A guest blog post by Gail Doby, ASID, Design Success University

Starting in 2007, the market for interior designers turned into quicksand.   The credit markets tightened, and projects that typically went to designers were brought in-house both residentially and commercially.

HGTV and the Internet created more competitors in the middle of the market from the consumers themselves, and frankly, for most designers, those weren’t and aren’t your best clients anyway.

High-end projects stayed fairly steady until the economic debacle of October 2008, and then many of the projects slowed, stopped or didn’t start at all.  Especially in markets tied to the financial markets like New York, the wealthiest clients lost their jobs and their sense of security if they were in jobs associated with money and wealth.

The commercial market was devastated by the credit crisis, and according to economists, the concerns aren’t behind us yet.

Even with this perfect storm, some designers were very busy.  Why?  They adapted to the market shifts, changed their pricing strategies, developed an online presence, spent as much as 10% on marketing, focused on a niche, learned how to differentiate themselves better, and didn’t wait for the phone to ring.  They took these conditions as a challenge and they worked even harder than before.

If commercial and hospitality is your preferred area of business, you’ll want to focus on renovations.  If you can show companies that an investment in renovation can lead to more dollars at the bottom line especially if they depend on consumer spending, then you have an opportunity to build a logical reason why a company should invest.  The commercial designers that become a marketing partner with their clients differentiate themselves and become a valuable solution-oriented team member instead of an expense.

If your specialty is residential design, bathroom and kitchen renovation is still steady.  The budgets might be smaller, but there is work in this specialty area.

A kitchen renovation featured on the Traditional Home blog

Some designers created packages of services they offered on their websites.  Why did that work for them?  The consumers wanted (and demanded) to know the investment required .

Other designers offered Value Based Fees because consumers resisted hourly fees.  ASID surveyed consumers a few years ago and approximately 70% said they wanted fixed fees.  Designers who offered this option found that it completely shifted their role from an hourly wage slave to a trusted advisor, and that helped many designers kick-start their businesses even during the last several months.

You could be the greatest designer, but if people don’t hear about you consistently, then your business will struggle.  These days, you need great photography, a great head shot, articles about you in magazines, online and in newspapers (third party endorsements), a web presence including a website, blog and social media and search engine optimization of your website and blog.

And, if you don’t have a written business plan, marketing plan, vision and strategy for your business, it’s time to get busy and take action.  Referrals and networking may have worked in the past, but they are less effective than ever, so that means it’s time to rethink and reposition your business.

[Originally written for Decorati Access Interior Design, Published June 11]

Thank you so much to Todd Wickersty at Business Bullpen for inviting me to guest post on their blog today.  See the full post on their blog by clicking “read more” below!

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Those who are not active on Twitter (or have never signed up) frequently ask: “What’s the point?” or “Is this really going to help my business?”

The short answer is: yes.  I know that it works because it has worked for our business in 6 very distinct ways.  The holy grail of social media still leaves the question of how to effectively analyze social media efforts.  It seems that John Lovett and Jeremiah Owyang, from Web Analytics Demystified and the Altimeter Group, are on the right track for creating a framework.  Until then, the list of 6 will have to be statistics free.

Creating leads. Twitter helps foster relationships if used properly.  It’s a way to engage in conversation and offer answers when asked—without expecting anything in return.

Click here to read more…

A guest blog post by Gail Doby, ASID, Design Success University

I’ve been an interior designer for over 20 years, so I’ve had plenty of time to make these mistakes.  Here’s a startling statistic (and I’ll bet it is higher during this recession) – 62.8% of all new businesses fail within 6 years according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and 96% fail within 10 years.  That means you’re lucky to be one of 4 out of 100 to make it past 10 years…or is it luck?

What if you could avoid the mistakes that these business owners made?

I’d like to see you avoid them, and if you’ve already done a few of them, now you can learn what not to do so you don’t waste your valuable time and money:

1. Not having a written “ideal client” profile – If you don’t know who your ideal client is, how can you tell other people who they can refer to you?  If you’ve ever had the client from &%$&, (or more than once) the key is to know what you don’t want in a client as much as what you do want.
2. Not knowing the lifetime value of your client – If you’ve been in the business even a few years, you can add up your billings and divide by the number of clients to get your current lifetime value.  You should also look at how long they stay as a client.  These two metrics are critical in your business planning and if you have this data as part of your Business Dashboard, it will help you grow your business. (more…)

The to-do list can be a daunting document.  For every one item you check off, you probably add two.  For many of us, it is far longer than the number of hours that we each have in our days.  The question then is: “how can we set up a strategy to prioritize the to-do list so that you are best utilizing your time”?  Think about ROI (return on investment) as your ROT (return on time).

Too Familiar?

Here is a new system that we created within our company.  I suggest that everyone have the same 3 categories across the team, but that the prioritization is role-specific.

Determine your 3 categories that all of your actions fall under (or should fall under).  In our company, I determined the following as our 3 categories:

1. Revenue producing:  an item on the to-do list that will bring money into the company
2. Service-related:  an item on the to-do list that will make our members or clients lives and businesses better
3. Brand awareness and networking: actions that will help build our brand throughout the industry and beyond

Based on your list, prioritize your categories.  My particular role in our company is bringing in new business and also long-term strategy.  If my role was to service our clients and members more directly, I would prioritize the categories differently.  Therefore, my category prioritization is as follows:

1. Revenue production
2. Brand awareness, strategy, and networking
3. Service

Determine some examples of what each category would entail.  For example, I would use the following examples for our company:

1. Revenue production: sales calls, creating letters of agreement, invoicing, etc.  For your firm, this might also be billable hours or creating proposals.
2. Brand awareness, strategy, and networking:  arranging presentations at design centers, writing blog posts, staying connected with my professional network, etc.
3. Service:  adding functionality to the website that would improve the client experience, monthly member calls, etc.

A few more ideas:

• Establish a “D” category.  There will naturally be things that fall into the “Other” category.  We call those category “D” items.  These will still need to get done but in the prioritization exercise, they will be the items that are least important to your business.
• Every time you add something to your to-do list, make sure that you put a letter next to it or color code it.  This will show you where you need to be prioritizing and what items can be downgraded.

For more great techniques to work smarter, I suggest Gina Trapani’s columns at FastCompany.com. What systems do you use to prioritize your laundry list of to-dos?

We are very excited to be working with Ondine Karady, former set decorator for Sex and the City, finalist in Bravo TV’s Top Design, and acclaimed interior designer.  Ondine was just recently named one of 20 Young Designers by Traditional Home.

We will be working with Ondine on spreading her great design and personality even further through the beauties of social media and online PR.

As part of the 20 Young Designers feature from Traditional Home, the magazine is holding a Reader’s Choice contest.  Please support Ondine and support us by voting for her!

Note:  Make sure that you click on the “Vote!” button and not just the “Like” button to vote!

Also, by voting you are automatically entered to win a complete room design and $5,000 in fabric to outfit the room so there’s some extra incentive…besides your undying love for us.

Should every business have a website? ABSOLUTELY.

Why? Here are our top 10 reasons (but trust us, there are many more):

1. Credibility – Having a website gives credibility to your design firm. It gives you an opportunity to establish yourself as an expert in the field.
2. Portfolio – An online gallery of your work is important for any business in a design related industry. A website is the easiest way to display examples of your work. Your portfolio can speak the most about who you are as a designer.
3. Feedback – Your website is the easiest and most efficient place for your clients and the design community to find you and contact you with feedback. Good feedback and testimonials are a great way to establish credibility.
4. Around‐the‐Clock Access – A websites makes your information available to clients and potentials 24/7. Even when you’re not working, your website is still working for you!

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For a limited time, we are offering our Social Media Launch Pad at a discounted price. Don’t miss out!

Our Social Media Launch Pad sets up your firm’s presence on all appropriate social media platforms. This starting point allows your company to jump into social media and learn along the way.

The Launch Pad includes:
• Kick-off call to explain the different tools and briefly discuss strategy
• Setting up profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Ava Living
• Adding photos, information, and all other necessary details to the above platforms to create pages that will show that you not only have a presence, but have a robust presence and want to encourage engagement
• Creating a blog for your firm, using one of hundreds of wordpress.com templates that work aesthetically with your current web site
• 1 month of “co-piloting” to ensure that you have a resource for questions as you begin using the different tools
• 6 months of unlimited Flight School classes that teach you about how to use Facebook, Twitter, Ava Living, blogging, and LinkedIn for business

Special Discount from December 11-December 31, 2009!

Cost: $695 $595

To learn more about the Social Media Launch Pad, please contact Martha at martha@gibsondesignmanagement.com

We are excited to continue our new Flight School classes on the following social media tools’ uses for business: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Ava Living, and blogging.

Our next Flight School class will be offered on Twitter 101 for Business.  The class will be held on:

Thursday, January 21st at 3pm.

Agenda will include:

• Signing up for Twitter.
• Setting up your profile and Twitter page.
• Twitter Lingo: “tweet”, @replies, DMs, “follow”, and more.
• Twitter tips to get you started.
• How Twitter keeps you connected to your customers.
• How Twitter can keep you updated in the Interior Design industry.
• How Twitter helps you to build relationships within your industry.

Each online Flight School class will be limited to 12 participants. This will ensure that people can ask questions and there is interaction between you and your Social Media Flight Instructor. Register below and you will receive a confirmation within 24-48 hours. Classes are 60-90 minutes and include a Q&A session.

Cost: $47.00 per class

Kelly Wearstler's Modern Glamour book cover

Whether you are a fan of Kelly Wearstler’s design or not, one cannot help but admit that her branding is top notch.  Kelly knows, as any good branding goddess should, that branding is not about your logo, your letterhead, or the colors that you use but is rather about the emotion that you invoke in every way that you “touch” your clients, your potential clients, and even your broader community.

In the interior design community, many of us are guilty of wanting our brand to be safe—to appeal to everyone.  That means that we hide our personalities, we do not let our company culture shine through, and, ultimately, we do not attract the best clients for us.

Wearstler evokes a life of glamour.

Her brand says: If I design your space, you too will live the fabulous lifestyle that I live.

You too will unload the dishwasher in a beautiful gown that coordinates with your kitchen.  (Oh, this old thing?!)

Designed by Kelly Wearstler, from O at Home magazine, via BlackWhiteBliss blog

Social media and non-traditional marketing to supplement and enhance your marketing plan can be the best way to increase your return on investment. However, do you really have time to tweet, post, blog, fan, follow, or even figure out what all of these things mean? Furthermore, do you have time to commit to actually doing these things well? Shouldn’t you be spending more time designing? After watching many design firms use our Social Media Launchpad to get their firms set up on Twitter, Facebook, Ava Living, LinkedIn, and blogging, and then not have the time to properly tend to those social media tools, Gibson Design Management has launched its Online Community Co-Pilot program.

Your Co-Pilot is experienced and knowledgeable; she will help you not only navigate the social media world but will also work to fly your business to an even higher level.

• Navigation plans: Your Co-Pilot will lead twice monthly calls to learn about what is going on within your business and how your marketing objectives can be better achieved through using online tools. We will work with you to develop strategies to make your offline marketing objectives more efficacious by using these instruments.
• Jet maintenance: Your Co-Pilot will ensure that all of your instruments are up to snuff and safe for rocket flight. By working with you and by managing all of your online tools, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Ava Living, and your blog (blog copywriting additional), your business will be equipped for the steep trajectory. After your Social Media LaunchPad, you don’t want your tools to sit idle and unwatched.

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