A salon in our hometown of Charlottesville is doing a great job with promoting its business on Facebook.  They have tremendous fan interaction and loyalty, and you can really see the personality of the salon, without even stepping foot in the door.  In fact, I was so impressed with their company after being a fan on Facebook for the past few months I even considered scheduling my next hair cut there…until today.

I am a fan of their page on Facebook.  A week ago, they posted on their wall that if they got to 1,000 fans (now “likes”) by the end of May, one of their fans would receive a giveaway.  This is clearly against the Facebook Terms of Service agreement which now prohibits contests being held on a Facebook business page unless offered through a third party vendor or approved by Facebook directly.

I felt a bit like a little kid saying “my mom says that you’re not supposed to do that”, but I wanted to make sure that this salon did not get in trouble and have their hard work on Facebook be for naught.  I commented on the giveaway post by the salon and diplomatically told them to be careful about offering contests on their page.  I also said that I was not sure how actively Facebook was enforcing these guidelines, but I wanted to be sure that they knew.

What did the salon do???  They deleted my comment.  They have then proceeded to post more on their wall about this giveaway, even weekly contests to their “likes” group.  (more…)

Design by Schelfe and Associates | Rendering by Gibson Design Management

Last fall we had the fortunate opportunity to work with Schelfe and Associates, an interior design firm from Raleigh, NC, on a project located 90 minutes outside of Hong Kong, China. The project consisted of converting an existing villa into a high-end boutique hotel, that, when built, will have 6 guest rooms, an owner’s suite, a cinema room, a game room, a karaoke room, a golf simulator room, multiple lounge areas, and more.

Gibson Design Management created four renderings for Schelfe and Associates to present to their clients, helping to better their understanding of the design concept through the renderings and an interpreter. Tim Schelfe, principal at Schelfe and Associates, took our renderings, a plethora of fabric samples and tear sheets, and more for the presentation to his new Chinese client. Upon return, Tim said that the renderings were a hit—they greatly helped bridge the language barrier between his team and the client. The client even said, “I want more pictures!”

Design by Schelfe and Associates | Rendering by Gibson Design Management

Tim wrote the following testimonial about the process:

“Gibson Design Management was instrumental in allowing our firm to organize the creative vision of the project without getting bogged down on preparing our own interior renderings or color boards. With the renderings provided by Gibson I was able to present my client a very clear and precise vision of the finished interior. Our client was ecstatic with our presentation and signed off on our design as presented.”

Design by Schelfe and Associates | Rendering by Gibson Design Management

What happens when you and your client both speak the same language? Should you still use renderings? There are countless times when a client will express his or her wishes using incorrect terms such as “I like modern” when what they actually like is “transitional.” Utilizing renderings can help combat these misunderstandings and ensure that you and your client are on the same page before the room is installed. Furthermore, the level of trust that is instilled once a client sees the renderings is immense—instead of just listening to your description, they can actually see what you mean.

A picture, or in this case a rendering, is worth a thousand words.

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This is the second part of a multi-part series of lessons learned from Inc. Magazine’s GrowCo conference. These lessons have been translated and applied to the interior design industry for relevance.

Jack Mitchell

Jack Mitchell–listed by Inc. Magazine as one of the 26 most fascinating entrepreneurs in 2005, author of multiple books including Hug Your Customers, and former CEO of family-run clothing stores Mitchells and Richards—argues that we need to relate to our clients and to personalize EVERY encounter. While many argue that clients should be kept at an arm’s length and should be viewed as business associates solely, I disagree and subscribe to Mitchell’s way of business.

1. People do business with people they like. Be likable.
2. Clients are not transactions, they are people. Build relationships.
3. Give people great, personalized service. Your first priority should not be the products, it should be the service and the experience.

I am not a big hugger—literally. However, I do believe that the metaphorical hug is of utmost importance to running a successful business. You must also ensure that you empower your team to “hug” your clients. Hire a great team and treat them like you want them to treat your clients; your clients will feel good about doing business with you and will come back for every project. They will refer you. It seems simple but chances are your competition is not doing a good job. All the more reason to lead the bandwagon.

To see Jack Mitchell on The Today Show, take a look at this video:

Great blog post today from Small Business Trends today about growing your service business.  While many of these are not new ideas, it’s important to consistently drill them into your thinking.  Plus, if we know them, why aren’t we actually doing them?

No doubt, the economic climate for small business owners is tense and tight these days. That guaranteed income from yesterday is a hit or miss crap shoot today. On top of that, every time you turn around there is a new competitor springing up in your area, vying for the customers you worked so hard to acquire.

How can you stay above water when it seems all external forces are working against you?

Now is not the time for business as usual. It’s time to get creative and think outside-of-the-box for ways to increase profit. It’s always a good idea to tweak the services you offer to keep them fresh and competitive.

Read more at Small Business Trends’ blog…

Thanks to Matt Rodela for keeping this in the forefront of our minds.