You spend hours chatting to a potential new client, getting to know them, their project, their goals, and discussing how exactly you can make their lives better with your unique services.
Everything’s going well, they’re excited about working with you, you tell them how much their project is going to cost… and then radio silence. Or worse: ‘HOW MUCH??’
No, you’re not charging too much.
You’re attracting the wrong kinds of clients to your business.
One of the most common ways we see great designers struggle to attract the right clients is with their branding. If your brand isn't communicating what you're offering (and the value you provide) accurately, clients will get the wrong impression of you and what you do.
Companies often overlook the power of branding, and it's much more important than you might think. In fact, it's so crucial to your business that you could even be losing clients because of your branding and not even realize it.
Today, we'll take a look at how you can communicate your value with your branding, and how you can attract the type of clients you love working with by positioning your brand the right way.
Brand positioning is how a company differentiates itself from its competitors, highlighting what makes it different from everyone else and ‘positioning’ them in the market.
Having the right brand positioning will help boost the visibility of your home design business so that you can establish your brand positioning to:
Potential clients are searching online for businesses like yours to work with on their next project. 85% of consumers do online research before they make any purchasing decisions. Meaning, it's important you show up, stand out, and connect with your audience online - and that all starts with your branding.
It takes around 0.05 seconds for someone to form an opinion about your company after loading up your website - yes, really! So if your branding doesn't impress them in that short time, then you've lost a potential client.
A brand experience is how your client feels when working with you. If they have a positive experience interacting with your brand and enjoy the work you did and how you did it, then it'll help them encourage more people to work with you in the future.
Some of the core things involved with brand experience include:
When you can provide your clients with a positive brand experience, including great communication, work delivery, organization, and consistency, they're more likely to give you a positive review, work with you again, and possibly even refer you.
Your brand assets will contribute to the first impressions that your potential clients have of your business. If you don't make an excellent first impression, you won't show your clients how valuable your business is.
Your brand assets can include your:
If you haven't put much work into improving your brand positioning, now is the time to do it.
Here are three ways you can improve your brand positioning online:
Before you jump in and begin changing your website’s content or rewriting your project proposals, you want to find out who your ideal clients actually are and how you should talk to them.
The best way to honestly know who your ideal clients are is to create a user persona for your ideal audience. This will help you determine what resonates with them, and help you position your brand accordingly.
Your customer persona can include:
You should also figure out where they hang out online and where they spend their time on social media so you can target those platforms in your marketing strategy.
Your uniqueness will differentiate your home design business from your competitors, and it's what will persuade your audience to work with you.
Before you figure out what's unique about your company, it’s best to find out how your company is currently presented online.
Ask yourself:
By answering these questions, you'll be able to figure out how your company is currently seen online by your audience and if it matches how you want your company to be seen.
If you find yourself happy with how you're being perceived, that's great, but if you don't think your value is clearly outlined in your branding, then it might be time to change things up.
Ask yourself: what about your company makes you unique?
Remember, it's not just about your logo or company colors; it's your story, style, work ethic, values, and overall core messaging.
Does your team excel at a particular area of home design? Do you specialize in a specific style or a certain room?
When you figure out what your unique home design superpower is then you'll be able to highlight it in your branding, show it off to your audience and ultimately differentiate yourself.
If you can't figure out what makes you unique, then sit down and ask yourself:
Don't forget to back up your claims with proof points like reviews, feedback, statistics and case studies.
Now that you know exactly who your customers are and what makes you unique, it's time to implement and establish this new brand positioning everywhere.
Consistency is key, so make sure you have the same messaging, style, and tone of voice in every aspect of your company.
This includes your:
Your brand is how your company is perceived by those who experience it, and most of the time, people go with a business because of their gut feeling. Make sure the gut feeling they get with your brand is a positive one by ensuring that they have a positive first impression and know that they're getting value when working with you.
An integral role of your brand is preparing clients to work with you - once you’re accurately represented, you’ll find clients are happier to pay more, happier with the end results, and will send you plenty of word of mouth referrals - all because their expectations were met (and maybe even exceeded!) and delivered.
If you'd like to learn how to communicate your value with branding, our team can help.
Home Designer Marketing specializes in exceptional branding and marketing that highlights the unique qualities and services of home design businesses.
Book a Brand Transformation consultation today and start showing your clients why you’re the right choice for their project.
