Can Your Design Business Survive COVID-19? Yes, It Can!

While we would never downplay the impact of the current situation with COVID-19, we are also confident that life will go on and business will continue – especially for those of us in the design business who spend most of our days working online. After all, remote conferencing and video chat apps make “social distancing” the norm for us.

“Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just find a new way to stand.”

— Oprah Winfrey

With these things in mind, we ask that you focus first on keeping yourself and your family healthy and safe. Next, do all that you can to stay in touch with your team and clients, virtually, to assure them that you are still involved and committed to their ongoing success.

In fact, this would be a great time to make those Before and After videos of your design projects you’ve been planning, or even to get some online training yourself. (You now have the time.)

Challenge Yourself to Be Optimistic

Finally, rather than thinking of this as a time of struggle, challenge yourself to turn it into an opportunity to grow your design business. Use the time you have to get your marketing ducks in a row and develop a new online marketing strategy to implement over the next month, six months, and year.

For us, optimism is key because we know that life and business WILL return to normal and, when it does, you want to be ready.

If you're curious about how other designers are coping, check out this article from BusinessOfHome.com, Remote control: How designers are running their firms from home.

Wishing all the best to you, your family, and your business,
Ted Fall & Team TD Fall

P.S. Ted is currently working on some Zoom presentations and invites you to follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, where more product pictures and links will be posted.

Looking for more tips on growing your design business, new design trends, designer marketing tips, and product ideas? Get in touch with TD Fall today.

3 Steps, 5 Steps, 7 Steps, 9 – Why Online Marketing Lists Blow Your Mind

It’s a fairly common article of faith among online marketing experts that all published lists, or “listicles”, should contain an odd number of items. In fact, this belief is so strong that it has become a “best practice” for them. This begs the question of whether there is a logical or even scientific, reason to justify the use of odd-numbered lists.

While this may, admittedly, seem to be an obscure point to make, the truth is that a large percentage of business coaches, marketing experts, virtual assistant teams, website developers, and copywriters take this theory as gospel truth. For most of them, the simple experience is all the proof they need; since such lists work best for their clients, they promote the use of them.

Here’s the thing though, since one of the goals of this blog is to offer online marketing tips to interior designers and luxury furnishing retailers, even the most minor points can matter.

Psychology of Odd-Numbered Lists

Does it really matter? Yes!

Turns out, odd numbers are one of three elements that psychologists and web content studies have shown can entice a website visitor to click on a headline and visit an article.

According to an article at Medium.com, there is research that shows that “humans are attracted to content which promises a list of tips or insights on a subject the reader wishes to know more about or one which piques their interest,” while “grouping information in parcels of three or five enables readers to absorb information better.”

Even more confusing is the fact that humans struggle to process lists of more than nine items, and: “Just as odd numbers encourage clicks, even-numbered lists can have the opposite effect as readers will assume that something has been added or omitted to keep the list to a round number of points.” (emphasis added)

Need proof? How about this?

• Human beings are lazy and lists draw the eye and interest

• Odd-numbered lists help the brain to better process batches of information

• Even-numbered lists create doubt and skepticism in your audience

(See what we did there?)

Are human beings naturally skeptical or has the use of the internet made all of us that way? Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter because the proof is in the pudding: odd-numbered lists in blog posts, marketing copy, and even in titles spark interest in your content.

Looking for more online marketing lists and tips, new design trends, new products, and furnishing ideas? Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Selling Design Services and a Commitment to Client Satisfaction

As explained in a previous post, we are offering a series on selling design services that we hope will enable you to increase client satisfaction, close more deals, and boost profits. As promised, we would like to reinforce and expand on our three quick sales tips for designers

• Do NOT offer solutions prematurely – Until you know what your prospects think of as their individual pain points or needs, you do them and yourself a disservice by offering advice before they are ready to receive it.

• Practice active listening for clues to closing – Far too many salespeople forget to listen. The most successful salespeople will tell you that every client they work with literally tells them how to close the deal, if only they listen actively.

• It’s all about them – Got invoices to pay; inventory to get rid of; contractors to keep busy so you don’t lose them? So what! This is not about you and all they really want is find someone to hear them before offering any design advice. (They literally want you to shut up and listen to them.)

Since these are the absolute minimum required to successfully sell yourself as an interior designer, we will expand on them below.

Expanded Sales Tips for Interior Designers

Do not jump the gun – Known as “qualifying” among sales pros, asking questions and exchanging information about the wants and needs of your prospect is the first critical step in selling your services. Offering advice and/or suggestions before you know what they want is presumptuous in the extreme and, more often than not, self-defeating.

For example, imagine the response to a designer who walks into a potential client’s home and says something like, “Oh, that piece in the corner just doesn’t work at all. We will need to replace that right away.”

Now imagine what happens if the client were to say, “Oh, you mean that bureau that my grandmother loved and was left to me when she passed after a painful battle with cancer? The piece she begged me to keep as she lay dying?”

Might as well turn around and walk right out the house, huh?

Be the Designer You Would Want to Hire

Be curious, understanding, respectful, and responsive – There is obviously a better approach than the one taken by our designer with foot-in-mouth disease. Instead of jumping the gun on the bureau in question, imagine what might have happened had she said, “Tell me about that piece in the corner; it’s history and place in your life”.

The prospect’s answer would have provided an insightful look into the importance of the piece, as well as a peek at the homeowner’s personality. Doing so would have been a first important step in understanding the prospect and building a relationship – instead of angering them and leaving their home looking for another job.

In other words, since it can be difficult to overcome a prospects biases and preconceived notions, you should avoid going into that first interview with any of your own.

Turn the Law of Unintended Consequences in Your Favor

Offer solutions that benefit them (not you) – We call this “benefits-based selling” because it focuses on results that are advantageous to the client; individually and exclusively. Stated as simply as possible, the key to the long-term success of your design business will be found in a sincere commitment to improving the quality of life of your clients.

Of course, this can make your job a bit more difficult and challenging than if you were able to plug their home into some sort of template that spits out a new design. But, it will ensure more client satisfaction – and referrals. It will also make your work far more fulfilling.

It’s very important to recognize here that by focusing so strongly on your client’s needs, your own will be taken care of as a matter of course. In other words, there is a wonderful reward to a benefits-based sales approach – your business will naturally (and almost unfailingly) grow. (Think of it as the Law of Intended Consequences!)

By now it should be clear that your commitment to building and growing your design business must be mirrored by an equally strong commitment to satisfying the needs of every client you can. Without this, other “secrets” and “tips” for selling design services from the so-called experts will leave you, and your business, wanting.

Looking for more design sales tips, new design trends, new products, and ideas? Get in touch with TD Fall today.

How the Internet Has Made Selling Design Services Harder (Instead of Easier)

The internet can be an invaluable tool for research and acquiring knowledge. It can also be hazardous, a place where consumers can find just enough information to make them dangerous to themselves. This can make an interview with a prospective client difficult in the extreme because it forces you to overcome misconceptions from sources. In short, and in many ways, the internet has made selling design services harder than ever before.

While it may feel counter-intuitive, experiences teaches that the more choices an individual has the more difficult it is to make a decision. While this is not always true, it is the case often enough that anyone with experience in sales of any kind will agree that they watch out for it.

According to PsychCentral.com, this is a real phenomenon that is known as decision making paralysis. As a quick example, consider your own experiences when shopping online. You will likely begin with a Google search for a new leather jacket, let’s say. You type in “women’s leather jacket” and Google, always eager to help, takes less than a second to offer you – more than 500 MILLION choices!!! (At least that’s what we got.)

Non-plussed (and not a little amazed), you decide to narrow the search a bit by adding the phrase “near me” to your search query. Whew, that helped. Now you only have 1.4 MILLION choices to consider.

Do you begin to see where the “paralyzing paradox” created by too many choices comes from – and how it can impact your design business?

Google Searches May Create Buyer Objections

Of course, this example has little to do with interior design so, what happens when you search for a local designer? Uh oh, we got nearly 6 BILLION returns to our query. Needless to say, there are not 6 billion design businesses in the world but, these results include a plethora of sites that offer advice on how to choose an interior designer, which could lead to even more confusion for the searcher.

So, human nature being what it is, most potential design clients are going to stick to the first page of the search results so they will only have to consider 10-15 choices. Despite this, however, there are still going to be “expert advice sites” that will tell them what to avoid when hiring a designer. This is the type of thing that may lead to objections you’ll be forced to overcome that have little or nothing to do with your business.

Well, now that we have you deathly afraid of buying and selling anything online, we beg the question about how you might overcome the biases your prospects may develop from their “research.”

3 Quick Sales Tips for Designers

Since this is the first in an upcoming series about selling design services, we are going to offer a few quick selling tips that we will expand upon in future posts.

• Do NOT offer solutions prematurely – Until you know what your prospects think of as their individual pain points or needs, you do them and yourself a disservice by providing advice before they are ready to receive it.

• Practice active listening for clues to closing – Far too many salespeople forget to listen. The most successful salespeople will tell you that every client they work with literally tells them how to close the deal, if only they listen actively.

• It’s all about them – Got invoices to pay; inventory to get rid of; contractors to keep busy so you don’t lose them? So what! This is not about you, and all they want is to find someone to hear them before offering any design advice. (They want you to shut up and listen to them.)

So yes, thank you internet for making life more difficult by offering too many choices to all of us! On the other hand, now that you’re aware of the problem, with tips to overcome it, selling design services should become much easier.

Are you looking for more design sales tips, new design trends, new products, and ideas? Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Professional Interior Design Software – Is it worth the cost?

In a previous post, we shared some independent reviews of some of the current desktop design software apps you can use. To some extent, these apps are designed for consumers more than professionals, though they all have features that pros can benefit from. In this post, we will offer a glimpse at what might be called professional interior design software products; apps that offer even more features that design pros may want and need.

Needless to say, these programs tend to be more expensive than those we shared before but, they also offer more advanced features and greater versatility. Then again, some are only available for use online, while others can be used as a desktop app – usually at a higher price. The good news is, virtually all of them will offer mobile viewing, which is very handy for showing your design concepts to clients.

Which Pro Design Software is Right for You?

Perhaps at the top of the Most Popular list is SketchUp. Available at various levels, from personal use to an enterprise version, this high-level software can be used for the 3D design of buildings and exteriors, as well as interior spaces. “The layout of SketchUp Pro ($695) is very intuitive and easy to use, even for the least knowledgeable CAD designers. The 3D Warehouse is a great resource that will provide a generous supply of models and symbols to choose from and work with.” (Ranked “Easiest to Use” at TopTenReviews.com)

Ease of use may be the most attractive feature of the SketchUp software, offering a “simple interface with large icons to help you quickly find and use the tools you need.” Compatible with both Mac and Windows operating systems, there is also a cloud version available.

AutoCAD 2019 receives a “Best Overall” ranking from Top Ten Reviews. Perhaps the best-known CAD software on the market, it is essentially a 2D design tool with a base price of $200 per month (with discounts available for longer subscriptions).

“Like other CAD programs, this one works in layers, allowing you to keep track of your various elements and change them when needed without disturbing the entire design. You can easily add and edit text both in 2D and 3D format… [it] can be viewed and edited on computers, tablets, and smartphones, which makes it easier to share your work with your customers, coworkers, and bosses.”

TurboCAD Deluxe is ranked the “Best Value” among professional interior design software programs reviewed. The product is a ready-to-use, desktop-based, 2D drafting, 3D modeling and rendering software. Easily adjust the interface to access hundreds of drawing, modification, dimensioning and annotation tools.

“This software costs under $200 and includes unlimited technical support, so you won’t have to pay additional money once it’s purchased. Its 3D rendering capabilities, while not the best, are impressive for the price and can help you make lifelike designs. The toolbars are also customizable so you can rearrange them to make your workflow more efficient.”

While it is not our place to endorse or promote any of these software programs as the “best” for you to use in your interior design business, we hope that the information shared from an outside source is helpful. Then too, more research and asking friends and associates in the industry for their opinions will go a very long way toward helping you decide on the best professional interior design software program for you.

Looking for more interior design tips, design trends, marketing tips, new products, and furnishing ideas? Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Designing Your Design Business – New Year’s Business Detox

A new year is traditionally a time for making personal changes, often including a detox to make the body feel better and improve energy levels. Others remove clutter from their houses and/or garages as a way to free up space and clear their minds. Then again, though rarely thought of, a business detox presents opportunities for reducing stress, increasing energy levels, and improving overall health.

What do we mean by a “business detox”?

It’s not about “defining your mission”, “articulating your vision”, or even “setting realistic business goals”. While there is nothing wrong with those (and, in fact, they have great value), a business detox is more like a body detox; an effort to cleanse your business by removing impurities and toxins that may reduce profitability, and could be getting in the way of enjoying your work.

Perform a Business Cleanse

These include the things that make running your design business stressful (and less than enjoyable), such as:

• Collections – Outstanding invoices are a real drag. Knowing you’ve completed a project but have yet to be paid is stressful and emotionally exhausting. It’s time to get busy on collections by creating a list of anyone who owes you money, contact them and demand payment, then follow through on any payment schedule you agree to. Diligence is the key to getting paid all you're owed.

• Clean up old debt – Owing money is no more pleasant than being owed so, make a plan and do all you can to pay down your business debt and try to work on a cash basis as much as possible. You’ll be very pleasantly surprised by the sense of freedom you experience from dumping business debt.

• Flush stale emails – Hate to say it but, that email link to an article you had to read – from five years ago – needs to be deleted. If you haven’t had the time, or the inclination, to take action on emails that are 4-6 months old, you probably never will. So, DELETE. If, on the other hand, you have important communications that need to be saved, schedule some time to set up folders for them, then schedule a time for following up – so you can finally get rid of them! 

• Fire problematic clients – This may include some of those “slow pay” clients you've put on your old debt list. The old adage “The customer is always right” is not (and never has been) true so, when they are more trouble than they're worth, get rid of them. You would do well to remember though, that some clients are profitable despite the problems they cause and, in the long run, may still be worth the hassle. Schedule some time to detox your client list by cherry-picking the ones who spend enough that you want to keep them; then, go ahead and fire the rest.

• Dump non-supportive suppliers – Not all suppliers are created equal, and neither are all sub-contractors. Life is too short, and business too demanding, to have to work with companies and people you dislike and who refuse to support you. Make 2020 the year you finally choose to detoxify your supplier list, and while you're at it, get rid of those subs who think they’re doing you a favor by working with you, too.

One last tip to help you detox your business is – delegate tasks that you should not be doing every day. You can easily outsource things like billing, tracking, and even project management. This will give you the time you need to better serve existing clients, acquire new clients, build relationships with suppliers and sub-contractors, and run your design business the way you imagined when you began.

Looking for more tips on designing your design business, how to perform a business detox, new home design trends, designer marketing tips, and product ideas? Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Client Communication Tools – Should Designers Use a Client Questionnaire?

When you have a problem working with a client, do you immediately know the cause? Is it more often than not “their fault” rather than yours? Are they unreasonable and deliberately difficult? Could it be a lack of adequate client communication tools?

A recent article at BusinessOfHome.com sparked a debate among the staff here at TD Fall, where we struggled to determine the most common cause of disputes between client and provider.

The article is titled, “How useful are client questionnaires?”. Author Haley Chouinard polled half-a-dozen designers about their use (or not) of a client questionnaire “and how it shapes their relationship.”

We found the answers somewhat surprising and conflicting. Half of them said they do use some form of questionnaire while the other half seemed to think doing so was either too impersonal or would be somehow restrictive. Of course, such answers beg the question of how best to begin building a relationship with a client in ways that it can grow and benefit both parties.

Ultimately, using a client questionnaire is a “get to know you” tool for the designer and, to a lesser extent, for the client. We’ve explored this subject before in a variety of ways, though perhaps less directly; with posts on topics like:

·         Designer Marketing Tips – Who is Your Ideal Client (and what do they want from you)?

·         Know Your Greatest Tool for Building Relationships with Interior Design Clients

·         Designer Marketing Tips – Defining Your Ideal Client

·         Grow Your Interior Design Business – Survey Your Audience

·         Designing Your Design Business – Value of Client Testimonials and Reviews

You see, what each of these previous blog posts have in common is – they are all about getting to know and communicating with your design clients.

Building Relationships is the Key to Business Success

It should be clear that whether you use a client questionnaire or prefer an in-person interview initially (which is something of a verbal questionnaire anyway), the goal of either is to get a sense of your potential client and their needs. From their personality to the scope of the project, you need a solid understanding of who, what, when before you can bid on, and begin the designing process for them.

While it is not our place to tell you how to run your business (nor would we try), we do believe the experience we’ve gained from decades in the industry has value to our clients. That is, after all, why we offer this blog and our consulting services, in addition to the product lines we carry.

So, what are we trying to say here?

If building relationships truly is the key to business success, and we believe it is, then you must get to know your clients in a personal way. Only by getting to know something of their character and personality, as well as their vision for the space they are asking you to design, the more likely you will be able to work with them and make them happy.

So, use all the client communication tools you can find or develop. From questionnaires to market research, from personal interviews to client surveys and requests for testimonials, the more you know about your target market, potential clients, and individuals you’ve worked within the past, the more successful you will be.

Are you looking for more tips on interior design success, new home design trends, designer marketing tips, and product ideas? Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Design Business Website Launch Checklist

Are you struggling to launch or improve your design business website? If you're new to online marketing, you're not alone. Launching or redesigning a website can be daunting, especially if you are not working with an expert to help you get it done.

We recently redesigned our website and, even with the help of an expert website design service – it took forever. (Well, not quite forever.)

So, if your business website is new or going through fundamental changes, we offer this invaluable website launch checklist from the design and development pros at YourOnlineMarketingTeam.com:

A Website Launch Checklist

Please remember that the list below outlines the essential elements that you need to have in place to launch your business website.

• Page content – A business website should display a minimum of three pages: Home, About, Services/Products. Each should describe in detail your purpose, as well as the benefits of doing business with you. Beyond these three critical pages, you should also have a Contact Us page and a Blog.

  • Home page – This is the most important page on your website, with 60% to 80% of visitors landing here first and, since first impressions are so important, the copy you create for this page will be critical to your success. This is a great place to share your vision and mission, as well as your purpose.

  • About page – What makes you unique? What are your qualifications? Do you have specialized training? Why are you so committed to the path you’ve chosen to pursue? How have you helped others, and how can you help the reader? Answering all of these questions will go a long way toward generating interest from your target audience.

  • Services/Products page – Benefits, benefits, benefits… will be the key to selling your services or products. In other words, while sharing features and details are fine, you must also answer the age-old question of all consumers, “What’s in it for me?”

  • Video & Images – It’s important to remember that interior design is a visual realm and that video and images of your work will go a long way toward convincing visitors to your website that you have what they need in terms of talent and creativity.

  • Testimonials – Modern word of mouth advertising has evolved into testimonials and online reviews. This is especially important for a service business like interior design and, if your website is lacking testimonials – it’s time to add some – NOW!

• SEO – Search engine optimization is, and will forever be, a critical element to a successful launch, and there are a few crucial steps to consider:

  • Word count – While Google won’t necessarily ignore a page with little content, they will not consider it very important if you can’t publish at least 300 words. This is true of your pages and blog posts. If you can’t offer 300 words on a subject, what you have to say must not be very important.

  • Meta data – Your page titles, Meta descriptions, and tags should all be tailored to the content you publish. All should be descriptive and compelling to attract both the search engines and your target audience. Titles should be 60-70 characters, while descriptions should not exceed 156 characters (otherwise, it will end in ellipses in the search results).

  • Image alt tags – Hidden in the code behind the images you publish, image alt tags are hints of the image content to the search engines. They can typically be added in the same menu you use to edit or publish your images.

• Terms of Service and Privacy Policy (Courtesy of DreamHost.com)

  • A privacy policy is required by law if you’re collecting any personal data. This policy spells out exactly how any information (emails, contact information, and more) will be used.

  • Terms of Service (TOS) statements are not legally mandatory in most cases, but they can still be valuable. Your TOS states the ground rules for visitors who want to use your site.

• Set Your Site to Back Up Regularly

  • If your website crashes or is hacked, or if you install a plugin that causes a problem, having your files backed up regularly and automatically is a lifesaver.

  • There are many ways to approach this task, but one surefire way to keep things running smoothly is by using managed hosting for your website. That way, your provider can take care of restoring backups and automatically archiving them for you.

• Set up a Comprehensive Site Map

  • Sitemaps play a vital role in how search engines read and index your pages. While a sitemap won’t directly improve your rankings, it can help to ensure that your site is indexed correctly.

  • If you use WordPress, there are plugins available to help you generate and manage sitemaps. Google also has an established process for submitting your sitemap directly.

• Add Analytics Tracking to Your Site

  • Once your website is up and running, you’ll need a way to measure how well it performs. That’s why it pays to set up an analytics tracking solution before even launching your site.

• Connect Your Social Media Accounts

  • Promoting your site on social media can be vital to reaching your target audience. Providing icons so your visitors can easily find your social media pages is one of the best ways to do that.

• Check for Responsiveness on Mobile Platforms

  • Whether you’re writing a blog post or operating a Shopify store, it’s vital that your site looks good and performs well on devices of all sizes. One easy way to check your website’s mobile responsiveness is with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool.

While this is not a complete list of all that needs to be done to ensure your website is ready for launch, these are the minimal steps that must be taken to reach take-off (so to speak). If you're unsure whether you can handle all of that, we can introduce you to a website design team that can help. Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Designing Your Design Business – Benefits of Working with a Business Coach

In a recent article titled Coaching pays off for new managers at BDCNetwork.com, the value of hiring a business coach is revealed, at least as it relates to those who find themselves trying to adjust to a new leadership position. Of course, the value of working with a coach also applies to entrepreneurs and small business owners who may be struggling to lead a team and grow their business – perhaps you and your design business.

The article shares a few quick insights gleaned from a white paper published by the folks at the Fails Management Institute, or FMI, an advisory group “for engineering and construction, infrastructure and the built environment and the industry’s leading organizations”.

In their paper, FMI found that:

• Some 91% of participants said that coaching increased their readiness for a new leadership role

• Nearly 88% of participants suggested that coaching increased their overall engagement in their roles

• About 87% of respondents said that executive coaching has a high return on investment

• And 77% of survey respondents stated that their coaching experience exceeded their expectations

Whether you’re busy trying to establish your design business, working on developing a new product or service, or developing a growth strategy for your existing operation, the experience and expertise you can gather from a coach can be invaluable for both the short-term and long-term health of your business.

Benefits of Working with a Business Coach

When you choose to work with a business coach, the benefits are likely to exceed the cost involved.

• Experience and Expertise – A business coaches can offer you expert advice and guidance based on actual experiences in the world of business and business start-ups. Most of them have a load of “Been there, done that” experience to offer, with both successes and failures from which they’ve learned the hard lessons you're about to encounter.

• Fresh Perspective – Having a sounding board for your ideas, from new products or services to the structure of your business and composition of your team, is a great way to work out any kinks in your thought process. For an emerging entrepreneur for example, it’s to be expected that you’ll get caught up with your ideas to the point of questioning, confusion or second guessing yourself. There may also be areas you’ve never considered that an experienced coach will have top-of-mind.

• Existing Business Network – With experience comes a network of industry connections – business connections you may not have yet. Not only will your coach help to open doors so you can meet important people, he or she will know which doors to knock on, and which to avoid. The value of an introduction to the influencers in your niche, not to mention the thought leaders in your target market, is something you simply cannot put a price on.

• Different Skill Set – While you have design expertise to offer, there are areas of your business which will present challenges you may not be able to meet, such as: hiring a team, bookkeeping, taxes, contracts, business structure, just to name a few. Business coaches often have areas of advanced skills, so you can further your technical abilities while gathering big-picture insight.

• Return on Investment –  Selecting a business coach can be tricky in today's world of self-proclaimed on-line “business building experts”. Your goal is to find someone who has done what you want to do, who is willing to show you how they did it, and see a return greater than your investment for their expertise. A truly committed coach has a single goal – to help you succeed in your business.

Working with a business coach offers an opportunity to realize your business vision far more quickly than you might have otherwise.

When you choose to work with a business coach, the wisdom and experience they offer will provide you with an opportunity to streamline and accelerate the business building process. This will enable you to get where you want to go more efficiently and productively, with fewer “Uh oh!” moments and many more “Ah ha!” moments – helping to pave the way to a much smoother path to the success of your design business.

Looking for more tips on designing your design business, new interior design trends, and new product ideas? Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Designing Your Design Business – Your Design Studio is a Good Investment

Does it still make sense to invest your hard-earned revenue in a design studio when online shopping has become so popular? In a word, yes.In a previous post, we shared the importance of designing a strategic business plan for your business. Here, we argue that investing in a design studio should be an integral part of that plan; a comfortable and stylish place to schedule face-to-face meetings with potential clients, as well as a beautiful space that allows you to share your vision with them.The reason for this is simple: despite the popularity of internet shopping, and your concurrent need for a quality website to showcase your talent, potential clients will want to touch and feel samples while also meeting you personally. You also get to know them better and both of you will benefit from engaging in an environment that promotes building a relationship.This is simply impossible to accomplish in the impersonal world of the internet.Brick-and-Mortar Locations Remain Valuable Client Acquisition ToolsIn a recent article at BusinessOfHome.com, editor-at-large Maury Riad makes a compelling case that traditional brick-and-mortar design centers remain important to vendors in the age of internet shopping.If that is true, then investing in a design studio also remains important to interior designers, for some of the same reasons:

• Brand building – Building your brand, a unique identity within your market, is difficult to do in an environment that is flooded with competitors from around the world (as the internet is). On the other hand, a well-designed retail location puts you right in front of clients and potential clients. Being able to see and speak with you directly will only enhance your brand as one of the few designers willing to make such an effort – and investment.
• Reputation enhancement – Like building your brand, building your reputation in a highly competitive marketplace is difficult in the extreme. In-person contact with potential clients, and being available to existing and past clients, ensures that you will be seen as a designer who is committed to customer service and satisfaction. And, since interior design is above all things a local business, enhancing your reputation locally offers massive potential for success.
• Relationship building – Building relationships is critical to your long-term success as a designer. We’ve said it before (here) and will say it again: repeat customers are more valuable than new customers since they are more likely to buy from you and are less costly to engage, offering you a far greater ROI. Your design studio is the perfect place to re-engage with them and build a lasting relationship that can lead to future work for them. It’s a win/win for both of you.
• Vendor support – Vendors love to support interior designers who feature their furnishings in their design studio. They tend to offer better pricing and larger discounts, sneak previews of new designs, priority shipping, enhanced payment terms, and even cash-back promotions that can help reduce overhead. Such vendor support can be invaluable to your business and you should take advantage of these types of relationships whenever possible.
• Community involvement – Being seen as an integral part of your community will automatically build brand recognition, enhance your reputation, and leads to great relationships and profitable networking opportunities. It is also fulfilling on both a professional and personal level. Get involved and make your mark in your community, if you hope to have long-term success.

While it may seem to make sense that the expense of maintaining a design studio in the internet age flies in the face of logic, for the reasons listed above, and more, a brick-and-mortar location makes perfect sense for the success of your design business.Looking for more tips on designing your design business, new home design trends, designer marketing tips, and product ideas? Get in touch with TD Fall today.