5 Tips for Marketing Your Architecture Business

If you’re an architect, you’re probably not a marketer too. You’re focused on designing beautiful and functional buildings. But effective marketing is the only way to grow your business. The following five simple steps are easy to implement and can help you attract and retain more clients.

Any marketing plan, regardless of industry, can only be successful if it is based not on individual preferences, but those of your audience. Stated differently, every marketing-related decision you make should be done with your potential clients in mind.

Your clients, for instance, define the channel through which you will push your messages. A residential architect may find an attentive audience on Facebook, while a business-facing professional will likely be more successful on a platform like LinkedIn. Start your marketing plan with a thorough audience analysis, including the channels they prefer for getting their information and doing their research, then design your marketing pieces to be available through those channels.

In all of your promotional materials, from your website to your social media pages and print ads, highlight your past work. While the design process matters to the professionals involved in constructing the building, potential clients want to know what the final result will be.

Depending on your budget, you can highlight your past work in a variety of ways. For instance, consider incorporating not just images but also videos of your portfolio into your website. You can even incorporate 360 degree VR video, offering a more immersive experience for anyone looking to check out your past work.

An architect is a major part of any building project, so your audience’s decision to work with you will likely include exhaustive research on finding the right partner. As much as you can claim (and show) the quality of your work, you will gain more credibility by allowing your current clients to sing your praises for you.

Social proof is scientifically proven to work, because it adds independent value to your naturally biased statements. Short testimonials, longer case studies, and a variety of other client-based communications should become a core part of your entire marketing strategy.

Technology developments have made marketing more automated than ever before. However, to successfully market your architecture firm, it makes sense to use this technology as a means to an end rather than the end itself.

In other words, don’t let marketing automation tempt you into sending impersonal, mass emails. Instead, personalize your messaging in order to build a closer relationship with potentially interested clients. By the time they’re ready to choose a partnership, they’ll be likely to choose the firm they feel most closely connected to.

Speaking of personal touches: ultimately, a large part of your business will come from direct referrals. If you do great work, your clients will be happy to come back for future projects – and recommend your work to others who might be in need of your architectural expertise.

Quality work, of course, is the major driver behind that trend. However, you can further encourage return business and referrals by building a relationship with your existing clients. Don’t think of marketing simply as a client acquisition method; instead, look at it more holistically, with regular touches and follow-ups designed to keep existing and past clients engaged.

Marketing doesn’t have to be quantum physics. The above tips do not require a marketing expert, and can be executed by any architect. But of course, all of it only works if you do great work – which includes using the right products. To learn more about our solutions, click here for free product samples or contact us for more information.