How Do High-End Interior Designers Get Clients On A Hot Dog Budget?
Breaking news! I have never been a high-end designer and have worked with very few of them.
This is not a shock to the regulars here.
I'm a girl that grew up in a lower-middle-class family. I don't like targeting people based upon what's in their wallet and find people who do have large amounts of money are generally not the people that I want to chill with.
The point? I’ve been doing a ton of calls lately with high-end designers. It’s unusual for me.
For them, they are starting to see the writing on the wall… and if you’re a high-end designer and found your way to this post… welcome.
And be warned, we’re a little rowdy over here in this corner over the internet. Okay, I am. I use curse words and uncouth is my middle name. If you are easily offended, now would be the time to close this browser tab. 😉
The reason for the post now, is because high-end designers found out last recession that they MUST adjust their mindset and for those who haven’t been in this position before, I thought I’d pipe up to share the realities.
Last recession, the sales of luxury goods rebounded fairly quickly after the *cough* dip in the market... products like purses, clothing, etc. Real estate, construction and interior design? That took longer. Way longer.
Maybe we’ll be lucky and nothing takes a horrific dive this time. But in case things get rocky, let’s look at how do high end interior designers get clients, either way.
First, we should establish that fancy pants people that hire high-end interior designers are doing so not because they have to. They are looking to enhance their image to either themselves or their peers. That's what a high-end interior designer is selling.
Do rich people worry about their perception in a down economy? I don't know, but I would guess there are other things at the top of their worry list. Like their shitty stock portfolio.
I could be wrong, but let’s keep going, shall we?
What Do I Even Know About Marketing To The Affluent?
Admittedly, not much. Luxury marketing isn’t something that I’ve done. However, because I’ve been around the block and remember the last recession, I know that high-end interior designers may find themselves in a pickle during a recession.
That’s where I come in. As I see it you have two options.
First option, keep everything status quo.
Second option, realize that status quo most likely means your business will close and that you will need to start doing things you never wanted to do. Things like eDesign, content marketing and SEO optimization.
If you've been primarily doing high-end design, I would guess that your website has no content on it (i.e. a blog). It’s just been a digital calling card of sorts.
For any type of financial security, that kind of website is not doing you any favors. You’re relying on word of mouth marketing and limiting yourself to on-site design work.
But, if you’re like me, who wants to be limited to only one income stream?
Designers Want To Design, And That's It
For the past eight years, I've worked with thousands of interior designers, and these are the common things I hear. No matter if they work with rich people or everyone else:
they want to design and that’s it, business and marketing tasks are a major pain in the ass
they don't want to blog - may be open to outsourcing it on the cheap, to some foreign land
want or have a cheap-ass website up and never update it
want to know the ONE thing they can do to get clients that doesn't involve a lot of money or energy
considered hiring one of the SEOs dorks or they did hire a dork and regretted it because while it brought traffic, but it wasn't the right traffic
hired another interior design business consultant that either blew smoke up their ass or vomited word salad all over them
wasted shit tons of money on Pinterest or Facebook and had no new leads to show for it
funds for any kind of marketing is limited but may be open to throwing money away for a "get-rich-quick" class from the latest internet guru
insist that they are not interested in doing the marketing themselves and only want to be creative yet don't have a budget for hiring a marketing company
I get it. Who really wants to spend time creating content and SEO for a website all the time? Which I totally understand because it's not always fun, and it can seem like you're putting in a whole lot of work for a whole lot of fucking nothing because seeing instant results with this kind of strategy isn’t going to happen. But if you’re planning on being in this field for a long while, now is the perfect time to take action.
Blogging is the number one thing I do for my business marketing that consistently gets me clients. Yes, I like to write, but frankly, I have to be in the mood and also have to carve out the time to do it. It's not my most favorite task to do for growing my business, but I also don't roll around naked, on bars of gold bullion, while some hot guy feeds me caviar. So, blogging is the task I choose to endure.
Even if I did budget for done-for-me marketing, it is a journey to find a reputable company. And by 'journey,' I mean it's like eating Taco Bell, going for a hike in the woods, ending up with diarrhea and only finding poison oak leaves to wipe with.
Caviar Marketing Dreams On A Hot Dog Budget
Now when it comes to implementing a marketing plan, there are two ways to do it. Do it yourself or hire it out.
DIYing it cost energy.
Hiring it out costs lotsa money that most designers do not have.
But when it comes to most designers they don’t have the funds to do this.
We know that the average income for interior designers hovers around $40,000 per year. GROSS, not Net income.
I'm sure there are exceptions... like I imagine Martyn Lawrence Bullard makes way more than a sad $40k per year, but how many designers in the USA are actually pulling in that amount of money? 12?
And he sells all sorts of crap beyond design like products and jewelry. Additional income streams most interior designers do not have.
Being a fancy pants designer generally is not a lucrative endeavor for the masses.
How many fancy pants homes can you design for the affluent? Sure, one project could pay the bills for a year, and maybe they said they'd have you do their cabin in Aspen next year, but when the economy is down, you're not next on their list to call.
So if you’re the typical designer, you need a marketing budget to get this done for you. But for most designers, we're not even talking a beer budget here. We're talking hot dog budgets here.
Because that is a crucial issue in times like these. That’s why I find ways to get eyeballs on your business without spending shitloads of money, but that does require an investment of work. AND a willingness to explore revenue streams that are not affluent and may even target, dare I say it... DIYers! Oh, the horrors!!
Let's dig into all of the options that you have when it comes to marketing your high-end interior design business to rich people. You know the ones that can afford high-end design (but probably won’t when their investments have imploded on the stock market).
Rubbing Elbows, Toasting and Guffawing With Rich People
Networking and word of mouth have always been the primary way high-end interior designers have been able to get new clients. It makes sense, doesn't it? We tend to trust the recommendations from those we know in our circles.
This can continue to be your strategy once we've been given the 'Get Out of Jail Free' card. Until then, I guess you can keep your eyes open for a luxury Zoom video cocktail party. Or wait until the parties start back up again and hope the rich people still have money to blow on interior design. They won’t.
Gnat's Ass Targeted Paid Ads/ Traffic
You can pay for advertisements or paid traffic to your website by using Google AdWords, Facebooks Ads, etc.
On Google Adwords, you will input the search terms someone would use to find your business, decide how much you want to pay for that traffic, and wait.
Or you can pay for ads on Facebook, either targeting clients by their locality, age, location, gender, job title, or income. You could also do a remarketing ad plan on Facebook that shows ads to someone that has already viewed your website.
Spending money on paid traffic and ads is one way to grow your brand awareness, but it isn't a strategy that you want to wing. Many people lose a lot of money on ineffective ad spends and incorrect targeting.
Magazines/ Print That People Throw In The Trash
Placing an ad is always an option, that always costs money, and if you can get showcased in a magazine, perfect!
While some of my clients have been featured in magazines, it seems to have the same monetary benefit that many authors find. It's nice, and you can show it off to people - if your people are interested in that, but it doesn't necessarily correlate to increased earnings.
Get a PR Department To Get Celebrity Endorsements
Getting a Kardashian to hire you may be what you want to try next. Martyn Lawrence Bullard worked with Kardashians and even got an Architectural Digest feature. Maybe he's besties with the gang? But I'm sure someone knew someone who knew someone who watched "Million Dollar Decorator" back in the day and recommended him. At least that’s one of the scenarios I picture in my mind.
You can always do what the luxury brands do and get a PR department to work on growing your brand awareness. How affordable that is, not sure, but I'm gonna guess it's not super accessible.
Or you can become a celebrity stalker and see how that works. I mean, do that after this pandemic is over. You don't want to get arrested during a pandemic, how gauche could you be then? Yes, the YouTube beauty bloggers like to insert themselves onto celebrities social media all the time, but you’re not that desperate, right?
Social Media Gold Digging For High-End Interior Design Clients
So if you have no budget for paid ads, print magazine ads or a PR consultant to the stars, then you may think social media is the next step to try.
Most designers find that most platforms are a FANTASTIC place to meet other interior designers and commiserate with about how shitty their businesses are.
Finding affluent clients? It can be hit or miss.
Super rich AF people don't usually hang out on social media unless they're trying to sell you their shit. Or their trapped in their house during a pandemic and desperate for attention.
If you've followed me for a while, you know I loathe Facebook and Instagram. It's the same company that doesn't care about the privacy rights of its users as it seeks world domination, but I digress.
I do use Pinterest with a scheduler, Tailwind, that brings 8% of my total traffic to my website. And because I don't focus on FB or Insta, they bring in some traffic, but it's a pittance.
Most designers don't spend much money on a social media platform, but they do invest a lot of time. This investment of time tricks many into thinking that they've been productive.
However, if you measure the ROI on the investment of time vs. how many clients were acquired, you will probably find that most social media platforms are not the one-size-fits-all-get-clients-quick solution. Going viral on any social media platform is practically impossible unless you’re talking about Carole fuckin’ Baskin.
Some designers find Instagram to be the perfect spot to get new clients. Others find it to be an interior designer circle jerk where they mainly only get interaction with fellow designers.
Pick a platform, master it, and measure your results. This is the only way you can trust that you’re earning a ROI.
And After You've Exhausted All Of Those Options...
You'll come back to me.
I'm an introvert that likes to stay home in what I have now learned the rest of the world sees as a quarantine order. Attracting people online who want to pay me money is my game. Hanging out in the Hamptons would end ten minutes later with me getting my ass kicked out after I let some sarcastic non-PC comment slip.
I like the strategies that I use, which involve research, strategy, energy, and effort. Working with me does mean you have to put energy in and work. It means I think of the plan and you put it in place. You will have to create lots of substantial content, not just a couple pieces of crap. It means you will have to use your website and get your hands dirty (with my help, of course) in understanding how inbound marketing works.
You have to be willing to work with people in a lower income bracket than you're used to because it's just what happens to the interior design industry when the stocks hit the skids. I know that is not something that most high-end interior designers are interested in.
But those who find themselves in a pickle due to a recession, want to grow their brand awareness, have limited marketing budgets, and want to get more clients for the long haul eventually come around to my thinking. You could read this if you weren't in business during the last recession for a quick history.
You'll find that you will need to start looking at eDesign, other online revenue streams, SEO, and a content strategy. Because doing that work doesn't seem so bad anymore because getting money from anyone is better than getting money from no one.
Hola! I'm Alycia Wicker and I help online interior designers grow their business.
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