September 3, 2020

It can be difficult to sell what some consumers consider a luxury item – creativity and beauty – in a solid economy, let alone an unprecedented, difficult year like this one. During 2020 Connect, a virtual trade show hosted by design software company, 2020 Design, we picked up a few tips about how to tackle these challenges and ensure your interior design company continues to grow through this time.

Learn What You’re Really Selling: Change

Renovations, new builds and design in general are all about improving upon what currently is there. A client might want a more functional kitchen to accommodate all the cooking at home they are doing, or they want to somehow squeeze a home office into their existing space. They might really need a practical place to have Zoom calls at home or an enjoyable gym area in their basement. All these ideas involve changes, and consumers need designers to help them make those.

Right now, everything is changing, and not all of those changes are improvements, of course. The effects of COVID-19 will linger in our lives and the global economy for some time, and everything from the way we work to the way we educate our children is evolving daily.

But where there is change, there is opportunity, and opportunity revolves around the need to generate new value, unlock new opportunities and drive growth to new efficiencies.

Become an Industry Expert

Find out what your potential customers are looking for right now. It might not be as high cost a project as you want, but they will return to you later for those big-ticket renovations. Do they need sound proofing to help alleviate distraction from more than one person working from home? Do they need a redesigned pantry to accommodate the new cooking needs they have or a small wash area in the mudroom to keep everyone germ-free?

Once you decide what could set you apart, become an expert in that field and set up your sales team to promote that edge in the business. Without networking or physical appointments, digital sales tactics are the best option to reach your clients now. Invest in the following strategies to set you up for success: SEO, content marketing, social media marketing, pay per click (PPC), affiliate marketing, marketing automation, email marketing, online PR, inbound marketing and sponsored content.

Know that the clients you gain during this difficult time will trust you even more than in normal years, because you helped them during a hardship. This trust will take you further in the long run, recalling you to them when they have more money to spend and friends to refer for projects.