So, how do you plan to stand out From The crowd of competitor interior designers in your market this year?

What is it in your marketing efforts that will attract more of the right type of clients? How is your marketing going to enable you to work smarter, not harder? You might be the hottest designer in your market but how will you get the word out so that you stay on top?

Okay, now that I have your attention, don't stress, get informed and get busy. Interior designer marketing is always changing, and it's important to adapt your design firms lead generation tactics to new technologies. Changes in marketing technology have already altered consumer behavior. Want proof in a word? Houzz. 46 Million users can't be wrong!

You can no longer rely on traditional marketing methods to generate interest in your design services. In fact, print publications, broadcast, and direct mail marketing have never been a very useful tool for attracting prospective clients. Research has shown that the best response rate you are likely to get is only 1.8% for direct mail if you are lucky, and it's almost impossible to measure the results from the half page advertisement in your regional home magazine and at $4,000 for one or two months worth of magazine advertising. And you can never really know if it generated leads? Yikes. The truth is that prospective clients prefer to interact with your company because of information generated from blogging and posting original content. The key is that its content must be engaging, personal and informative for it to work.

Use Smart Content and Software Analytics to Monitor and Respond to Website Visitor Actions

One of the advantages that marketing technology has brought is the ability to produce ‘smart’ content that responds to the activities that your audience conducts. Amazon first experimented with this, and you notice it when you go on to their website and receive ‘recommended for you’ products. Netflix does this as well. It's just like they know you but it's only a matter of responding to that actions taken on the website!

Amazon does this through a complex algorithm by noticing what you have recently bought and what you have been researching online. It is similar to how sidebar and banner advertisements are now working, with your recent search and browser history being detected and then displayed as relevant ads through "remarketing" software.

How is this to your benefit? Well, costs have come down, and you can take advantage of the same marketing technology with HubSpot software with less expensive systems like Hatchbuck. By monitoring what the visitors to your website are viewing, you will begin to pick up trends. So if the majority of your visitors are looking for a blog post on what colors are best for a living room, you can respond and concentrate your marketing in that area.

This can be taken further on Twitter and other social media platforms by noticing what your audience are talking about. For instance, if a local prospect is discussing their kitchen re-design, you can create a great message that is tailored to their requirements. A helpful article or a personal message that addresses a concern can be a powerful marketing tool and you will notice the conversion rate increase if you utilize this method.

Ensure Your Website is Showing Correctly on Mobile Devices

There were more Smartphones sold in the US than laptops in 2012. With 64% of Americans using their smartphones to shop for services online, it is important businesses ensure that your website is mobile optimized. If a site is poorly designed for iPads, iPhones, and other mobile devices, it is estimated that 57% of potential consumers will not use the company. That's a lot of lost customers all because your website looks bad on an iPad.

Mobile marketing starts with a responsive design website. It is just as important for local small businesses as it is for larger national or global organizations. With location settings in most mobile technology, the ability to place ads on the devices of those who are conducting related searches is now possible.

Mobile technology has therefore allowed you to place the latest deals that you have on offered, for example whenever someone is looking for the best room designs on their mobile devices.

It is also important to consider that 43% of Twitter users view and interact with tweets on their mobiles and 100 million people access Facebook from their phone. If your website is not mobile optimized or using responsive design, these people will not be able to click through from your social media updates – thus, you could be losing potential leads.

There are very few companies out there (4%) who don’t plan to have a mobile site as part of their marketing strategy.

The improvement in mobile technology is happening at record speeds; it has never been a more important time to keep up with trends. That is why interior designers should incorporate the best methods of interacting with consumers, for their home improvement projects, through new mobile marketing technology. Need help getting your head around the changes in marketing that have taken place in the last few years? Schedule a free consultation. 

About Michael Conway

I'm the owner and strategist at Means-of-Production. My firm builds Squarespace websites, Houzz profiles, and content marketing and advertising solutions for architects, interior designers, design-build contractors and landscape design firms. Our all-in-one marketing tactics attract the right clients with exceptional architectural photography and brand messaging that sets you apart from the competition.