Advertising

The contact-first playbook: how Workbar scaled smarter paid performance

Alex Virden

December 15, 2025

min read

Contents

Workbar, a Boston-based coworking brand with 11 locations, was done wasting budget on broad audiences and lookalikes. They wanted to know exactly who was on their site, who was clicking their ads (even if they didn’t convert), and how to act on those signals without breaking what already worked.

Vector gave Workbar contact-level visibility and timing so ads, outreach, and follow-ups all happen when interest is real.

“We’re expanding our playbook to include coworking and office leads alongside brokers for larger suites and because of Vector, we’re reactivating paused channels to target only the real people who matter. No more spray-and-pray. Just timely, relevant outreach that flows straight into Salesforce.”- Kara Brown, Senior Marketing Manager, Lead Generation, Workbar
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The Vector way

Most teams still target accounts. But accounts don’t click, people do.

Vector flips that. And so does Workbar.

Workbar uses:

Website de-anonymization to see who’s on site and what they view
Ad Reveal to identify real people behind Google/Meta/Reddit ad clicks whether they fill out a form or not
Signal-based segments that flow to HubSpot for fine-grained filtering, then back to Vector as dynamic lists that stay fresh across ad platforms
Sales alerts to notify reps especially for high-leverage audiences

Result: precise audiences, fewer wasted impressions, and cleaner hand-offs to Sales.

When to use this play

Use it when:

You’re reviving or expanding paid channels but want precision over volume
You need to retarget high-intent visitors and ad clickers with message match
Prospect activity requires fast Sales follow-up
Your ICP is broad (industry/size/stage) and lookalikes are too blunt
You want to uncover who is in the market now
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Goal

Efficient pipeline creation and acceleration by targeting real buyers at the right moment.

Objectives

Warm up high-intent contacts before outbound.
Lift outbound conversion with parallel LinkedIn, Meta, and Reddit touches.
Trigger outreach to coworking and office space prospects and brokers when signals pop.
Maintain conversion guardrails while scaling spend.

Use case

Your team needs more pipeline without spraying spend. Vector helps you identify high-intent buyers, sync them to paid channels, and support outbound with timely, coordinated touchpoints—automatically.

Play type: Pipeline Creation | Pipeline Acceleration | Outbound Assist Estimated time to execute: 30–60 minutes to set up segments and syncs; then fully automated.

How it works:

Step 1: Build signal-based segments in Vector‍

Start by creating segments based on the signals that show real buying intent: pricing and comparison views, high-intent content, Ad Reveal activity, and roles tied to open opportunities.

Keep segments tight to avoid audience bloat.

How Workbar applied it

Workbar built dedicated segments for high-intent visitors and Ad Reveal engagement across Google and Meta, then layered in more granular audiences to support their expanding footprint.

They created separate segments for coworking, private offices, and on-demand offerings like non-member meeting rooms and day passes—ensuring messaging matched each buyer’s specific needs and intent.

With 11 locations (and new ones launching soon), Workbar also built location-based segments so they could target prospects based on proximity to their closest workspace. This approach will be critical as they scale in 2026, allowing the team to track demand for new locations and begin filling offices and selling coworking memberships months before doors officially open.

Step 2: Enrich in HubSpot, then sync back to Vector

‍Enhance or filter your segments in your CRM, then push them back to Vector as dynamic lists.

This keeps ad audiences up to date without manual uploads.

How Workbar applied it

Because their legacy lifecycle stages didn’t reflect how different buyers behave, Workbar used HubSpot to layer in custom filters—member or non-member status, broker status, visit recency, page visits, and deal potential—before syncing dynamic lists back into Vector.

This gave them cleaner, more reliable targeting.

Step 3: Sync directly to your ad platforms‍

Send your signal-based audiences into LinkedIn, Google, Meta, or Reddit: no CSVs, no lookalikes, no broad targeting.

Just real people showing real intent.

How Workbar applied it

Workbar rebuilt their paid strategy around Vector audiences.

They relaunched Meta using only Vector-defined segments and introduced Reddit using Vector lists layered with Boston-specific geo targeting—avoiding platform-native audiences entirely.

Step 4: Align paid with outbound and sales follow-up‍

Use signals to trigger alerts, give Sales context, and align messaging across channels.

When paid and outbound carry the same narrative, conversion lifts across the board.

How Workbar applied it

Workbar created a dedicated broker lifecycle stage and sends real-time alerts via Slack and HubSpot when brokers or high-intent contacts click ads or visit the site—enabling fast, relevant follow-up tied to available spaces and tour scheduling.

They’ve extended this to other key segments, including former members ready to return, on-demand users signaling repeat or membership intent, high-scoring coworking and office prospects, and previously lost or unqualified leads primed for re-engagement. These alerts help the team act at the right moment with targeted messaging and incentives, turning intent into timely conversations and bookings.

Step 5: Track what matters and scale what works‍

Monitor attribution, downstream conversion, and segment health. Iterate on audience logic and creative based on what drives quality, not just cheap clicks.

How Workbar applied it

Workbar tracks Vector as the original source in HubSpot and Salesforce and monitors how signal-based audiences impact their two most important metrics: lead-to-tour and tour-to-deal conversion.

Their team regularly refines segments to keep targeting sharp and performance strong.

‍Case study snapshot:
measurable lift in paid quality & conversion

Workbar relies heavily on maintaining strong lead→tour and tour→deal conversion rates. Signal-driven targeting made it easier to protect those numbers while scaling paid spend more confidently.

With Vector powering their audiences, Workbar saw clear improvements across quality, attribution, and efficiency:

Higher-quality channel performance: Meta, once turned off entirely due to poor lead quality, is now back in rotation and performing well. Workbar is working towards running Meta and Reddit campaigns using Vector-defined audiences, eliminating the noise that broad targeting and lookalikes introduced.

Faster, more relevant engagement: With dedicated lifecycle stages and real-time alerts, teams can act immediately when high-intent prospects visit the website or engage with ads. Instead of spray-and-pray outreach, this focuses follow-up on the real people who matter, turning passive behavior into warm, well-timed conversations that drive more qualified tours.

Cleaner prioritization through behavior-led scoring: Workbar rebuilt lead scoring around real engagement page views, ad clicks, and returning visits rather than outdated lifecycle buckets. This keeps prioritization tight and supports the tour conversion rates the business depends on.

More efficient spending across every ad platform: Cross-platform Ad Reveal gives Workbar a single view of who’s clicking on Google, Meta, or Reddit, making retargeting sharper and protecting their downstream conversion metrics.
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What this unlocked

By shifting from broad audiences to contact-level, signal-driven targeting, Workbar strengthened the entire revenue path from first click to booked tour to closed deal.

Paid became a precision lever instead of a gamble.