get clients to value you — Interior Design Business Resources

We all want our interior design clients to love us and spread the word on how great our business is. And the good news is that it really takes just small efforts to create a business that wows clients and that in turn, helps client retention, smoother projects, greater client loyalty, more referrals, and helps you stand out from the competition. Plus clients want to know they’re an integral part of your business and you appreciate their patronage.

Finding Value in Skills

Do you ever feel like the public doesn’t place much value in interior design anymore?

YES!

I know. It’s what everyone says.

The funny thing is when I was at a marketing conference in April, an accountant stood up and said, “No one values accountants anymore.” And someone else stood up and said, “No one sees the value in custom dresses and clothing anymore.”

Project Minimums

I have seen this question come up a few times lately and you know what that means! Time to write about it!

This question kind of baffles me, because, yes, you should have project minimums. To me, this comes from an insecurity of putting limits on your work and a fear of turning work away. You all know you should have a minimum budget for working with clients. So right now I am giving you permission to implement project minimums.

When Clients Want to Buy Retail

When you buy retail, you buy at an inflated price. Yet, more and more clients want to buy retail. They want their furniture quick and easy. Not to mention cheap. But what they (and you) may not realize is that you're likely paying a much bigger "markup" on retail compared to the quality that you get than to-the-trade sources.

Usually when buying to-the-trade the cost to quality ratio is much better. Clients get more for their money. They'll be paying a smaller markup to the designer rather than a large markup to the retailer.

Transparency in Design

How transparent are you in business? Stop and think about that for a minute.

Here is another question: Have you had any client issues that could have been avoided by greater transparency?

Transparency is behaving with openness, free communication, and accountability. Transparency is information clarity and strongly related to integrity.