Perkonomics — brands with benefits

Perks — incentives offered to workers and clients by businesses seeking loyalty from both — are hardly new. Anybody remember S&H Green Stamps?. In more recent years, frequent flyer miles, hotel upgrades for regular guests, and credit card associated discounts have been but a few of the ploys enlisted to promote company/brand dedication.

That said, perks continue to evolve. Trendwatching.com has even coined the term perkonomics, which it defines as:

A new breed of perks and privileges, added to brands’ regular offerings, is satisfying consumers’ ever-growing desire for novel forms of status and/or convenience, across all industries. The benefits for brands are equally promising: from escaping commoditization, to showing empathy in turbulent times.

In its rather exhaustive piece on the topic of perkonomics, Trendwatching notes in one subsection the following perk:

Business lounges, third spaces, co-working spaces: they’re now an intricate part of the (urban) world outside our homes and offices. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that brands are opening up their own customer-only lounges. Just one example: ABN Amro’s Lounge at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam. Open to Preferred Banking clients from 6.00am to 10.00pm, the lounge offers a meeting space, online access, food and beverages, and foreign currency exchange.

You need not go to Amsterdam to track an on-site coworking area in an airport. In addition to exclusive Admiral Club type deals catering to constant-flyers, we mere mortals are gaining increasing opportunities to get work done in between flights in non-cramped circumstances. Some of these chances are free, some come with a price tag. If you can afford it, paying a few bucks for an impromptu coworking space beats the hell out of sitting on a terminal floor because that’s the only way you can plug in.

One example: Love Field in Dallas has a conference center with “state of the art business amenities and meeting rooms. The center provides computer hookups, office space, meeting rooms, reception services, catering and other business related needs.” Rooms seating from up to 6 to up to 20 run from $35 – 70 per hour and $230 – 325 per day.

Earlier this year, Forbes reported on the 30 most wired airports in the world. Free vs paid wifi was taken into account when creating the rankings, as was breadth of coverage. And, the story noted, for those wanting faster access and dedicated workstations, these are increasing in availability for a fee that, for a regular traveler (one who might bill the company for the fee), could seem nominal:

Travelers willing to pay for faster access can invest in airline lounge memberships. Delta runs more than 40 Crown Room Clubs in airports around the world. For an annual fee of $250 to $400, members get free T-Mobile wireless service. Non-members can pay $25 per visit, plus a service fee to T-Mobile. T-Mobile also provides service to American Airlines’ Admirals Club. Members get complimentary service and access to workstations; one-day passes are $50 each.

We realize the pluses of perks at LaunchPad Coworking, and are coming up with a list of super-cheap and free peripherals we’ll be offering. We’ve decided, for example, that 20″ flat screen monitors will be included at your desk for no extra fee.

What role do perks play in your life? Do you work somewhere where coworking might be considered a perk? What perks do you wish you had?

S&H Green Stamps photo by Joan Thewlis
First Class cabin photo by icarusjj