him and loved the space.

00:08:46 But they would like to cancel their membership, effective immediately. So Dave was in a shelter in place,

00:08:53 his own, and he temporarily close to space, and now his membership was greatly reduced. So he started taking some long walks to get a little personal space,

00:09:04 a little time away from the family and the close quarters at home, but also to give himself some time to reflect on his business.

00:09:11 So he's had some transitions in his life, and he, you know, is now temporarily closed, and a lot of his members have cancelled on him,

00:09:22 so he needs to rethink. Does he want to change things when he reopens? And what does that look like?

00:09:29 So Dave came to the conclusion that when he reopened the space, he would attract a more secure member and one that aligned better with his coaching business.

00:09:39 The types of people he works with in his coaching business really light him up, and he would love to spend more time supporting them and really integrating them into his physical community.

00:09:52 So he got super clear on the type of member that he could best serve, and that would likely be a profitable long term member.

00:10:02 So his ideal member. And this is just for Dave. This is not your ideal member. Necessarily,

00:10:09 for Dave, his ideal member would be a small business owner with an existing team were someone who's about to add some team members.

00:10:18 Ideally, a professional service is business that would do business with other members in some capacity. His ideal member would be engaged in the broader community outside of the co working space,

00:10:31 making them more interesting humans to hang out with and good word of mouth marketing agents for Dave's Co working space.

00:10:40 They might also be a coaching client of his not a requirement, but he'd love this that needed both space and a like minded professional community.

00:10:50 So this is a pretty clear picture now when I work with my corking started, schools, too create there.

00:10:57 I see a profiles, we get super detailed, and we'll talk about some of the questions we go through.

00:11:02 But you can really picture who falls into Dave's perfect member and who might not. So let's talk about that for a minute.

00:11:09 Would Dave turn away a computer programmer or freelance graphic designer? If he thought they would be a potential resource for his small business community?

00:11:19 He might actually actively recruit a few of these folks. But that being said all of his website messaging,

00:11:28 his interaction with potential members over the phone and on tours, and how his interiors and his product mix and his memberships,

00:11:37 air designed would really speak to those small business owners and the benefits that they would see from joining his community.

00:11:46 He's looking for stickiness, not easy revenue. So again, Dave might not turn these folks away. But everything he does is really focused on being the exact right space and community for that small business client that he wants to have joined his co working space so now that he's gotten really clear on who his member is,

00:12:10 his next step is to spend some time reviewing his website messaging, his email sequences. It's tour script,

00:12:17 his membership offerings, everything that sort of outward facing and even internally facing to his team to ensure that he's speaking very clearly to his new ideal member.

00:12:31 He feels a little like you starting over, which is frustrating financially. But on the other hand, he's really energized.

00:12:39 He loves the Coworking industry, and he wants to be in this business for the long haul. So it's better to take the time now to design his business,

00:12:48 to be profitable and to be something that he loves spending his time on. He wasn't feeling super committed and super engaged with his sort of fly by night members.

00:12:59 And so he's really excited to make this a bigger part of his life and contribute more to his community and to be you make his business more sustainable and profitable.

00:13:12 So again, this doesn't we don't have to be in the middle of a pandemic to be asking these questions.

00:13:17 You could ask these questions, you know in a midyear review at an annual review. If you are expanding your space or,

00:13:26 you know, expanding to a new location or just feeling like you're not quite meeting your goals and things are not quite jiving,

00:13:33 it might be the member that you're attracting and that is changeable, right? Our member cycle through and you know,

00:13:41 folks will turn over over time. So it is possible to make some subtle shifts in who you're trying to attract to sort of a gesture community over time.

00:13:51 Um, and again, if you are not as profitable as you'd like to be, it may be that you need to be thinking about Okay.

00:13:59 I thought I really wanted to serve freelance designers, but they're a little bit fickle, and they tend to really,

00:14:06 you know, shift in and out, depending on their business cycle, which is not good for me.

00:14:12 So in that case, you might think, I really want to support them, and I want to be them to be a big part of my community.

00:14:18 But I can't count on them to pay my bills right, so I'm gonna make it easy for them to shift in and out when they need to,

00:14:25 and have a lighter membership. But I'm gonna start serving some folks who are gonna be like anchor members who are gonna build their business around being a part of my space.

00:14:34 Maybe eventually they grow out of my space. That might be your target member, right? His folks that,

00:14:40 um you know, especially if you have a business coach background, you might be trying to help them grow and expand out of your space and get their own space at some point.

00:14:49 But thinking about how to make your business a sustainable as it can be while still giving you an opportunity Thio support those folks that you would like to support but maybe aren't going to be your anchor members.

00:15:03 Here is why you need to choose a target member. So the temptation for most Coworking space owners when they are first designing their business and are asked who they're going to serve its to say,

00:15:17 you know, anyone in my neighborhood or my town that works remotely or something a little more focused, but still kind of broad,

00:15:24 like female entrepreneurs or freelance creatives. Those air more specific target markets, but still super broad. So if you serve For example,

00:15:36 anyone in your town that works remotely tell me if you serve both of these member profiles Number one, the three piece suit attorney that needs a top of the line printer and expects and professional receptionist to be present at the front desk at all times to greet his guests.

00:15:54 And he prefers a fancy automated coffee machine in the kitchen so that he can offer his guests of fresh cappuccino before he starts his meeting.

00:16:03 Do you also serve in the same space? The 22 year old recent college grad who just landed his first programming job,

00:16:10 loves that he can wear hoodies to work, prefers to code in the dark and drinks bottomless cups of Dunkin Donuts at all hours of the day.

00:16:18 Do both of those folks coincide in your co working space? Probably not. It will be hard to design a space that speaks so directly to both of these members that if they both go on a tour at the end,

00:16:32 they say this is the place for me. Send me the membership agreement right away. Please, not the case,

00:16:37 right, so you need to be decisive, and you need to know that you are going to serve one perfect member,

00:16:45 and you're going to potentially repel some of the other potential members. And I will tell you, in all markets,

00:16:51 even major cities, there is still room for you to be unique and to speak to a specific member.

00:16:58 I hear this time and time again, I often hear it from my corking startup school students. When I say,

00:17:04 you know, tell me your story, how why are you starting a coup working space? Oftentimes they'll say,

00:17:10 Look, I you know, I needed a space for my own business and I just couldn't find the right space.

00:17:16 And so I have to make my own and these air not necessarily folks that are in town. Sometimes they are sometimes the first in their town,

00:17:24 and I love that, too. But I get folks from Chicago and Brooklyn and Miami and places where there are already a lot of options,

00:17:32 and these still say I can't find the space that speaks to me. So there is opportunity for you to be unique and to speak directly to someone that you want to serve because others will serve the other folks so test this for yourself when you two were co working spaces.

00:17:51 Make notes about how you respond to the space and the team, and you'll love some and not love others.

00:17:58 So I'm gonna give another example to help. Kind of highlight how two different perspective members might perceive the same ako working space.

00:18:08 So you need to make sure you know who you want to speak thio and that you do speak very clearly and directly to them not down the middle.

00:18:17 Because you can't attract both. You want to attract the right member and repel the wrong member. If you land in the middle,

00:18:27 neither of them are going to love you enough to sign up immediately. They'll keep touring and feel little wishy washy,

00:18:33 and maybe they'll end up with the one that's closest to their house. You don't always want the people who pick you because of geography.

00:18:40 Sometimes this is a reality of our business, but if their geography changes, they're not sticking with you.

00:18:47 So we have two perspective members A and B A says the furniture is a little modern for me. I really prefer a more traditional aesthetic,

00:18:57 Be says, I am a total modern furniture fan West home all the way. I love the look of the space A,

00:19:06 says community managers a little casual. I'm not sure my clients will appreciate the homey environment here. While B says I love how comfortable the space feels and how friendly the community manager is,

00:19:22 she's so approachable and makes me feel so welcome. I would look forward to seeing her every day, A says.

00:19:29 I really don't understand the obsession with coffee. Just leave me with my Dunkin Donuts and some Hazelnut Creek creamer and I will be happy be says.

00:19:37 I love local craft coffee and the cappuccino machine. A dream come true, A says. Well, I do love access to all these free,

00:19:47 salty snacks. But B says a little disappointed. They're not doing their part in keeping people healthy during the work day.

00:19:54 That's kind of a check. In the not so sure column, A says Kama worried that the game room will be a little noisy and unprofessional.

00:20:03 Be says, I love that they have a game room for when I need to step away from work and take a break,

00:20:10 A says. Does anyone here actually need to get some work done, B says. I love how friendly the members were to me on my tour,

00:20:19 A says. I'm worried this place is gonna be a little loud for me. The one thing I love about working at home is that it's completely quiet.

00:20:26 I work best with no background noise. Be says, this is the perfect five for me again, my best work done in a coffee environment,

00:20:33 but without the actual grinders and customers in the way. So can you see how a is probably not a great fit and be totally is?

00:20:43 And it's gonna sign up right away. They're in love, the cappuccino machine and the community manager and the vibe and the friendliness of the other members.

00:20:50 They have found their space. So you want to target Member be and some of these So these air behavioral things.

00:20:58 It doesn't matter what B does for work. It's what they want out of the space, right? So it gets a little into that sort of selling benefits versus features.

00:21:09 Although some of these air features the cappuccino machine is a bit of a feature, but the benefit is fabulous.

00:21:14 Caffeine. Anytime you want it so But you see here you're gonna make be super happy. A really never had a chance.

00:21:22 So don't even bother giving them a tour. Speak super clearly on your website about who you are, who loves your space,

00:21:30 who's the best fit and get those folks in for the tour. If you have a flow conversion rate,

00:21:37 feel like you could do better on your conversion rate on tours, you're probably just not getting people in the door that are a great fit for you because they're not signing up.

00:21:45 If they're a great fit, they're gonna sense that immediately. And maybe they, too, are some other spaces just to make sure,

00:21:50 But they're gonna they're going to sign up. And so if you're touring a lot of folks and only a small percentage of folks are actually converting,

00:21:58 there might be something about your target member and and whether or not you're speaking clearly enough to them, So I just want to go through before we wrap up here.

00:22:08 A couple of pitfalls of not choosing a clear, ideal member and designing your co working business to serve them first pitfall is that probably the knee spaces win if you're not clear and your serve attracting anyone in their brother and you're sort of getting lucky and mostly attracting people who are nearby.

00:22:27 Uh, you're you're gonna have less revenue over time. The language of that. The niche space speaks.

00:22:35 And not that you have to be neat because lots of space is air, not niece rate, but still be clear about the kind of space and the kind of environment.

00:22:43 And it's gonna be when you get to its its specifics. A lot of it's a lot of subtle things that add up to something that is a specific way of being that you're you're doing for your space.

00:22:55 Another pitfall. Is that your location? So doesn't think every decision you make depends on who you're trying to serve.

00:23:03 The location is a big one, so if you're not super clear on who you serve, it might turn out to be a good choice for casual members,

00:23:11 but not your most profitable long term members. So you have less revenue over time. Another pitfalls. We talked about this.

00:23:20 Your tour conversion rate is lower than industry average, so you might get a lot of folks that come in because you have good marketing or,

00:23:28 you know, um, you are in a good location, but you're just not compelling enough to get people to join unless they're basing their decision purely on geography,

00:23:38 so you'll get less revenue over time. So if you're just starting out, spend the time to identify your target member.

00:23:44 Here are some questions to consider. Where did they live? How will they get to work? Do they need parking?

00:23:52 What do they do for work? How did they spend their typical day on the phone in team meetings and client meetings?

00:23:58 Some of these things will help determine your location and your product mix. And again, if you already have a location,

00:24:05 you may need to figure out who your best member is, somewhat based on your location. Like who should you be speaking?

00:24:12 Thio. If you have a location that very specifically works for certain target folks, where did they buy their coffee?

00:24:19 Are they Dunkin Donuts, or are they local craft pour over? Where did they buy their furniture or they West Elm?

00:24:26 Or are they a Kia where they shop for groceries? Are they whole foods or Trader Joe's Where do they work out?

00:24:34 When do they work out? Just really getting into, Like, how did they spend their day? What is their routine Look like?

00:24:39 Um, you know, Do they like boutique places? Do they like, um, sort of, you know,

00:24:44 mass market places? What did they read? What they watch what they listen. Thio, get a really picture what this person is and how you can make them super happy in your space and by messaging and making it clear to them that they'll be happy there so that they come in for a tour.

00:25:01 So that's it for today. There is a block post that lines up with this podcast. If you want to read through again to kind of get more details and take some notes and it will be linked to in the show notes.

00:25:15 And if you are just opening your space and you want access to more detailed training on finding your ideal customer avatar,

00:25:23 my co working startup school students get step by step training to develop their icy A, and you can join the wait list at Coworking start up school dot com.

00:25:33 We will talk next week

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