How to use marketing to get your first interior design client

Marketing is the key to getting your first interior design client. But that's easier said than done. 

Just what is marketing, why do interior designers need it, and how can you use it to get your first interior design client?

What is Marketing?

Marketing is a term that is used to cover a whole range of activities, but at its core, marketing simply means getting your business in front of the sorts of people who are likely to buy your services. 

So how do you do it?

There is no one right way for all, and each business will approach their marketing slightly differently. 

Knowing what is right for your business comes down to answering some key questions:

Who is your ideal client?

Knowing who you want to work with is key to getting your marketing messages right. If you want to attract young city-slicking professional couples, you're going to want to approach your marketing differently than if you want to attract retired couples who live in the country. 

Getting super clear about your client helps you to tailor your marketing to those people.

What is your ideal client like?

Once you are clear about WHO your ideal client is, you now need to find out everything you can about them. 

What do they like to do in their free time? What type of influencers do they follow on social media? How do they dress? Where do they like to shop? What lights them up? What excites them? What is important to them?

Some people create a "customer avatar", which is basically a made up person who you attribute all of these characteristics to, that reflect your ideal client.

When you're creating anything for your business, you think about what would attract this avatar. What would they like to see? Tailor your branding and all of your communications to appeal to this avatar.

Where do they hang out?

So by now, you know who your ideal client is, and you also know a lot about them. 

Armed with this information, you need to find ways to get in front of these people. But first of course, you need to know where they hang out.

What social media platforms do they use? What are they searching for on google? What in-person events do they go to?

Get in front of them

You know where your people are, you know what they like, and you know where they hang out. The next step is to get in front of them, and getting in front of them usually involves getting onto social media.

If they are on Instagram, you need to get on there, posting the sort of content they want to see, and building relationships with them. If they are on Pinterest, you want to be there promoting your business. Pretty much everyone is on Facebook, and posting in local Facebook groups can be a great way to begin to build relationships, and to get your brand known.

But aside from social media, in-person strategies work too. Keep your eyes open for local events, such as interiors fairs, craft fairs, art exhibitions and so on. Take a stall at one of these events, or offer to give a talk. 

Sure, that's going to be miles out of your comfort zone, but remember that everything you ever wanted is just the other side of fear.

Participating in events like this, will certainly increase your brand's visibility as well as building your confidence!

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