For anyone who comes in for day passes on a somewhat regular basis, we have tried to make it a no-brainer for them to sign up for a membership.
Day passers have restrictions that members don’t. Members have access to the building earlier and later in the day, they have access to member-only events, access to our Slack group, etc. Day Passers don’t.
We have a “community” membership that is less than a day pass. It doesn’t come with any built-in days of coworking, but “community” members are in Slack, can come to events, and get discounted day passes. We priced our lowest level membership that has built-in coworking days so that it’s cheaper than buying the equivalent number of day passes.
So, again, the price to benefit ratio should make the choice a no-brainer. But, the most important thing we do is create an environment that screams belonging. If you’re in as a visitor, you see people gathering for lunch or having casual chats. You see a wall full of pictures of members. You see chalkboard polls (e.g., “if they made light-up shoes in adult sizes, would you wear them?”), and jigsaw puzzles in progress, and so on. We try very hard NOT to be perceived as something to be used. Instead, we are community you join.
To help with that, our sign-up form for a day pass asks people what brings them in. Often, it’s just because they are passing through or their internet will be out, but sometimes it’s because people want to give us a try. Regardless, we usually send a personal note about whatever the person said. While the person is here, we base our interaction on what we learned from the form and any other communication we had with the person. If we see someone more than twice, we definitely start talking to them about a membership - not hard sell, just maybe a quick, playful, “You know, you’re practically one of us now. You might as well get a membership.”. One time, no pressure. Mostly, we let Cowork Frederick speak for itself.
Like a lot of places, we have an “Open Coworking Day” (our is PWYW) once a month, specifically targeted at people who want to give coworking with us a try. On those days, we offer members free breakfast and also plan a lunch outing to encourage a full house. Our members are always welcoming and curious to meet visitors, but they know OCD is a day to be on the lookout for potential new members. We have learned that if our OCD guest has lunch with a group of members, the conversion rate is nearly 80%.