How to Market your Interior Design Business Without Breaking The Bank
It’s one thing to be a fantastic interior designer and quite another to get the word out about it.
That’s because it is an ultra-competitive industry with a lot of designers coming up with terrific works of art.
With interior design jobs set to increase by about 13% within the next decade, you need great ideas to get jobs flowing.
Here’s how you can do exactly that:
1) Know your Target Audiences and Engage them
There are some categories of people who need interior designers.
Some of them buy houses, fix them, and need a professional interior job done.
Also, a lot of young families might want a touch or two in their new home.
There’s more, but by now you get the point. You have to know the kinds of style people are interested in and their general tastes.
Engage your Audience
Once you consider what they need, their tastes, and other necessary information, you’ll have a clearer idea of who to approach and the channels through which you can reach more people that may need your services.
2) Be Friendly and Approachable
It’s all great being professional in your interior design business. However, there’s no harm to mixing things up.
That way, you get to earn referrals from your former customers to get more business.
To do that, you must keep yourself in their good books. Be kind, helpful, and willing to listen to their specific needs and interests.
It helps workflow
Your work is easier when you get it done in a light mood.
You’ll get more recommendations the next time a friend or family needs an interior designer.
3) Direct Mail Marketing
While many people mistake this marketing process to be suited to neighborhoods where residents are less likely to use the web, it still works.
There are a host of items you can include in a direct mail to clients I clouding fliers of your business.
You could also include promo codes and commission for referrals they make to the business.
Why you need it
Print advertising and direct mail are listed among the top sources of generating sales and marketing leads.
4) Use a Professional and Engaging Website
A website is an absolute necessity considering more than half of the world’s population uses the internet.
As such, there’s always the potential for someone to visit your website and take a tour of your services.
What you want is a website that’s user-friendly, engaging, and contains details about what you do. The fact is your competitors run websites.
Keep Contents Fresh
Businesses that don’t redesign their websites every few years or months often look outdated.
Refreshing your website is a great way to reinvent its look and functions. Let your site be easy to navigate at all times.
Mobile
Your website should work on mobile devices as well. Make sure it has your contact information, previous designing jobs, and testimonials.
5) Connect with Influencers
Know one or two media personalities or influential persons online?
Connect with them about being a spokesperson for your Interior design business.
That way, you get to draw attention to your business and also show that you are reputable and professional.
Influential people have an online presence they can use to tweet, post, and blog about you and your Interior design business.
6) Have an Active and Engaging Social Media Presence
If you’re not on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms, you’re missing a trick.
These are excellent networking tools. All you have to do is give a unique insight into the interior design business.
You can offer advice on design issues or concerns and also share fabulous photos of outstanding jobs you completed.
Respond to Comments and Messages
People will leave comments and questions on your social media platforms.
Be prepared to communicate with them by offering advice, tips, and assurances.
7) Partner with Popular Online Businesses
Perhaps you have a client that runs a popular business online or know someone you can partner with.
Talk to them to see how they can help you promote your business in a partnership.
This is a great option especially when your clients are open to discounts.
Further, partnerships are great cross-promotion opportunities all businesses can use to grow.
Sharing Talent and Experience
Strategic partnerships enable teams to bring the best of their talent, strengths, expertise, and experience.
8) Bulletin and Notice Boards
That good old bulletin and notice board are still relevant to your marketing efforts.
They exist in many places too. For example, you can get some materials shared in a coffee shop, the library, and the medical and dental clinics.
Notice boards are parts of these places and are great ways to advertise. Check out how an appropriate offline marketing strategy can help attract more traffic to your business.
9) Optimize Your Facebook Business Page
Using this interior design marketing tip is a great idea. Set up a Facebook business page and manage it accordingly.
There are steps to help you optimize it for success.
With about 1.62 billion users visiting Facebook daily, it makes sense to try and convert some of them to use your services.
They could also follow you online, share your posts, and tag family and friends so they can see how good your services are.
10) Write How-to Articles
Once you get a lot of ideas going including problems and solutions from your prospects and customers, it’s time to start writing How-to articles to teach potential prospects how to do things themselves.
A How-to article also lets you showcase your skills and previous work without feeling like you are trying to sell something.
You also get to be an authority in your field when you provide visitors with helpful articles.
Pain Points
Start things off with a compilation of pain points that can help you come up with articles to write.
Through that, you also get the keywords to use and subject lines for your emails and newsletters.
Provide tips, tricks, hacks, and more from your interior design business.
11) Join Houzz
This is a platform where you can have your presence felt in the industry.
Houzz is an online community where architects, interior designers, and home improvement enthusiasts engage with.
Advertising there is a way to get the word out about your business.
Further, you can also get to connect with prospects and other related businesses that are keen to partner with yours.
12) Ask for Reviews
Having 5-star reviews using tools like Google, Facebook, Trustpilot, and other reputable directories will do a world of good for your interior design business.
As a result, it will be what separates you from other interior designers in the area and set you up as easily one of the best out there.
It’s Simple
This is a simple interior design marketing strategy to implement. At least, it involves no more and will have compounding interests over time.
Just ask your clients, especially those you’re cool with, to help leave a review for you online.
The email you set up should include all the links to review sites.
Further, a template for the clients to just copy/paste if necessary. What you want is to make things as easier as possible for them to leave reviews.
That way, they will readily leave positive comments that pull others to your interior design business.
13) Use Virtual Staging
Virtual staging involves designing or staging an interior to allow you to see a design via software.
Prospects will be able to see what their homes would look like when you are done redesigning them.
The use of an app also allows you to see a specific color scheme and have your clients choose one.
What’s more, you could also create a design without lifting heavy furniture.
Hire a Professional if you can
Many brands hire companies that offer virtual staging services.
Browse through their various websites to get an idea of how virtual staging works and what it costs.
If you know how to use the software, all the better.
Add Video to it
Cisco has projected that over 80% of all Internet traffic will be video by 2021—which means businesses need a video content strategy to tap into this figure.
Videos can be spectacular or whacky. Always try to get it right the first time.
14) Send Thank-you Notes
Thank you notes are great no matter who you use them for.
So if it’s a prospect you spoke to on the phone or a satisfied client, send thank you notes to them after that.
They should know that you value the time they spent talking to you.
Being courteous will make potential clients remember you at a time they’ll be needing your services.
Generally, customers will appreciate the gesture.
Conclusion
There you go! These are nice strategies to ensure you compete and stay ahead of the game.
The interior design industry is only going to get bigger and better as time goes on.
Implementation of these steps means you get to have a say in the current trends and get the word out about how effective and professional your interior design business is.
