Initiative provides North Texas small business customers with office space to conduct business
Comerica Bank is repurposing idle real estate at select banking centers throughout North Texas to create Comerica CoWorkSpaces, a new concept that offers complimentary office space exclusively to its small business customers. Through a $3 million investment, nearly 10,000 square feet of existing banking center space across nine Comerica Bank locations will be transformed into unique resource centers where Comerica customers can conduct business. Each CoWorkSpaces site will be equipped with features like Wi-Fi, AV presentation equipment, reservable meeting rooms, hospitality stations and more.
“Our research told us that many small business customers struggle to find space to conduct meetings or work remotely,” said Jim Weber, Chief Experience Officer for Comerica. “At the same time, the recent increase in work-at-home arrangements among many employees and executives has created a need for affordable and appropriate work locations. We’ve listened to our customers, and CoWorkSpaces directly addresses these needs and delivers a value-added experience that truly raises their expectations of what a bank can be.”
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Valuable on-site features
CoWorkSpaces will give small business customers and organizations the opportunity to utilize a variety of unique on-site experiences, such as:
- Community Space – Offers a free venue to host business meetings as well as community organization events.
- Common Space – Non-private common work areas featuring open tables, cubicles and lounge seating.
- Conference Space – Access to spacious conference rooms for business meetings.
- Private Space – Access to temporary private offices.
CoWorkSpaces configurations will vary by location, with customers accessing site-by-site information through an easy-to-use online scheduling system. The experience will be complimentary and exclusively for Comerica customers.
One of several distinctive small business initiatives
The CoWorkSpaces launch comes on the heels of the recent Comerica SmallBizCo-op™ announcement and expands the bank’s suite of elevated experiences that seek to share its resources with its small business customers. SmallBizCo-op provided a set of free and unique service offerings designed to help small businesses grow and thrive, such as the opportunity to entertain a client or share a perk with their employees through free Dallas sports tickets, additional advertising support from Comerica’s inventory, significant savings on everyday business purchases and more.
Currently, small business owners taking advantage of these platforms span across all industries including restaurants, health care, education, construction and nonprofits. To date, Comerica has provided free sports radio ads at Dallas sporting events to 75 small businesses, free tickets to a Dallas sporting event to 147 small businesses and free marketing digital ads displayed in Comerica’s North Texas banking centers for 50 small businesses.
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Separately, Comerica is in the process of transforming idle real estate of its R.L. Thornton Freeway location into a dynamic new $5 million community resource center called Comerica BusinessHQ™. This new concept will serve as a collaborative space for emerging small business operators in the city’s underserved areas. Opening later this spring, BusinessHQ will provide high-need, high-opportunity small businesses with the critical tools to develop, grow and endure. Through a mix of coworking spaces, incubation fellowships and technical assistance programs, BusinessHQ will address the three essential needs of aspiring small businesses: capital, cultivation and connectivity.
All three of these new initiatives are part of concerted strategy to reinforce Comerica’s unwavering commitment to the small business community. “Fostering deep, supportive relationships is what sets Comerica apart from other banks,” said Cassandra McKinney, Executive Director of the Retail Bank. “We are relentless in our pursuit of new ideas that can not only set us apart from and above our competition, but more importantly bring real benefits to small business owners.”
Small business support nationally
In addition to its local small business initiatives, Comerica recently hired three Small Business Regional Directors – Sandra Felegy, Brent Harraman and Meghan Storey – to expand its reach in small business communities.
Led by Comerica Bank’s Director of Small Business Banking Omar Salah, the Small Business Regional Directors are responsible for the overall leadership and success of all small business banking activities within their markets (California, Texas and Michigan, respectively) and will oversee a team of Small Business Group Managers, Small Business Relationship Managers and Small Business Bankers in the execution of Comerica’s small business strategy.
Comerica also plans to debut several digital solutions throughout 2023 with a focus on payments and access to convenient capital for entrepreneurs and small business customers.
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