Your Ideal Client Avatar
The Six Steps Interior Designers Must Follow to Identify Their Perfect Clients
Paradigm Developers
Introduction
Being a great interior designer doesn't make you a great marketer. It's a different skill set, yet one that's necessary for the long-term success of your business. Having the right strategy to find, attract, and convert potential clients is crucial, especially in a highly competitive industry.
But being a creative type can give you a head start. You may find it easier to communicate with the right audience once you understand how to develop more targeted marketing efforts.
One of the elements of success is learning how to identify your ideal client avatar. Once you know who is a good fit for your business, you can start growing it by bringing in the right kind of people – with needs and tastes that you can address.
So, how do you go about narrowing down the ideal client characteristics to focus your marketing in the ideal direction? The following 6 steps will provide the vital blueprint you need to succeed in growing your business.
Find Your Passion
Much like clients, interior designers have particular tastes. They have their areas of expertise and projects they love doing more than others. If you want a successful career as an interior designer and build a reputable brand, it's best to stick to the things you're passionate about doing.
It will give you extra motivation to stick to your business plan and focus your marketing efforts better. It will make you happy to work with your clients – that type of satisfaction can be priceless when trying to grow a business.
So, one of the first things to do is to get clarity on what you love. Make a list of tasks, projects, and interior design styles or themes you're comfortable with to gain more insight into your own tastes and preferences.
Once you know what you want, it becomes easier to identify your ideal clients. They're always people of similar tastes. Insight into your passion will help you know who to target as a client.
2. Define the Avatar
It's tempting to try and convert everyone into a client. But casting a wide net won't help you necessarily catch your favorite fish. Furthermore, a broad marketing approach can dilute your message to the extent that the right people won't find you.
Thus, after you're done with getting clarity on your desires, it's time to think about potential clients. For things like this, you can resort to using demographic data.
For example, your ideal clients could be family homeowners. Or, perhaps you feel more in tune with recent college graduates or with people who have high-stress, demanding jobs. Maybe your ideal clientele is comprised of small business owners who can afford more complex projects with high-end furniture and luxurious design elements.
As already mentioned, every interior designer is different. But demographic data allows you to find groups of people who share the lifestyle, personal, and professional characteristics that match your desired client avatar.
You'll want to know where your ideal clients live, their education, income, and even hobbies. Researching hopping trends or their preferred choice of entertainment can give you even more insight into how they can fit your style and services.
You might also consider any cultural or personality traits. Do you enjoy forming relationships with clients or prefer keeping the discussions project-oriented? Are you open to input, or do you like taking charge?
These things could determine if a client avatar is a good fit for your business.
From there, you should also identify their main pain points and needs. What frustrates your ideal client, and is it something that you can resolve?
Render created for: Elle W Interiors
3. Design Your Branding Accordingly
A brand without personality will get you nowhere. Take advantage of the fact that you know who you want to target. Figure out the best way to communicate with potential clients and create messaging that will resonate with your target audience. As Mina Duque states:
"Your brand is more than a product or service; it's the culture and expertise that potential clients invest in." - Mina Duque, Growth Partner.
Branding has much to do with location and where you choose to focus your efforts. If you know your ideal clients, spend more time in the same space as them. Avoid wasting time in places you won't reach them, or they can't find you.
4. Social Media Strategy
These days, people spend a lot of time on social media platforms. They also use these outlets to research service providers and professionals. A consistent social media presence is nothing short of mandatory to both research and reach your perfect clients.
Granted, it's slightly challenging to go deep into social media marketing if you're new to it. Your audience likely uses multiple platforms. But as you get to know who you're after, you should be able to identify the social media outlets most deserving of your efforts.
Interior designers tend to thrive on Instagram, as we do. Thus, it should be the focus of your attention before expanding your social media reach to other platforms, e.g. Facebook, Houzz, Twitter, etc. As Mina Duque states:
"Unlock the marketing potential of the platform by gaining insights, employing best practices, and staying active. Consistently share your latest projects, and connect with your ideal clients by offering the solutions and advice they're searching for."
Once you have a stunning portfolio and a decent following, you can move into a multi-channel marketing strategy. While Instagram is great for showcasing your vision and ideas, other platforms make communication easier. Give your prospects and clients more than one means to reach out and interact with you.
Render created for: Tiffany Leigh Design
5. Get Involved
Why do some interior designers stand out more than their competitors? They simply have a stronger presence. It's not enough to set up a social media marketing campaign if you're not active within the community.
If you don't upload articles or social media posts that speak to your expertise, you won't get traffic. Interior designers stand out when they have authority. People find them when they're present, and others can stand by them. That is something you build over time by becoming more involved in your space.
Increase your exposure through everything from providing more content to participating in discussions, to public speaking or webinars. You have to get in front of people for them to know that you exist and have something important for them to hear.
6. Figure Out the Ballpark Budget of an Ideal Client
If you're not clear on a project budget, a discovery conversation or a proposal meeting can quickly transform into wasted time for all parties involved. This is where having a perfect client avatar comes in handy.
It can give you a glimpse into what people value. Perhaps they want efficiency or a comfortable living space.
Some may value quality and durability over luxurious fixtures and other elements.
The attributes that a client values often dictate the project budget. Furthermore, it's vital to get clear on the type of income you're comfortable with when it comes to potential clients. Perhaps your services aren't cheap for everyone you want to target – therefore, you might want to narrow down your audience.
What if your business model relies heavily on upsells? That might also affect how you approach or propose a project budget.
What if your plan doesn't align perfectly with the client's values and what they're willing to spend money on during a renovation?
You have to consider these things before focusing your marketing efforts on a particular group of people. It's always best to give yourself some assurances that whoever reaches out to you can afford your service, to avoid wasting time working on multiple proposals and presentations only to get nowhere.
Conclusion
If you want to be a successful interior designer and build a long-lasting brand, a targeted marketing approach always wins. But that's often easier said than done if you don't know where to begin.
Before you even think about potential clients, you need clarity on your service and brand. Clarify your mission and figure out your passions to understand what environment or working relationship will give you the most satisfaction.
Only then can you start defining the perfect client avatar based on tastes, style, income, age, cultural preferences, income, and other characteristics – the goal here is to find someone you'd be happy to work with and who can actually benefit from your expertise.
Then you can begin the grind of building your authority and getting in front of your ideal clients. Create a strong social media presence and get involved with the community to increase your exposure. You have to be out there for people to find you and learn about your brand and service.
The more helpful you are, the more people from your target audience will reach out to enlist your services. Take things one step at a time to ensure you won't miss a single beat, and you'll put yourself in a position to take your corner of the market by storm.
If you're looking for additional advice on targeted marketing strategies and growing your business feel free to book a strategy call with us by clicking this link.
