Learning how to get clients as an architect in todays competitive landscape can seem like a very difficult task. Relying only on traditional methods like networking or referrals can work but is also very difficult.
Digital marketing has opened up new ways to generate leads for traditional businesses. And the good news is that most traditional businesses have no idea how to use it.
By understanding digital marketing principles you can put your architectural company miles ahead of the competition by just thinking differently about your marketing.
But marketing and its cousin, Sales, is a process and not an event. It is important to understand that, before you can make a sale, there will be some building required in the beginning.
As with an actual building, which begins with a strong foundation, the essence of how to get clients as an architect also requires you to build a strong brand through smart and transparent marketing
How To Get Clients As An Architect: The 3 Phase Marketing Model
The process of finding clients for your architectural firm can be summed up in a simple 3 phase model
- Build
- Engage
- Offer
Let’s dig into each one in more detail
PHASE 1: Build A TARGETED Audience
a) Figure Out WHO Your Ideal Client Is
The marketing process always begins by clarifying WHO your ideal customer is. What most businesses will do however is decide on placing random ads in news papers and magazines with the hope of getting some leads.
Advertising like this can be extremely expensive and is rarely the best place to start.
Instead, first decide WHO your ideal customer is.
In the case of being an architect, is your ideal client someone who wants to build a house from scratch? Or a homeowner looking to make additions to their home?
Or is your ideal client perhaps medical companies or shopping center developers?
Corporate companies who need to build large offices as their headquarters? Or manufacturing companies requiring new production plants?
As an ex banker in commercial property I often came across architectural firms who specialized in certain types of building designs.
Some specialized in retail or industrial while others focused on specialized buildings like cold storage.
Most architects could probably design all these different types of variations. But becoming clear on exactly WHO it is you want to serve is the biggest advantage you could give your business.
It might seem as if you are leaving money on the table by ignoring other potential clients, but hear me out for a moment. It will all make sense in a bit
Focusing and becoming clear on a particular type of client will ensure that you become known as THE EXPERT in your field and word begins to spread if you do this right.
Eventually, the specialized niche that you serve (eg. medical building design) will spread the word about your capabilities OUTSIDE of the specialized audience you serve. Which will allow you to tap into those other areas that you may have felt you’re leaving out from your marketing message initially.
b) WHAT are their Goals and Problems
Once you have decided WHO your ideal client is, the next step is to understand their goals and problems.
This now becomes “easy” because you do not need to worry about what the goals and problems are of companies or people outside your chosen audience. This will make your marketing message clear.
What is important to understand here is that if you do offer services to a different audience, each marketing message needs to be tailor made to the needs of a particular niche.
For example, if your primary audience is medical companies, but you also want to serve companies in the manufacturing industry you will focus on the goals and problems of the manufacturing sector in a separate marketing campaign.
So, intensely focus on the goals and problems of your chosen audience.
What is the end result they require?
What is the unique problems they face if the design of their buildings does not meet a certain criteria?
This is where you will be spending alot of time getting to know your audience and what drives the decisions that they make. Which will allow you to offer them customized solutions to their problems.
c) WHERE do they hang out
Once you understand who your audience is and what their specific problems are, your next step is finding out WHERE they hang out online and offline.
Which publications do they read?
What organizations do they follow and who are the authors they follow within that industry?
For example, if you serve manufacturing companies operating in the steel sector, they will read certain publications to keep up to date with the latest advancements in their industry.
Understanding their industry specific jargon gives you an edge over the competition. Because you can literally “speak their language” in your marketing message once you understand them better.
Knowing where they hang out also gives you the ability to find them easily and market directly to your ideal customer.
PHASE 2: Engage Your Audience With Valuable Content
Once you have followed Phase 1, your next step is to engage your audience by providing them with valuable content that they understand and resonate with.
This is where it makes a big difference if you followed the steps in Phase 1.
Now that you know who your audience is and what their problems are you can create content that solves their problems and deliver it exactly where they hang out.
The key here is not to focus on trying to sell your services yet. It is to establish and build a long lasting relationship with your prospective client that is built on trust and goodwill by providing free content.
In the offline world this could be visiting the premises of the company and providing free seminars on building design considerations for the industry based on the latest trends.
In the online world it could be in the form of a blog, podcast or video content.
Your goal is simply to WOW them with your free content that you provide without asking for something in return.
An important aspect is to offer them “Bait” that Will Attract Them To You. This could be a free report or a free analysis of their building with some recommendations for improvement. What you are looking for here is PERMISSION to communicate with them through email campaigns
In the online world, building an email list is seen as the single most valuable asset of any business.
This because it creates leverage for any business to communicate with all its clients in a leveraged manner, while being able to provide further valuable content that your client may find helpful
It is also the means by which you can make offers to clients in a non threatening way, which takes us to Phase 3 in the process.
PHASE 3: Make them OFFERS
Once you’ve built a solid foundation with clients and gained their permission to communicate with them, your final step is making them offers that could help them solve their problems
At any given point different clients will be at different stages in their business relationship with you.
But by remaining top of mind by providing them with valuable information and content. You have the advantage of being the first company they call on when they require architectural services.
And by understanding their industry so well, you will be able to not just make offers related to their architectural needs but you could also include value added services that will benefit them in a very unique way.
For example if you serve manufacturers in a certain industry, could you add other perks to you service that make your offer more attractive?
What could make you different and stand out from the rest? What could you offer that makes them say , “These guys really understand our business”
Come up with an irresistible offer that makes you stand out from the crowd
In Closing: How To Get Clients As An Architect
Attracting more clients to your business is about more than just pitching clients and telling them what you want.
Its about building an online presence that makes your business stand out as a company that understands the challenges and goals of its clients. Then following that up by providing a solution that solves their problem when they need it.
Any architectural firm can design a building for a client.
Very few offer a tailor made, personalized experience. And when you become the expert within a certain segment of the market, you can charge a premium price for your specialized and bespoke service offering
This will make clients come searching for you and keep your marketing funnel filled with targeted prospects. But to get to this stage will require some upfront work to build trust with your audience
So start building that targeted audience by delivering value that makes you stand out from the rest and clients will naturally follow thereafter.
Sincerely
Aslam
