Want to attract more of your ideal interior design clients, sell your projects at a higher price, and set your interior design company apart from the competition? Having an interior design website isn't enough. You need a strong online presence and effective brand strategy to help you land more of those dream projects.
So, how can you create a powerful brand strategy? In this blog, we're breaking it down for you in five essential steps, exploring everything from copywriting to website development. We'll also discuss the biggest mistakes we see interior designers make with their strategy, what you can do to attract your ideal clients, get found online, and get paid more! Let's get into it.
Since search engines are the starting point for 68% of online experiences, according to BrightEdge, let's first get into the minds of your potential clients and see how they typically find an interior design company like yours online.
Your prospect begins by searching online for local interior design companies, typically on Google. Usually they will put in the search bar: “interior designer near me” or interior designer [location]” If you are not utilizing local SEO, your company may not even pop up during their initial search.
They quickly scan the first page of results (yes, just the first page! Only 5% go to the second page, according to Brafton) and open the interior design websites with the best Google reviews.
They skim the top third of each homepage for around three seconds, deciding whether they're interested in learning more or if you're not a good fit for them. If your website doesn’t immediately grab their attention, they move on to the next.
Your prospect decides who to contact based on your website design, copy, imagery, and CTAs (Call to actions - i.e., "Book a free discovery call.”)
Do you want to make sure you're the interior designer they contact after their Google search? Follow our five steps to building an impactful brand strategy, and you'll give yourself the best chance of winning more high-value clients.
Having worked with countless interior designers on their strategies, we've found there are five critical steps to building a solid brand strategy.
The biggest mistake we see interior designers make with this step? Not doing their strategy first! Many designers are DIY-ing their online presence and jump into setting up a website, running ads, and posting on social media without thinking it through. The result? The lack of organization with systems and processes in place and could give your potential clients the wrong impression of your company.
Attract your ideal client with a strong brand identity that positions you as an authority in your industry, differentiates you from competitors, and effectively communicates what you bring to the table and how you can help.
Get found online by writing copy that helps answer your prospect's questions and includes relevant keywords (the search terms people are typing into Google like "interior design services [your location]”).
Get paid more by telling your unique story, highlighting what sets you apart, showing off your skills, and positioning yourself as a quality interior design option to build trust through your content, website design, and social media presence.
The biggest mistake you can make? Making your website copy all about how great you are and how awesome your company is. What about your client? What do they need? How do you help them? If your website has what we like to call "we-itis," where you only talk about yourself, you aren't speaking directly to your clients. So, they may just skip past you for a website that does.
Attract your ideal client by writing website copy that clarifies who you want to work with and why you're the perfect interior designer to help those specific clients. Don't be afraid to inject your real personality into your copy; having your own brand voice makes you stand out and attract better-fit clients.
Get found online by writing copy that tells Google why your particular interior design website is the best solution for what your ideal client is searching for online including relevant keywords.
Get paid more by communicating the value you offer your prospects with blogs that show off your expertise, website copy that addresses their pain points, testimonials from past clients, and even portfolio pieces that highlight the quality of your work.
Get started by writing copy that addresses these key areas:
The biggest mistake you can make is creating branding assets that don't reflect the quality of your work. Time and time again, we see interior designers who do incredible work, but their website design just doesn't do it justice because it's outdated or poorly designed.
Attract your ideal client by creating branding assets, like your logo, website design and social media posts that give your prospects the same emotional response or gut feeling that your work does. Show off who you are through striking imagery and graphic design.
Get found online by designing a website that instantly grabs your prospect's attention with modern graphics, striking visuals, and a user-friendly interface that pushes them towards converting.
Get paid more by creating branding with a professional feel that builds trust with your potential clients and reflects the value of your services.
Design matters. And as an interior designer, we know you know this. Still, many interior design websites don't look as good as they could. When asked what visual elements they value on a company website, 40% of consumers said images, 39% said color, and 21% said video (Top Design Firms).
Take a look at these website design examples and ask yourself, "who would I want to work with?"
The biggest mistake we see interior designers make regarding their SEO strategy is not weaving their keywords correctly into their website, not having a Google Business Profile, and not having enough Google reviews. These are essential for building trust and ensuring people can find you online.
Attract your ideal client by optimizing your content correctly using relevant keywords to show up for more searches. The key components of keyword optimization include:
Get found online by optimizing your Google Business Profile with content, photos, keywords, posts, and reviews. Your Google Business Profile takes up a large section of the search results page and is vital for reaching more local clients.
Get paid more by implementing a monthly SEO strategy to significantly increase interior design leads, sales, projects, and overall revenue. An SEO strategy will include things like:
The biggest mistake we see is interior designers DIY-ing their website (learn why it's not a great idea in our other blog). They often end up with a website that's hard to navigate and doesn't have an engaging CTA. In fact, 42% of people will leave a website that is hard to navigate. (Top Design Firms)
Attract your ideal client by programming your website to create an excellent user experience that builds trust with your ideal client. Think about it, if you use a website with confusing layouts, broken buttons, or missing pages, would you trust it? Probably not.
Get found online by ensuring your website loads quickly, is hosted on a secure platform, and works just as well on mobile as it does on desktop. Especially since 73% of web designers believe that a non-responsive design is a top reason visitors leave a website (GoodFirms).
Get paid more by making it easy for someone to start a conversation with an online calendar integration where people can easily book an appointment with you without needing to leave the website or wait for your "office hours".
We hope you've found this guide to building your interior design brand strategy helpful! From leveling up your SEO strategy to making your website copy compelling, there are so many things you can get started on today for a stronger interior design business tomorrow.
If you'd like a strategic partner by your side who can help you maximize your brand's impact online, talk to our interior designer marketing experts here at Home Designer Marketing.
At Home Designer Marketing, we help interior designers transform their brands and get found online, win their dream clients, and work smarter by streamlining their processes.
Want to know what we think of your current online presence? Why not get your free brand, website, & SEO audit or book a free 30-minute consultation with our friendly design team.
