Find your niche as an architect or designer
Hey all,
Throughout architectural school, we learnt a lot of useful stuff, but also some bits that you might never go back to. But something that was conspicuously missing from the curriculum, at least back when you & I were in school.
That is how to communicate effectively with clients. We learnt how to communicate with other architects and designers, even engineers and technicians to some extent, but clients? Never! This is ludicrous, seeing how a steady stream of clients is essential to any design practice. You didn’t learn how to differentiate your design practice from every other designer in the market. How do you stand out from the noise, and most importantly, how do you communicate the value of your services?
In other words, it is about how to market yourself to attract the right clients for your practice. I’m not talking about advertising. But marketing— something which has become essential for everyone today.
Make your mark
I want to share my thoughts on how you can make your mark as a design practice - whether you are an architect, interior designer or product designer. I hope you find something helpful here. And I hope you can put it into action.
Connect faster and with the relevant audience
One of the most talked about marketing principles is finding your “target audience” and “niche”. One of the main reasons to “niche down” is because your marketing efforts (and budget) are finite. There are only so many people you can reach and convert into clients — even in the digital world. So you must address the right people to begin with. To be able to connect faster and better.
Read on to see how to do this for your design practice without limiting your growth potential —
Define your X-factor
Niche, expertise, differentiation, unique selling proposition- call it whatever you may. They all boil down to the same thing — how do you make your practice stand out from the others, and most importantly, how do you get potential clients to choose you over others?
What is it, what it isn’t? And how to define your niche?
First, let’s get clear on what a “niche” is. It isn’t just the industry you are working in, it can be as specific as you want. The more specific, the better. Does that mean that you refuse every other project? Not necessarily. You can either have 2-3 niches or publicise a single niche while also accepting other jobs that you find interesting.
Your niche should tell the world that you are razor-sharp focused on 1 area, and that you have gathered expertise and experience in this particular subject. Your clients are hence more likely to listen to you, and value your inputs. It should be a no-brainer then to hire you for these types of projects.
What your niche must be though is something that is unique to you and your business. You might be an interior designer specialising in home remodels, but I urge you to be more specific than that. Try to answer the following questions before finalising your niche —
What is your majority client base? Are they young families looking to make their new homes? Are they established restaurateurs trying to stay on trend? Maybe most of your clients are art collectors. Is eco-responsibility their top priority? Get to know your clients and ask good questions during the discovery phase. Be curious about who they are and what made them select you over other market players.
What value does your work bring to the client? What problem do you solve for your clients? Do you make their workspace warmer and more collaborative? Or design homes that can welcome families with children? Remeber, it has to be from the perspective of the client.
What industry do you work in? Do you cater to B2B clients? or is it just B2C. Do you work with contractors? Are you mostly active in the public sector? or maybe the healthcare sector? These are all potential pointers for niching down.
Do you work in a specific geographic setting? Maybe your goal is to stay local, or expand internationally, be sure to write it down, and make it known to the prospective clients.
What processes do you use during a project? Do you pride yourself on any specific systems? You may be a pioneer in using a particular software. Does your design philosophy stand out? Do you provide any specific services that go beyond the traditional design services? Maybe you have an innovative business model?
Once you have the answers to the above questions, you can now start whittling out your niche. As Allan Dib puts in his book, “The 1-Page Marketing Plan”, make a list of things you find enjoyable, and make a list of things that are profitable. The trick is in finding something that is a variation of both.
Now based on all of your answers above, and a list of potential niches in mind, try filling out the following statement — “I help ideal clients_______, to ____solve their problems, by using a specific framework/design/philosophy/system ____ .”
For example, I help showroom owners in Mumbai, to increase their profits, by creating the best displays for their customers. Or, We help young couples in metropolitan cities, to express both their personalities and live their best life, by creating child-friendly spaces without compromising on aesthetics.
Do you get the idea? This statement doesn’t have to be public, but think of it as a guiding principle for all your future marketing strategy. Let this come across whenever you are meeting new clients, or posting on social media. This idea will help you weed out undesired projects from the projects that really excite you.
How will this help cut through the noise and connect to the serious clients? The idea of a niche is to show your potential clients that you are here to solve their problems through your design services because you know what their problems are. It shows them that you spend a considerable time thinking about their problem and have experience solving problems like theirs. It also shows your clients that you understand them, hence creating more trust.
Who would you rather hire? Someone who has no idea what problems you are facing? Or someone who devotes their time to finding solutions to your specific problem?
So, get out your prettiest notebook and your favourite pen and start scribbling all your ideas on niching down and finding your differentiating factor.