We are at a point where the internet speeds at your office park, the little cafes on campus, and working together face-to-face are a moot point. Everything has advanced since the introduction of COVID. Home internet has become stronger and more reliable. We have found ways to make our own meals or we have ordered pick up or delivery. Video conferencing and working remotely have become easier than ever. Will this cause people to continue to work from home much more than they work in our office parks?
For the foreseeable future, unfortunately, we expect this answer to be yes, especially since we have yet to find a vaccine for COVID. We as property owners and managers need to give our tenants a reason to come back. The strongest case you can make is by amping up your amenities! Months ago you could’ve gotten away with just adding things like charging stations for electric cars, food pickup locations, and food trucks. But now we need to step up our game. We need to build a community surrounding our office parks. Ultimately, we need convenience, amenity hubs. Creating locations and properties where outside people would be drawn in and your tenants would never have to leave is the goal.
What should be your first step? Think about it simply, what is essential to you and how can you bring it to your park? For things like food, groceries, laundry, and necessities it’s easier now with everything being able to be delivered. You can utilize the mobile truck market for things like food trucks, mobile car washes, mobile gas/oil, mobile laundry/dry cleaning services, and even mobile salons or barbershops.
How to draw people in? Remember the old phrase, “Build it and the people will come”? There’s a reason it’s been popular since Field of Dreams, because it’s true. So, what can you build that will bring the people? A lot of this depends on your location and what’s already in your surrounding community. The bottom line is, regardless of what you build, people need to know about it! Local signage, social media, articles, and email newsletters will be your best friends. Making sure you hit all of those forms of marketing is essential. If you have an event with vendors and different food trucks then you want to bring as many people as you can!
How to keep the people coming back? Before the introduction of amenities like food trucks, mobile laundry, and the others listed above. It was tough to keep people coming back especially if they didn’t work at your office building. But adding amenities with bonuses like power hookups for the trucks, frisbee golf, outdoor firepits, lawn games, and maybe even an on-site bar will give your crowd a reason to stay and relax. They will then be more likely to spread their new favorite spot to their friends to grow your success.
Amping up your amenities does not have to happen overnight! Take it one step at a time and before you know it people will be flocking to you for your amenities. If you need help developing a plan to build your potential we are here for you!