How to Take the First Step in Marketing Your Interior Design Business
"I have pages of notes on how to market my business, but I don't know where to start. What step should I implement first?"
I received almost the exact same question back-to-back on some recent consultation calls with my Vault members. It is one thing to have all the best marketing podcasts in your ear every week. It is another thing entirely to sort out: 1) which parts apply to you and, 2) where to start. I'm sharing the first thing you should do to market your business, which is entirely dependent on your ideal client, and how that will impact the other pieces of your sales funnel.
If you've ever felt overwhelmed and bewildered by marketing and growing your home industry business, this blog post is for you. But first, a disclaimer: The answer to this question requires that we establish some common ground and basic understanding, first. If you already know who your ideal client is and the best way to convert them, skip to the end for my shortlist of 5 marketing steps to take.
How to Take the First Step in Marketing Your Business
Before you can know how to market your business, you have to know to whom you are speaking. If you need a quick way to determine who your ideal client is - or to verify what you already know - try one of these tactics:
How to Find Your Ideal Client - Tactic #1
If you've already worked with someone whom you would consider to be your dream client, note why you liked them and their project. List specific life situations they had (married, retired, etc.) and actual problems they faced (building a second vacation home, organizing their many collectibles, etc.). In this scenario, you could specialize in helping newly retired couples design, build, organize and/or furnish their vacation homes, second homes, yachts...or just a specific room in their home. Or maybe you'd specialize in helping wealthy couples with multiple homes monetize those dwellings through short term rental services. Be specific on what you do and who it is for - and don't say "everyone." Specificity will get you in the door. Doing a great job will get you more projects beyond that specific scope.
If you niched down to level up, would you enjoy running your business? Would you be able to create streamlined systems, processes, and internal templates that would help you serve that type of client seamlessly and consistently well? Yes, yes, and yes. That person is your ideal client.
How to Find Your Ideal Client - Tactic #2
If you haven't worked with any clients yet, determine which type of project - to the best of your knowledge and research - will require the least amount of hours worked with the biggest payoff. That type of project indicates a scaleable service and is a smart, efficient way to produce some real cash flow. Become a specialist in that service. Once you've worked with a few clients, you can narrow down your service offering for that of a particular type of client.
How to Find Your Ideal Client - Tactic #3
Are you in business to serve people just like you? Let's say you were (or are) a busy mom who loves a well-organized or well-designed home. Let's say that you know how difficult either of those things is when you've got a crazy schedule and a litter of little people running around your ankles. If you've gotten a handle on that chaos (most days - ha!) and want to offer services that help other moms with that same set of issues, congrats! You are your own ideal client.
Now that you've got a basic idea of what you'll specialize in (and possibly, who that specialty service will serve), you can move to the next step...
Determine How Your Ideal Client Consumes Content
If your ideal client doesn't use Twitter to share his/her house goals, you don't need to be on Twitter. The same is true of Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Find out which platform your ideal client is using most often and show up a few times a week on that particular platform. You should be sharing photos of your work, your blog posts, and any handy little tips or freebies (require that they sign up with an email address!).
Regardless of who your ideal client is, you'll need to create a mailing list that will capture the leads who sign up for any freebies that you offer. Your freebie could be something simple, such as an online quiz or a highly helpful video, or something more robust, like a branded magazine or a free mini-course. Don't select a lead magnet based on what everyone else is offering. Select the format and subject matter based on how your ideal client will best consume it.
For example, if you serve the 55+ community, you won't want to use an online quiz entitled "What is Your Organizing Style?" as your freebie. The topic and the format won't resonate; these two items need to be married to your ideal client on all levels.
As a general rule, if you serve the high-end homeowner, you'll want to bypass the online quiz and go straight for the branded magazine. The high-end homeowner doesn't have time or interest in Cosmo-style quizzes or online courses; they want to know why they should hire you in particular, what you'll bring to their project, and whether they can trust you.
If you are new to the business and don't have a solid idea of who your ideal client is or where they spend their time, create your lead magnet around your specialty service and in the format that is most efficient for you.
Create the Right Content for Your Ideal Client to Consume
Don't post on social for the sake of posting. Don't blog just to ramble. Don't create five lead magnets when you only need one right now. Don't email just because someone said it was a good idea. Your social media, blog posts, and email newsletters should contain topics that will inspire, educate, or entertain your ideal client. Nearly always, each of these items should end with instructions on how to become your client (e.g. Click the link in my bio to book a discovery call, Click here to view my services, and so on).
Once you know who your ideal client is, marketing can become relatively simple. Here are a few rules to follow:
If you blog, be sure to release a new post at least once per month. Pin that post on Pinterest and share it on social media. If you don't have a blog but love to use Pinterest, keep in mind that the platform won't serve your business well unless you have content to pin from your own website on a regular basis (blog posts and/or portfolio images).
If you don't have portfolio images or blog posts, you can't use Pinterest to increase your own website traffic. If you can, create boards around your services, specialties, and your ideal client even before you've started blogging. Once your Pinterest profile has been set up and has, ideally, gained some traction, start pinning those blog posts that you've been working on in the background.
Facebook & Instagram
Post three times per week and speak directly to your ideal client. Don't overwhelm yourself with IG stories, reels, or IGTV unless you enjoy doing them and they also connect with your ideal client. Send fans to your website as much as possible.
Your Website
...should be tailored to your ideal client and talk more about them than about your business itself, especially on the home page. Your website is the mothership of your entire brand. If you don't have a website, you'll have nowhere to send your social media fans, your Pinterest traffic, and nowhere to publish your blog posts or share your portfolio.
And now, we arrive at the next big step you need to take when marketing your business.... After defining your ideal client or ideal service specialty, you need a website that speaks to your ideal client or service. You also need a way for someone to easily book a call with you via your website, sign up to get your freebie, as well as a way for them to directly contact you.
Once you have these two items in place (your ideal client/service and your website) your last step is ongoing. On the front end, share your message on social media and Pinterest to generate that website traffic. On the back end, stay in touch with your new leads and generate new business from past clients by sending a consistent monthly email newsletter.
For those who love to skim these blog posts, here's a quick list:
Define your client or specialty service
Get a website that matches step #1
Send traffic to that website via social media, referral partners, publicity, events, etc.
Capture that traffic via a freebie
Convert that traffic via email marketing
Work your way down that list. You'll be at steps 3-5 for as long as you are in business, and that is how it should be.
Resources
Need a new website? Click here.
Need templates for social media, Pinterest, freebies, or email marketing? Click here.
