Design professionals know that the work day doesn’t end with your billable hours. Whether you’re a professional organizer, home stager, or interior decorator, there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes into running a successful business. Accounting, administration, and professional development all require time in order for your business to run smoothly, but many professionals will tell you that it’s marketing that takes the most energy.
Email promotions, newsletters, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram… The ways to engage prospective clients can feel endless, and you’ve been doing tons of it! But how do you know if it’s paying off? Read on for some signs that show your marketing is working.
Prospective Clients Know They Want You
You may have had to really sell yourself when meeting prospective clients in the past, and there might have been times where there was disconnect between your services and what the potential client was asking for. Now your meetings run smoothly because clients are already confident they’ll hire you before coming in. Your marketing activities are showing who you are, what you offer, and why you’re the professional to go with.
Having a strong marketing strategy is about more than just blasting everyone with your name and logo. It should be targeted and clear what you’re about. If this meshes with what a client is looking for, then they’ll know they want to work with you even before the first handshake!
High Rank on Google
How specific a search term do you need to use before you see your business on the first page of Google? If you need to put in your exact business name and location before anyone can find you, then it’s time to bone up on Marketing 101! If someone is more likely to find your page looking for #dogsofinstagram than your industry, it’s time to re-evaluate how you promote yourself online. Ideally, your blog posts, social media, and website should contain enough keywords that you’re easy to find, but also coming up through relevant search terms.
If you can search for more general terms like “professional organizer” or “organizing business” followed by the name of your city and you appear near the top, then your marketing strategy is paying off.
Getting the Clients You Want
Booking any client is an honor—this is someone who likes and believes in the services you offer enough to pay you for them! As your business grows and you really establish yourself though, there will be specific jobs that you really vie for, or kinds of clients that you want to work with.
Ideally, your marketing strategy is focused enough that it attracts the sort of clients and jobs you’re really hoping to book. This is where a good-quality portfolio is important, along with a website and social media presence that appeal to your target demographic. You need to build a specific brand that will attract and retain the kinds of clients you really want to work with.
When you see requests start to come in from the people you’ve been trying to target, you know your marketing is working!
Improved Analytics
Analytics capture how your different marketing strategies are performing, and what approaches are most successful. Maybe your email newsletters aren’t generating a lot of interest, but your photos on Instagram get followers excited. Keeping close track of how your marketing strategies are working, and when they improve, helps you to stay targeted with your energy.
Regardless of where you’re focusing your marketing efforts, if you see improved analytics across the board, you know your marketing is effective.
Great Social Media Engagement
If you had to turn off push notifications on your phone for social media because your posts get so many likes and comments, then you’re doing a great job at marketing! High levels of social media engagement means people are not just seeing your posts, they’re connecting to them, and your brand by extension. We’ve talked before about how great a tool social media is for marketing, and where you should focus your attention. Having your posts generate discussion means your efforts and approach are paying off!
Developing and maintaining your marketing strategy is a lot of work, and we all know how frustrating it is when you invest time and money in an approach that doesn’t pay off. When you do start to see returns on your efforts though, the rewards are huge! Hopefully marketing is a labor of love (at least some of the time!) as it allows you to connect with potential and current clients, hone your image, and build your brand. Once you start to see signs that it’s working, it will become even more fun and can keep growing from there!
