Marketing Strategies for Interior Designers
When you’re running a business as an interior designer, it is not possible to maintain effective communication with your prospective clients without a successful marketing strategy. Traditional sales and marketing strategies, such as delivering fliers or telemarketing, might sometimes work. However, they won’t be sufficient alone in this age as technology is deeply embedded in our daily lives. Therefore, creating comprehensive marketing strategies for interior designers is a must.
Moreover, being overly sales oriented, as advised in the traditional way, might scare your prospective clients away. Therefore, it is essential that you create a desirable brand image and develop informative and encouraging marketing strategies. Aggressive sales techniques are not a way to grow your business anymore.
In this article, we will elaborate on effective marketing strategies that are low cost and inherently suitable for interior design businesses. Choosing the most efficient marketing strategies is of vital importance, especially for self-employed interior designers and young companies with no firmly established customer base.
So, what is the best starting point? What are the essential marketing strategies to survive the competition?
1. Take advantage of social media
Never underestimate the benefits of social media for an interior design business. Free social media pages and accounts can be your gateway to new clients when used efficiently. A professional and comprehensive social media strategy will help you more than you could ever imagine. It will definitely take you a step further in competition.
2. Emphasize your specialization
Many interior designers mention their ability to handle various projects. However, if you have a specialization in a particular area (such as home design, or workplace design, or hotel design, or store design), always emphasize it. A “jack of all trades” attitude might be dangerous, as it implies a lack of specialization and might hold you back in competition. An effective marketing strategy should be based on a well-defined specialization. It is important to set your position as a business and to clearly tell your clients who you are and what you can do for them.
3. Use lead generation services
Lead generation services mostly include traditional cold calling, but as mentioned before, cold calling is not the best method in today’s world. On the other hand, you can find some lead generation companies using digital tools to create demand for your business. They advertise your business to high-potential target customers and provide you with a database of prospective clients showing an interest in your services.
4. Improve your website
Your website is a lot more than a simple business card. In fact, it is your display where you can reveal your value proposition through your past projects and achievements. Using your website for displaying only your basic company and contact information is a big mistake. Avoid this mistake and polish this platform where you can show off what you have to offer. Don’t forget that your website as an interior designer should look excellent and user-friendly as a reflection of your services.
5. Never miss public speech opportunities
Although digital marketing tools are quite effective for an interior designer, coming into the presence as a person would be the exact right way to support your digital marketing efforts. Public speech opportunities, such as speaking in a seminar or webinar, will also enhance your reliability as a business and contribute to your reputation. Therefore, never miss an opportunity to have your voice heard by an audience.
6. Create Your Elevator Pitch
A strong elevator pitch is an asset for anyone, but even more valuable for interior designers as they offer services rather than generic products. It is the basic marketing tool that help you attract people with your first couple of sentences and make them want to hear more. It should be short, precise, and obviously interesting.
7. Have your projects featured in media
Getting your projects featured and published in relevant media is the fastest way to build a good reputation. Thankfully, there are plenty of journals, magazines, and online platforms in the field of interior design which can help you gain recognition in the industry. Being published will enhance your impression as an expert in the field and bring new business opportunities.
8. Deliver impactful newsletters
Even though you have the perfect website attracting many new visitors, you will need a strategy to keep them visiting continuously. People who visit your website for the first time may like what they see but might not need your services at that moment. Therefore, it is important to keep reminding your visitors that you are there with your excellent services. The most convenient way to keep them informed is to convince them to subscribe to your weekly or monthly newsletters. Remember, you need to make sure that your newsletters are engaging so that they wouldn’t unsubscribe after your first couple of e-mails.
9. Be mindful of your CRM strategy
Most businesses remove the contacts who are not interested in their services from their CRM database and never contact them again. This might make sense in some other industries but not in the interior design services. Their reluctance for your services at a certain point in time doesn’t mean that they will never need your services. Therefore, it is wise to keep even the uninterested contacts in your database to reach out to them later.
10. Take advantage of innovative technologies
The ability to adapt to changes makes your company a more desirable one for potential clients. Leading the pack is essential when marketing your services as an interior designer. You can easily utilize the latest technologies, such as e-design or virtual reality, to demonstrate your services.
Above, we summarized the most effective marketing strategies for interior designers that won’t cost a fortune. These recommendations would be especially helpful if you’re just starting your business. Contact us for your questions about marketing your business or book a free consulting session to discuss your needs and how we can assist you.