3 Most Important Marketing Tasks For Designers

Running a design business can be tough when you’re doing it all – or nearly all – yourself. Our aim is to offer you practical, tried and tested tips to make things easier for you. Here are 3 marketing tasks that you should prioritise above the rest.

Creating an exceptional online profile

In this digital age, the best way to market your business is online. It’s the first port of call for anyone who is looking for a designer, especially because they can find reviews and recommendations. If you create a top-class digital profile, half your battle is won.

Start by creating an excellent website. If you’re not comfortable building it yourself on a hosting platform like WordPress or Shopify, hire a professional to do the job. First impressions are everything and you get one shot to sway a potential client. You want your website to look beautiful and have a good flow with logical navigation.

Make sure you include a good mix of design information, gorgeous images and completed projects to boost your credibility.

Professional photography

As a designer, you know the importance of amazing visuals. Someone searching for a designer online often goes straight to their portfolio images before they read about that person.

We’ve previously written about how to take great pics on your smartphone but for your portfolio, you need something a bit extra. Beautifully styled, well-lit professional photographs will sell your skills, so it’s worth investing in a pro during each project to capture the magic as it develops.

You will also need a library of images that you can regularly upload to social media. Sometimes onsite images taken on your phone will be enough – they capture the moment, the people and the immediacy of connection with your audience in real-time. But you’ll also need professional shots for that wow factor because an interior designer without a strong Instagram is like gin without tonic.

Building trust with your clients

It’s hard for a homeowner to choose a designer. There are so many questions that go through their minds – will this person understand my vision, will they do a good job, how will they react if something goes wrong during the project, will they come in on or below budget?

Once you’ve worked with a person once and they’re happy with the answers to these questions, there’s a good chance they will hire you again. The trickier part is convincing new clients that you are worth taking a chance on. Here are a couple of ways to make this happen.

• Reviews – ask your clients to leave public reviews that others can assess.
• Build a reputation as an expert in your field by engaging in discussions on design forums or writing blogs for leading furniture brands (we’re open to cullaborations!).
• Join your community groups on social media and offer free advice to people with home renovations questions.

If you’d like to write the occasional thinkpiece or for us or be one of our go-to design experts for comment, please get in touch – we’d love to have you on board.