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In any business, being able to assert who you are and what your values are is of massive importance. This is particularly true in the coworking and flex workspace market. <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/554273/number-of-coworking-spaces-worldwide/">According to Statista, there are around 20,000 coworking spaces in the world today, and that number looks set to rise to nearly 26,000 by 2025</a>. In a crowded and noisy marketplace having a strong brand identity to allow your space to stand out from the crowd is essential. At Nexudus we believe that your workspace management software shouldn’t limit your ability to assert your brand identity. This is why we’re proud to be fully white-label, and provide the flexibility you need to be yourself and put forward your unique personality at every possible opportunity. A good place to start when conveying your brand identity to your members and potential customers is with your physical space and its design. When entering a workspace anyone should be able to immediately get a sense of who you are and what you are trying to achieve. This could be a formal, very professional workspace, or a more relaxed feeling, depending on your audience and your aims. It shouldn’t stop there though! In this article, we are going to discuss a variety of different ways you can utilise technology to craft a rock-solid brand identity that will be instantly recognisable.<img src="https://landing.spaces.nexudus.com/en/content/images?name=tim-mossholder-GOMhuCj-O9w-unsplash.jpg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Leverage you workspace management software to improve branding. Poto by @TimMossholder via Unsplash">Look at your branding in a holistic way to make sure it serves your workspace as well as possible <h2 style="text-align: justify;">Why is branding so important?</h2>Your branding is vital because it’s the primary way for you to communicate your offering to the world. When done properly, any potential customer should be immediately aware of who you are and what you offer simply by how this is reflected through your branding.What exactly do we mean when we talk about ‘branding’? The concept of branding has developed so much over the years, it can be difficult to nail down a precise definition. Of course, it involves all the obvious things such as your logo, website design and style, but it’s also so much more than this. In terms of a coworking or flex workspace it also very much involves the culture of your space, and the type of community you are aiming to cultivate.   It is this that sets you apart from other providers and attracts your target audience to your flex workspace. Just as important though, it should reflect and attract the type of audience you are looking to cater for. A coworking or flex workspace aimed at attracting corporate users will look different to one attracting startups and freelancers, and you can use your branding to make this clear. Remember, you are never going to please everyone, and that is okay!Earlier this year Nexudus ran a webinar with the <a href="https://mondayworks.co.uk/">founder of Monday Works, Jamie Dundas</a>, who spoke about why people are loyal to brands, not buildings. A key takeaway from this webinar was how narrowing down your target audience will improve both your acquisition and retention of members, as you will be better able to understand them and serve their needs. For a deeper look into how to build your brand and some best practices for you to follow, you can rewatch the entire webinar below:<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tl-sSYOyKxM" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Another key point to bear in mind is that branding is very much a perpetual process and something that needs to be nurtured and reviewed to suit your business as it grows and develops. Your brand identity can certainly change and evolve, so you need to keep on top of it to ensure that what you decided on when you first started your coworking of flex workspace still reflects the business as it exists today. <h2 style="text-align: justify;">Examples of good branding </h2>When discussing good examples of branding in the coworking and flex space industry there are many good examples you can point to. Now, bear with me here, because I’m going to use the W-word… WeWork! Now, putting aside all the controversy and shortcomings that are obvious to all of us, WeWork truly is an example of branding done very successfully. For better or worse, if you speak to a layperson and explain to them the concept of coworking, their response will likely be: “Oh! Like WeWork!”. Regardless of what you think of them as a company, you have to admit that this brand recognition is something very impressive. Even people who haven’t used one of their spaces, understand who they cater for and what they offer. This is a fantastic example of branding done well. This is tempered by the fact that WeWork’s reputation has taken a big hit, which can serve as an important lesson that regardless of how strong your brand is, it can be ruined by not delivering on what it promises. At its best though, this is how powerful branding can be. When done well not only will you have instant recognition, but it can also be a great vehicle to drive sales, as potential customers will understand what you offer and will come to you based on this. <img src="https://landing.spaces.nexudus.com/en/content/images?name=kings x inside.jpg" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="King's Cross Impact Hub. Photo by Chris King for Impact Hub">The Impact Hub Network has strong, consistent branding that helps them attract members all over the worldIf we were to point out a somewhat less controversial example, it’s good to take a look at <a href="https://impacthub.net/#">Impact Hub</a>. They have a relatively large network of over 100 coworking spaces in more than 60 countries. Just hearing the name you can take a good guess at what their mission is, and this goal for supporting businesses and entrepreneurs striving so social and environmental change and innovation is at the core of everything they do. Impact Hub has become one of the go-to spaces for those working in this industry, and their strong branding supports this by being clear and consistent throughout their entire network. To learn more about Impact Hub and what they do, take a look at how <a href="https://www.nexudus.com/customers/impact-hub-kings-cross/">choosing Nexudus as their King’s Cross location’s workplace management software has helped them on their journey</a>.Now we have discussed the importance of branding, let’s move on to the different ways you can leverage technology and your workspace management software to strengthen your brand identity. <h2 style="text-align: justify;">1. Members' Portal</h2>The hub for all your users, where they collaborate, book desks, share news and so much more. This is a perfect vehicle to communicate who you are to your members. At Nexudus, we have made sure that our <a href="https://help.nexudus.com/docs/understanding-how-to-customize-the-members-portal">Members' Portal is fully customisable</a>, meaning you aren’t limited to a set structure or design. This modularity provided by a white-label platform allows your Members’ Portal to grow along with your space. As you develop as a brand and even a network, you can add or remove sections and features of the Members’ Portal at your discretion. Along with the customisation options, the Members’ Portal also allows you to have: your domain name as well as your own branding and colour scheme, meaning you can truly make it your own. <img src="https://landing.spaces.nexudus.com/en/content/images?name=mp4.gif" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Our white label Members' Portal is the perfect way to use tech to assert your branding">Nexudus is a white-label workspace management platform with the flexibility to adapt to your branding<h2 style="text-align: justify;">2. Official Documents</h2>When reaching out to your members or potential customers it’s important to make sure your brand remains consistent. This is why <a href="https://help.nexudus.com/docs/editing-document-templates">every template in the Nexudus system is fully customisable</a>. This not only means you can display your branding and change the look and feel of how you communicate, but importantly, you can change the content to reflect your style and tone of voice. This is not only true of documents but also of the <a href="https://help.nexudus.com/docs/editing-notifications-templates">email notification templates</a> as well.When it comes to communicating with users, collecting payments is one of, if not the most, important interactions you will undertake as a coworking or flex space operator. As with every other task in your day-to-day, it should reflect your branding and your mission. <img src="https://landing.spaces.nexudus.com/en/content/images?name=invoice.png" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><div data-empty="true" style="text-align: center;">The new design for Nexudus invoices is sleeker, more modern and can adapt to your branding</div> As it’s such an important aspect of running a workspace, we thought it was time to update our invoices template, to give it a sleeker and more modernised design. Along with this new design, we have made some changes to make invoices clearer and easier to massage. For example, <a href="https://help.nexudus.com/docs/grouping-invoice-lines">you can now group plans, products, passes and other charges which will group selected lines in the invoice sent through to the customer</a>. For more information on how you can upgrade your invoices to the latest version, reach out to: <a href="mailto:support@nexudus.com"></a><a href="mailto:support@nexudus.com">support@nexudus.com</a> The flexibility offered in customising and editing invoices and other official documents brings us on nicely to our next point…<h2 style="text-align: justify;">3. Communication</h2>We have discussed how you can display your brand identity through visual aesthetics, be that in your physical space or your digital one. Another key way to assert your branding though is through how you communicate with your users. The tone of voice you use can be a great way to display your business’s personality and create a rapport with your users.  The Nexudus platform allows your coworking or flex workspace to communicate with your members in a variety of different ways, which will not only help foster a strong sense of community but also help to show your space’s personality. <ul><li dir="ltr">Newsletters - <a href="https://help.nexudus.com/docs/newsletters">Send out newsletters to your community directly from the Nexudus Admin Panel</a>. This allows you to keep in regular contact with your users, and let them know what is going on in your workspace.</li><li dir="ltr">Blog Articles - <a href="https://help.nexudus.com/docs/blog-articles">enabling the Blog section on the Members’ Portal</a> will allow you to post content relevant to your space. It can also be linked to other content management systems such as WordPress or Blogger.</li></ul>This is very much an unsung hero of good branding and is something that can easily be overlooked. When used in conjunction with your physical and visual branding, however, it can be a powerful tool to convey who you are to users and potential customers. Consistency is key in this regard, so being able to ensure this is reflected in even the smaller aspects of day-to-day operations is integral.Now, let’s look at one final example of a coworking space that really exemplifies how to successfully leverage technology to support a brand. <a href="https://www.foraspace.com/">Fora</a> is a network of spaces that have positioned themselves as providers of luxury workspaces. They use this brand to define their audience, and it is reflected through every aspect of their business. From their physical spaces, website, and custom mobile app for their users, they express their brand both physically and digitally. For anyone looking for examples to follow, you could do a lot worse than Fora, who really excel in this department.<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Gsr9XATDOGM" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>We have said it before, and we will continue saying it, technology is going to play a significant role in the future of coworking and flex workspaces. This is why we are doing all we can to create the most flexible, end-to-end workspace management software on the market. Everything we do has the end-user in mind, as we seek to make running your workspace that much easier and more successful. If there are any features you think we could add to make the platform better, we’d love to hear from you. So many of our updates come directly from our users, so don’t be afraid to reach out. You never know, your idea could be featured in an update soon. Reach us at: <a href="mailto:support@nexudus.com">support@nexudus.com</a>

Branding is just as important for coworking and flex spaces as it is for any other business. But ht just how can you create a strong brand identity to stand out from the crowd? Here we take a look at how to leverage technology and your workspace management software to strengthen and assert your identity. 

Show your true colours: 3 ways to leverage technology to create a strong brand identity 

In the last couple of years, the coworking and flex workspaces industry experienced major disruption due to the global pandemic. Though the market went through challenging times, it’s been also an opportunity to invest in new services, technology that helps to automate processes and also to recognise that the added value these flex workspaces provide can’t be easily replaced by remote work. Indeed, the <a href="https://coworkinginsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CI_-_2020_Future_of_Work_Report__1.pdf">2020 Future of Work Report</a> found that 71.5% of those who sed coworking spaces before the pandemic planned to return, while <a href="https://www.nexudus.com/blog/1414937219/10-striking-statistics-about-the-coworking-sector/">54.9% of remote workers who didn't previously use coworking said they would consider joining such a space in the future as a solution to remote work</a>.  A core feature of coworking and flex workspaces is how they nurture their communities of members and encourage collaboration despite users not necessarily working for the same company. One of the challenges that came up during the pandemic was the necessity of booking desks within the spaces in advance, mostly because of H&S reasons. More than a year since <a href="https://www.nexudus.com/floor-plans/">we launched our floorplans’ feature</a> has passed and it’s been great to hear all the feedback and to learn more about how the future workplace will look like after the pandemic. <grammarly-extension data-grammarly-shadow-root="true" style="position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; pointer-events: none;" class="cGcvT"></grammarly-extension><grammarly-extension data-grammarly-shadow-root="true" style="position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; pointer-events: none;" class="cGcvT"></grammarly-extension><img src="https://landing.spaces.nexudus.com/en/content/images?name=floor-plan-solution-5.png" style="width: 600px;" alt="Use floorplans in Nexudus as a desk booking solution" class="fr-fil fr-dib">Users can book desking using floorplans on any device We believe that workplace management software or any other tool should be flexible enough to adapt to uncertain times, new challenges as well as embrace new opportunities that come along the way. In the last year, we’ve seen floorplans being used to great effect in managing desks in coworking and flex workspaces. Here are the main ones:  <h2 style="text-align: justify;">1. Limiting capacity</h2>In many countries, three are still restrictions in place limiting capacity and requiring social distancing. Making use of desk booking management systems can ensure your space remains safe and compliant with these rules. For example, <a href="https://help.nexudus.com/docs/defining-floor-plans-capacity">Nexudus floorplans allow you to limit the capacity on each floor</a>, which ensures your space does not become overcrowded. <h2 style="text-align: justify;">2. Internal team bookings </h2>Floorplans are a fantastic tool for teams to use, allowing them to book a group of desks close to one another if they wish. You can even assign <a href="https://help.nexudus.com/docs/assigning-floor-plan-items-to-contracts1">specific desks to contacts within the Nexudus Admin Panel</a>. <h2 style="text-align: justify;">3. More detailed reporting</h2>Understanding how members use your space is an important aspect of running any workspace. Floorplans and desk management tools allow you to view in real-time how users behave in your space and give a fascinating insight into any improvements that could be made.<img src="https://landing.spaces.nexudus.com/en/content/images?name=hotdesk11 (1).png" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fil fr-dib">Nexudus Automation tiles are a great way to reduce touchpoints in your space <h2 style="text-align: justify;">4. Check-in / check-out </h2>Having effective cleaning protocols is as important now as it has ever been, particularly in a space that uses hot desking. <a href="https://www.nexudus.com/blog/1414875480/nexudus-automation-tiles:-paving-the-way-towards-a-contactless-future-for-flexible-workspaces/">Tools such as Nexudus Automation Tiles</a> allow users to check-in and out of desks, letting you know exactly when they were last used. This will allow you to employ effective hygiene measures, making sure desks are sanitized before they are used by someone else. <h2 style="text-align: justify;">5. Who’s where?</h2>One of our recent updates is focused on helping operators to foster a sense of community in their coworking and flex workspaces. Namely, this update allows the floorplan view in the Members’ Portal to show who has booked each desk or meeting room. While this might seem like a small change, it can go a long way to encouraging collaboration and camaraderie amongst your members.With this update, members will be able to see where their peers are sitting and working, making it easier not just for teams to collaborate, but also simplifying how members interact with each other as well. This is an optional feature and will not automatically be implemented. <a href="https://help.nexudus.com/docs/displaying-customer-details-on-the-members-portal-floor-plan" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">For details on how to apply this update, check out the article in our Knowledge Base.</a> <img src="https://landing.spaces.nexudus.com/en/content/images?name=Untitled design (65).png" style="width: 600px;" alt="Floorplans are the perfect desk booking solution" class="fr-fil fr-dib">See exactly where users are working with our latest floorplans updateLet’s imagine for example one of your members is searching for a peer to discuss an issue with. If they are unable to locate them or don’t know where they are sitting, they might be roaming around your space for some time, potentially coming into contact with a large number of people on their search. This update to the Members’ Portal will allow them to immediately find the location of the person they are looking for, by simply checking the space’s floor plan directly from the Members’ Portal. The future of coworking and flex workspaces lies, in part, in technology that can improve efficiency while, at the same time, providing a first-rate tenant experience. Ultimately, while technology can help, nothing can replace enjoying a coffee with a coworker in one of the amazing spaces out there!Many of the changes we implement are inspired directly by communication and discussions with you all. So, please do get in touch and let us know what you think. If you have any suggestions of how we could improve the platform get in contact with us at: <a href="mailto:support@nexudus.com"></a><a href="mailto:support@nexudus.com">support@nexudus.com</a>. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Although the global pandemic caused significant disruption to the coworking and flex workspace industry, it has also provided an opportunity for significant innovation as well. One such innovation has been the changes in how spaces are managed and desks are booked. Check out this article to discover the benefits of using Floorplans to manage your desk bookings.

Where’s Wally? 5 different ways of using hot-desking and floorplans in your coworking and flex spaces

We recently added the ‘Forms’ module in the community section of the platform, which allows you to create custom forms to collect information about customers and prospects. This has been one of the most requested features from our community, and we are delighted that you are now all able to take advantage of this latest innovation on the Nexudus Platform. In this article, we will go over how you can use forms and how you can use them to the benefit of your space and your members. First things first, let's discuss what exactly forms are…<h2 style="text-align: justify;">About Forms</h2>We have added forms to the Nexudus Platform to allow you to collect information from specific customers and leverage that either in Nexudus or externally through export files. That’s all well and good, but in practice how will you actually use forms to the benefit of your business? Well, let's imagine you want to collect some feedback from a few, select customers? Of course, you could send out a survey, but this is not always the best solution as they are designed to be sent out to large numbers of people. Forms, on the other hand, are designed to be sent to a select number of individuals, saving you the time of sifting through a large number of responses. A perfect situation to use this feature in is with prospective customers. So, if you have a prospect who has maybe done a tour around your space or purchased a day pass, you can send them a form directly to get some feedback on their experience. This will really help you to understand how prospects experience your workspace, and this process can be undertaken on a case by case basis, allowing for a much more targeted approach to receiving feedback.<img src="https://landing.spaces.nexudus.com/en/content/images?name=formexampleintro.png" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Nexudus Platform Forms allow you to collect important information">Now we all understand what forms are designed to be used for, let's move on to discuss how exactly they work…<h2 style="text-align: justify;">How to use Forms</h2>The most important thing you need to be aware of is that you will only be able to use Forms if you are running <a href="https://www.nexudus.com/blog/1414903652/upgrade-to-version-4-of-the-members-portal-today/">Version 4 of the Members Portal</a>. If you are running Version 4, you can create Forms directly from the Nexudus Admin Panel. Simply navigate to the Community section and select Forms. You will then be asked to name and structure your forms before you start adding any specific questions. When deciding on how to structure your form, you will be able to choose from a variety of different question types, which can be combined in various ways to best suit the information you are aiming to capture. The question types supported on Forms are:<ul><li dir="ltr">Text</li><li dir="ltr">Boolean</li><li dir="ltr">Long Text</li><li dir="ltr">Date</li><li dir="ltr">Dropdown </li><li dir="ltr">Binary</li></ul>Once your form has been built and sent out to the customers you are targetting, you can view responses in the Sent Requests tab in each specific Form. Requests marked as COMPLETED have been answered by the user.<img src="https://landing.spaces.nexudus.com/en/content/images?name=image(424).png" style="width: 600px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Nexudus Forms are the latest innovation in the workplace management software">You can view answers by clicking on a specific request. Responses to your forms can either be viewed in the Nexudus Platform for reference or can be exported to an XLS field depending on your preference,  As we mentioned at the start, Forms has been one of the most requested features from our users for a while, and we are thrilled that so many of you have already been making use of them. For more detailed instructions on how to set up and use Forms in Nexudus, <a href="https://help.nexudus.com/docs/forms">read the dedicated article on our Knowledge Base</a>. Enjoy!

Forms are here and ready to use! We recently added Forms to the Nexudus Platform, allowing you to collect information from specific members and contacts. So, read the article and discover more about how you can use Forms to benefit your workspace. 

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Read our latest articles to catch up on our most recent updates, advice and tips for workspace operators, and news and insights from the wider coworking and flexible workspace industry.

Show your true colours: 3 ways to leverage technology to create a strong brand identity

Where’s Wally? 5 different ways of using hot-desking and floorplans in your coworking and flex spaces

Make the most of Forms to know your community better

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Read our latest articles to catch up on our most recent updates, advice and tips for workspace operators, and news and insights from the wider coworking and flexible workspace industry.

Show your true colours: 3 ways to leverage technology to create a strong brand identity

Where’s Wally? 5 different ways of using hot-desking and floorplans in your coworking and flex spaces

Make the most of Forms to know your community better

Cookie Warning

Company

Resources

Community

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