Do you make it easy for potential clients to find, commission and pay you? (Part 1)

What can we learn from buying jewellery to enhance the way we price and communicate about architecture services?
(Photo of Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar by Linus Mimietz on Unsplash)

Over the weekend, I had two interesting shopping experiences, and both provided useful pointers for marketing your architect practice. They were especially instructive around how to position your practice, price your offerings, and communicate your fee options to future clients.

I was looking for a piece of jewellery to mark a milestone birthday, and I’d previously created a Pinterest board as a jewellery wish list, so I referred to that as starting point. Then I widened my scope by conducting Internet research around various different items; I wasn’t sure whether I wanted a bangle, or a ring or a pair of earrings.

This leads to my first suggestion about how to improve the way you communicate to people who may be looking for your services:

1. Make sure that prospective customers and future clients can find you, when they are conducting their initial Internet research

Does your website contain SEO keywords and phrases that your potential clients are likely to type into Google? Or are you missing out on a vast swathe of potential customers because they just can’t find you?

The best way to determine whether you have the right SEO on your website is to research the terms that are driving high visitor volumes to your key competitors, and then incorporate those terms into your copy and metadata fields.

(You could find an SEO consultant to do this for you, or it’s included in my Review + Reset package).

Some of the websites I liked had a live chat function or an email enquiry button, enabling prospective customers to obtain prices for specific items.

However, I tried this on two websites and neither of them responded without me sending a follow-up email to request the information again.

(In architecture circles, many prospective clients might not bother following up - because what does the fact that you can’t reply to an email say about your service delivery methods? - while others might forget where they submitted those initial enquiries if you don’t reply).

2.     Respond to customer queries in a timely manner, and then follow-up

This sounds so simple, but how many of us are guilty of failing to follow up with customer queries, because we are too busy on day-to-day and fee-paying tasks?

What’s your preferred method for dealing with new enquiries and requests for information about your process and project delivery methods? Would you rather prospective clients called you, or sent an email in the first instance?

Or do you have a lead magnet they can download, that describes what sets you apart from others, and outlines your unique selling proposition?

Ideally, you’d direct people towards your preferred method of making contact, so that you don’t have to monitor and field requests from multiple platforms. For example, you could use a Call to Action to direct social media followers to visit your website, and another Call to Action on the website to direct people to complete your enquiry form.

The beauty of this single method is that you can gather useful data to help you determine whether they are ideal clients for your practice, as well as add new subscribers to your email list. And if you set up email alerts to inform you of new enquiries, you can easily and quickly reply to them as they arrive.

If you get an enquiry from a prospective customer, make sure you respond to that enquiry in a timely manner AND provide the information they are seeking.  

Give them a preferred time frame in which to do that – a week is ideal – and if you haven’t heard back from them, don’t be shy about contacting them again.  

Some of these customers doing initial research could easily become warm leads, if they receive a satisfactory response from you.

Having scoped several items that I liked across about 10 websites, and having determined that a few of those were within my ballpark price range, I decided to visit two jewellery stores on Saturday. One closed at 1pm, the other at 2pm, so I factored that into my planning.  

3. Spell out how customers can transition from online conversations to a physical meeting, which might be a site or studio visit

Use a Call to Action to encourage potential clients to make contact in your preferred way - and then have the systems and processes in place to respond to new enquiries.

Once you have responded to the initial request, ask your prospects if they have any other questions about your service or process, and use yet another Call to Action to suggest that they should call you, so that you can continue the conversation IRL (in real life).

What information do you need to know to consider starting a new project? What do they need to know about your fees and processes?

As I walked into the first store, a salesman approached and greeted me, and offered to show me anything I liked, and made some casual conversation. He left me alone to browse, but was waiting nearby with the display cabinet keys at the ready.

When I asked to inspect a ring, he cheerfully opened up the cabinet for me, and took the ring over to the counter, and brought out an empty velvet tray. He then proceeded to gather up several other pieces at my request from around the store, so that I could try them on and compare them. 

Then, when I asked about loose gemstones, he found several different packets from various safes out the back, and said they could easily order in more from their wholesaler, for me to view and make a selection.

Once I had decided on a particular piece – the original ring I tried on – he offered to take a photograph of me wearing it, so that I could look at it later, at home. He explained how I could order the piece in my size and preferred colour, and provided an anticipated time frame for manufacture, and the cut-off for pre-Christmas delivery).

His demeanour and conversational style demonstrated that nothing was too much trouble, and it was an enjoyable experience that took about half an hour. I left the store feeling like he understood my needs wants and wishes, and responded appropriately with the right information that I needed so I could go away and make my decision.

4.     Understand your customers - and what information they want and need - to help them decide to purchase

In this digital marketing era - when people can readily connect with brands, creators, designers and makers they admire via social media - it’s so important to be able to pre-empt your customers’ needs, wants, emotional reactions, concerns, questions, likely objections and potential roadblocks.

Be ready to provide the information they are seeking at various points in the purchasing decision (or customer journey), so they advance to the next step and eventually commit to the sale.

In architecture, the “sale” or point of conversion is when customers engage your practice for their next project, and become clients by signing your contract to proceed.

What steps are customers likely to take on their journey to engage your architecture services? Are you ready to provide valuable information and trusted advice, to help them advance towards your practice?
(Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash)

I then drove to the second store, and I looked around the display cabinets trying to find a bangle like the one I’d seen on their website. Unable to locate one, I approached the counter and asked whether they had any in stock, for me to try on. The saleswoman wasn’t sure what bangle I meant, and pulled out a hefty printed catalogue with four pages of bangles (there were only about eight in total on the website).

Together we struggled to find the one I wanted, and her manner and responses gave me the impression that she was reluctant to help me further (there were no other customers in the store).

I kept asking questions though, and she eventually passed me the printed catalogue, and directed me to sit at a nearby desk to peruse it. However, when I went to sit in the closest chair – the one nearest the front door – she indicated that was her seat, and I should move around to the other side of the desk. That was awkward!

Then, as I thumbed through the printed catalogue, she went out the back to source some recently finished bangles, which hadn’t yet been polished and prepared for sale, so that I could at least try those on. She also mentioned that they’d just sold three bangles similar to the one I wanted, and sent others out to wholesale earlier in the week. 

I couldn’t find the exact bangle I liked in the catalogue, so I pulled up the website listing to show her and refer to the model number. One of her colleagues joined us at the table, and together they talked through the process of ordering that particular bangle, which they can make to order. I asked if there was any way for me to try it on before placing an order, and she said: “Not really”. 

She did help me work out the right size and concluded our exchange by writing the model number and quotation price on business card, so that I could call the store later to place an order.  

Again, the exchange took about half an hour, but the entire process felt difficult and drawn out, especially in comparison with my experience at the first store.

Which leads to one of the truisms of modern marketing: 

5.     Make it easy for customers to choose your product or service, instead of choosing to engage your competitors 

In terms of architecture - which is obviously harder to sample than made-to-order jewellery - think about how you can provide opportunities for your customers and prospective clients to physically experience your work before they decide to engage you.

What methods might you employ so they can touch, see, feel and walk through your past projects? And how can you help them to understand and appreciate – and compare and contrast – your service, process, quality, deliverables and outcomes? 

Could you use augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) to walk them through previously designed spaces? Could you show them 3D or physical scale models of your past projects, and photos of those same projects after completion, so they can see how your ideas are transformed from design to reality?

Do you have a process map that outlines the key steps they can expect to take, with indicative timeframes and costs, so they can ask questions and understand what’s involved at each stage, when they agree to commission your practice?

How can you make it easy for future clients to experience your past projects, or to better understand your process or service before they engage your practice?
(Photo by Murat Demircan on Unsplash)

Are you finding these insights useful in relation to how your future clients find you, assess your service and pricing, and then commission your practice?

If you’re keen to read about the remaining two insights for marketing your architecture practices, based on my jewellery shopping expedition, you can find Part 2 of this article here.

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