Sheetal Vanwari on how Awfis is shaping the Indian coworking landscape

India’s largest network of coworking spaces, Awfis, focuses on the power of coworking spaces for inspiring and fostering creativity within workplaces. Initially, its target group included startups, freelancers, and entrepreneurs, but as the brand matured, and the coworking culture started to gain prominence, it included mid-sized corporates and SMEs in its target group. Over the years, the brand positioning of Awfis has evolved and it has emphasised work-life balance, promoting a productive environment and lifestyle for professionals.

Over the last two years, the strength of the network of Awfis has become the focal point of the brand’s communication strategy, with a greater focus on facilitating networking and collaborations and not just providing workspace solutions. It has adopted a D2C or Direct-to-Consumer approach centering on building a strong online presence through content marketing and social media, leveraging influencer collaborations, and harnessing the power that comes with influencer marketing in reaching the maximum number of consumers. For its wide range of products, it relies on B2B marketing, creating the customer profiles of its clients and mapping their customer journeys, along with categorising the different approaches for lead generation as well as lead nurturing.

Sheetal Vanwari has headed marketing communications operations at Awfis since March 2023 and has several years of experience with a diversified professional journey. In conversation with Adgully, Sheetal Vanwari, Head of Marketing, Awfis, said, “From its foundation, Awfis has been a trailblazer in shaping the Indian coworking landscape, introducing a paradigm that resonated with professionals, startups, and corporations by recognising the demand for flexible solutions.”

What is the brand positioning of Awfis? What is its USP?

Awfis’ brand positioning has evolved. In its nascent stage, Awfis targeted freelancers, entrepreneurs, and startups, focusing on the potential of coworking spaces to inspire and foster creativity. As the brand matured and the concept of coworking in India started to mushroom, it shifted its attention to SMEs and mid-sized corporates. Emphasising the importance of community and work-life balance, we positioned ourselves as the place where work seamlessly integrated with personal life, promoting a harmonious and productive lifestyle for professionals.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented a unique challenge and opportunity for Awfis. Experiencing exponential growth during this period marked a significant transformation in the brand. Awfis shifted its focus to target enterprise and large corporate clients, expanding its offerings to meet a diverse range of requirements. One key aspect that has become central to Awfis’ brand is the strength of its network. This network has now become the brand’s greatest asset, and it’s been the focal point of Awfis’ brand communication strategy over the past two years. It is not just about providing workspace; it is about facilitating connections, collaborations, and access to resources, all well within India Inc’s reach across cities.

Who is the target audience and what is the marketing strategy?

Marketing serves as the bedrock of Awfis’ brand identity establishment and reinforcement, employing a diversified approach across digital and traditional media, social platforms, and events. The target audience varies significantly for different products within our company’s portfolio. When it comes to our mobility solutions, we’ve adopted a direct-to-consumer (D2C) approach. In this approach, we employ several strategies that have proven effective for D2C brands. Firstly, we prioritise building a strong online brand presence through social media and content marketing, which allows us to directly engage with potential customers.

Additionally, we leverage influencer collaborations as a means of expanding our reach and connecting with a broader audience. This approach enables us to reach a broad consumer base and cultivate brand loyalty. Conversely, for our other products, we primarily engage in business-to-business (B2B) marketing. This approach entails close collaboration with our clients, allowing us to gain valuable insights into their unique requirements and preferences. Our direct access to them means we can closely observe their daily activities, including how they spend 8-10 hours each day, their dietary preferences, likes and dislikes, and the specific spaces they utilise. Over time, we’ve developed detailed user personas and customer journey maps to tailor our strategies. We’ve also categorised various approaches for lead generation and lead nurturing.

This targeted approach allows us to effectively connect with our B2B clients, meeting their unique requirements. Beyond this, it takes on the responsibility of spotlighting Awfis’ value proposition, effectively conveying advantages like workspace flexibility, innovative solutions, and community engagement. We’ve implemented an in-house customer relationship management (CRM) system and a customer satisfaction (CSAT) platform, which effectively streamlines communication and enables personalised interactions. This includes processes like booking, payment, handling service requests, and more. Moreover, the insights gleaned from these systems offer valuable feedback that consistently aids in the enhancement of our communication strategies. Our access to clients and their feedback plays a pivotal role in shaping communication strategies that resonate with our B2B audience and yield significant results.

What are the marketing campaigns/ activities undertaken by Awfis this year?

Marketing plays a pivotal role for Awfis as the largest coworking network across 17 cities. Serving as a bridge between Awfis and its target audience, it facilitates effective communication, enhances brand visibility, and fosters robust customer engagement. This significance is reflected in its role as the conduit for conveying the brand’s essence and offerings to a diverse clientele. This year, Awfis has implemented a range of marketing campaigns and activities designed to boost its brand presence and customer engagement. These efforts have been particularly focused on email and WhatsApp marketing within the mobility sector via automated messages confirming their requirement to compelling conversion through exclusive discounts and one-time deals and finally capturing feedback of their experience, we carefully craft the complete communication cycle of every user. Here’s a breakdown of the key initiatives:

Brand Awareness Through Influencer Engagement: Collaborations with our community have helped build a stronger connection between us and our clients. Awfis has taken a strategic approach to increase brand awareness by collaborating with both micro-influencers and well-known influencers like Aiyyo Shraddha. These influencers promote the brand and help showcase our space without any overt branding.

Product Videos and Promotions: To educate potential customers and build awareness not only about the brand but also about its specific product offerings, Awfis has been actively creating product videos. These videos cover a range of topics, from design and build aspects to managed offices and day pass options. In the long run, it helps build brand preference, elevates transaction value through repeat purchases, upselling, and cross-selling, and has the potential to turn customers into brand advocates.

Establishing Thought Leadership: Thought leadership is a critical component of Awfis’ marketing strategy, which includes webinars, panel discussions, and the publication of reports. Awfis was in the unique position to drive meaningful conversations between all the different stakeholders - from the occupiers to the IPCs, the developers, and the employees. We’ve established a comprehensive content platform that gathers insights from leading CRE experts, curates articles and trends in the world of work, and showcases podcasts and interviews with industry experts, including Founders and CXOs from our community. Our research keeps a finger on the local and regional pulse of the CRE industry, grasping the finer details of occupier and end-user preferences. The reports we publish then serve as an industry guide for crafting fresh workplace strategies. Some of the reports we’ve published in the past, both in collaboration and standalone include: JLL &Awfis Flex Your Workspace Report, Colliers &Awfis Workplace & Flexibility Report, Workspace Survey Report.

Performance Marketing and CRM Enhancement: In addition to these major initiatives, Awfis has ongoing performance marketing activities. However, the company's focus on enhancing its CRM has been particularly impactful. By analysing different customer cohorts (1-10 Seats, 10-25, 50-100, 100+ Seats: 200+ seats) and understanding their conversion lifecycle, Awfis can deploy automated interventions at the right moments. Furthermore, there have been changes in remarketing strategies, resulting in improved conversion rates, reduced marketing costs, and more efficient customer acquisition.

How is Awfis leveraging digital media to attract potential customers and retain existing ones?

In our approach to customer acquisition, we have embraced a predominantly digital strategy. We’ve established a seamless collaboration between our in-house regional sales team and the central marketing team to effectively build a robust sales pipeline and nurture it through various channels, including social media, email, and WhatsApp marketing. Our focus on retention is not just an afterthought; it’s an integral part of our strategy. We understand the importance of engaging with our existing customer base to ensure their continued satisfaction and loyalty.

Furthermore, we don’t view brand marketing and performance marketing in isolation. Instead, we see them as interconnected elements that complement each other. By ensuring that our branding efforts align with our performance marketing goals, we create a cohesive and consistent customer experience. As one of the pioneers in the Indian coworking industry, our strong SEO presence is a testament to our first-mover advantage and the extensive network we've built. This has been further bolstered by our content portal, which not only enhances our online visibility but also serves as a valuable resource for our audience. Our integrated approach to digital customer acquisition, retention, and the synergy between brand and performance marketing has been instrumental in maintaining Awfis’ position as a leader in the coworking industry in India.

What are the strategic partnerships and collaborations of Awfis?

Awfis was in the unique position to drive meaningful conversations between all the different stakeholders - from the occupiers to the IPCs, the developers, and the end users (the employees). From a developer’s perspective, Awfis has established strong partnerships and collaborations with some of the top brands across different regions, as well as with national players like Prestige and Nyati. These collaborations extend beyond traditional real estate relationships and encompass a broad spectrum of industry sectors. Awfis has also joined forces with industry-leading property consultants and advisors, such as JLL, Colliers, and more recently, Savills, to produce insightful reports and research, which further enhances its position as a thought leader in the coworking and real estate space. In addition to these real estate-focused collaborations, Awfis has forged multiple partnerships with a wide array of FMCG, F&B, electronics, business, D2C, travel, and e-commerce brands. These collaborations are not only mutually beneficial but also enrich the experience for Awfis’ vibrant community of dynamic individuals across India.

Brands partnering with Awfis gain access to a captive and diverse audience, allowing them to offer exclusive deals and offers that resonate with this engaged community. Furthermore, Awfis has extended its reach to include aggregators and financial institutions like MasterCard and ICICI Bank for its mobility products. These collaborations in the financial and mobility sectors provide added value to customers and strengthen Awfis’ overall service offering. At Awfis, we are enablers of the conversations people have and want to have, of things that matter to every working individual and in the process build or redefine an inclusive workspace of the future.

What are the strategies employed to enhance customer engagement and retention?

Customer engagement holds a central and intrinsic role within Awfis’ operational ethos. This commitment to customer satisfaction is evident through a well-rounded approach that involves several key elements. We actively monitor and gauge customer satisfaction with monthly Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) assessments conducted at the center level. This enables us to gain granular insights into the unique needs and preferences of our clients. Our central marketing team collaborates closely with local center teams to curate a diverse array of engagement activities. These activities span the spectrum, ranging from seasonal and festive celebrations to knowledge-sharing events and networking opportunities.

This holistic approach ensures that our community members not only find a productive work environment but also a vibrant and supportive community that enhances their overall experience. Awfis further harnesses technology with its “Expiry 90” engine, which boasts an impressive 80% accuracy rate in predicting customer renewals. This predictive model empowers us to proactively address potential issues and ensure the seamless continuation of our services. Additionally, to facilitate customer feedback and issue resolution, we maintain a ticketing system that streamlines the process and enforces timely resolution turnaround times. This system underscores our commitment to resolving any concerns promptly and efficiently.

At the ground level, we place a strong emphasis on building and nurturing relationships. This approach recognises that genuine, in-person interactions are essential in cultivating lasting connections with our customers. This customer-centric focus, from data-driven predictions to personalised engagement efforts, reflects Awfis’ dedication to ensuring the highest levels of customer satisfaction and underscores the core of our customer engagement strategy.

What are its expansion plans and future outlook?

Awfis is committed to ongoing product innovation to address the changing needs of the contemporary workforce – from fixed seats, and executive cabins to upgraded physical spaces and contemporary workspace designs. Furthermore, the company will enhance its technological infrastructure to create essential tools that support mobility and foster a hybrid work environment. Over the next year, the prevailing trends will still revolve around community and collaboration in the workspace and Awfis will continue to maintain its pivotal role in facilitating discussions on the future of work.

Could you take us through your journey so far?

In its 8-year journey since inception, Awfis, India’s largest homegrown coworking space provider, has undergone a transformative evolution marked by remarkable achievements. From its foundation, Awfis has been a trailblazer in shaping the Indian coworking landscape, introducing a paradigm that resonated with professionals, startups, and corporations by recognising the demand for flexible solutions. Over time, it has evolved into a comprehensive workspace solutions platform, catering to diverse work needs, including work-from-home and work-near-home setups. The company’s expansive growth, starting with 5,800 desks across 20 centers in July 2015 and now offering 88,000 seats across 150 centers in 17 cities, reflects its deep understanding of micro markets and the complexities of the Indian commercial real estate ecosystem. Achieving profitability within three years of inception underscores Awfis’ strategic foresight and financial sustainability, while consistent year-on-year revenue growth speaks to its effective business model capturing a substantial share of the dynamic coworking market.

Awfis’ commitment to innovation shines through its diverse product portfolio, including tailored offerings like Awfis Enterprise Solutions, Flex Products, and Remote Working Solutions. The unique Managed Aggregation model, partnering with space owners to operate coworking spaces, showcases adaptability and capital efficiency. Awfis remains dedicated to its mission of providing innovative solutions that cater to evolving needs. This journey epitomizes resilience, adaptability, and unwavering commitment to excellence, positioning Awfis as a prominent player in India's dynamic workspace solutions landscape.

As a woman leader, what are the challenges you faced on the way and how did you overcome them?

I’ve been fortunate not to personally encounter gender-based differential treatment, which, in my view, reflects the diverse range of experiences in the corporate world. The challenge was to go beyond my self-doubts and limitations to reach my goals. My journey is one of learning to build on my inherent qualities and deal with situations with empathy, humour, and embrace the uniqueness of each individual. I firmly believe that effective leadership goes beyond fitting into a stereotype or role model of who a leader, a woman, or a woman leader needs to be and instead focuses on qualities that contribute to a positive work environment. Diversity should extend beyond gender and age, encompassing various personality types so that we create a welcoming space where everyone can be their authentic selves.

How was the year 2023 for Awfis?

The current year is indeed a remarkable turning point for Awfis. The widespread adoption of flexible work arrangements reflects our commitment to staying ahead of industry trends and meeting the evolving needs of our workforce. Winning prestigious awards, such as the ‘Great Place to Work’ and a spot in the ‘Top 50 for Women’, is a testament to our dedication to creating an inclusive and supportive workplace for all. Our meticulously planned network expansion has unfolded successfully, ensuring we’re well-prepared to meet the demands of the future. Our robust sales and demand pipelines are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, showcasing our strong market presence. Most importantly, our client’s satisfaction is a reflection of our commitment to delivering exceptional service, and this alignment between client and company happiness is a powerful indicator of our continued success. We’re proud of our achievements and look forward to building on this momentum as we move forward.