How to Differentiate and Communicate Your Offering

Marketing
How to Differentiate and Communicate Your Offering

If you're struggling to communicate what your company offers, you're not alone. 

So many businesses in the home design industry struggle to show their audience what they actually offer. 

They're losing work to competitors, but they can't figure out how to communicate what makes them unique. 

If home and interior design businesses can't show their audience the true value of their services, they won't be able to attract high-quality leads to their door. 

Every company has a unique story, a different process, and a one-of-a-kind solution. By not showing yours in your marketing, you'll fail to attract the right kind of client. 

Today we're going to show you how you can differentiate your business and better communicate what you're offering to attract more dream clients. 

What is brand differentiation and why is it important?

There are just under 78,000 interior designers in the US alone and as the power of online marketing continues to grow and potential clients are increasingly able to work with designers virtually, you may find it difficult to stand out. 

It only takes around 0.05 seconds for someone to form an opinion about your company. 

So, you need to make the right impression, and make it fast.

To stand out, you need to show off what makes you unique.  

Brand differentiation sets you apart from your competitors and enables you to stand out amongst the crowd. By putting your unique qualities on display, you'll be able to win more dream clients. 

How do you differentiate your brand and show people what makes you unique?

Here are five ways you can differentiate yourself and communicate your services to your clients better. 

1. Make What You Offer & How You Deliver it Unique

What are you really good at?

Does your team excel at a particular area of interior design? Do you specialize in delivering a specific style?

If you can figure out what your superpower is and what you can do better than anybody else, you can use it to show your clients how you can help them. 

For example, are you really good at:

  • Color 
  • Window coverings
  • Tiles and floorings 
  • Furniture choices
  • Accessories

Think about what types of projects you're really good at delivering too. Do you specialize in a specific niche? If you do, make it obvious to your clients!

Take into consideration whether you excel at offering:

  • Full service
  • Virtual design
  • Decorating
  • Consultation 
  • Project management

If you can't figure out what your superpower is, then sit down and ask yourself:

  • What's unique about your services?
  • What's special about your products?
  • What design style do you do best?
  • What type of project are you an expert on?
  • What rooms do you design the best?

Ask yourself these questions while you're doing projects, too. 

Take note of things you're doing well, and think of positive feedback you've received from past clients - is there something they all keep repeating about you?

2. Use a Process to Deliver a Consistent Service  

People love a transparent process. If they can see that you are consistent and detailed, they'll feel a lot more comfortable working with you. 66% of consumers think transparency is one of the most attractive qualities of a brand, so be transparent about your design and implementation processes.

A detailed process will also help you deliver a fantastic service and help you communicate precisely what you're offering to your potential clients. 

Here's an example of a five-step process you can use to deliver your work and guarantee your clients a consistent service:

  1. Consultation: How do you learn about their project goals and their needs? How do you take a look at their project space and discuss their budget with them?
  1. Contract: Figure out how you estimate and create a proposal for your client. How do you start your projects? 
  1. Design: What are the steps in your design process? How many designs do you provide your clients with? 
  1. Project Management: How do you manage your projects? Do you have complete management over vendors, contractors, fabricators, and installers?
  1. Installation: What do you do during the installation period? What's your role? Are you with the client every step of the way?

If you don't have a process in place, then you'll find that you're not being consistent with the level of quality you're providing each of your clients. 

Having unique processes can also help differentiate your company from your competitors. 

For example, you could have a unique billing process. Your billing process could include how you charge for a bill and what payments you accept. This could make or break a contract for some clients as your competitor might not use a payment method they want to work with. 

Some other unique billing processes can include:

  • The contract terms
  • If your items are below retail price
  • If cancelations or returns are possible on items
  • Whether or not design changes can be made during a project

3. Show Off Your Amazing Team 

Your team is an essential part of your home design business (this includes your sub-contractors, installers, and even your vendors). Show your audience what's unique and exceptional about your team. 

Introduce your team members and talk about projects you've worked on with them. Show examples of the great work you've been able to do thanks to their experience and expertise. 

This will give new clients an idea of what it'll be like working with you. They'll also be able to clearly see the unique capabilities of your team and why they should trust you. 

4. Communicate Your Uniqueness in the Right Place

There's no point in communicating your uniqueness if you're not sharing it in the right place. 

The best places to differentiate your business and communicate to your potential clients are in your:

  • Website content
  • Social media posts
  • Email marketing
  • Email signature
  • Social media profiles
  • Online ads

By telling your story online and on these platforms, you'll be able to communicate your story to your dream clients. 

5. Always Improve Your Processes - and Let Clients Know About It

Continually improving your processes to deliver better results is vital for showing your clients that you're a great company to work with - it shows you genuinely care about getting the best results for your clients. 

It'd be easy if we could just think that once we've finished, we're finished, but unfortunately, that's not how business works. Markets, technologies, softwares, goals, and more are always on the move, and you have to keep up.

One of the best things you can do is narrow down your service offerings and try to streamline your processes. By niching, you'll be able to deliver an even more exceptional and detailed service to your clients.

If you'd like to differentiate your company online and communicate your offerings more clearly, our team can help. 

Home Designer Marketing helps home design professionals transform their businesses and 

brands to attract their dream clients, sell their projects for more, stay current online, and get their time back with automated systems.

Schedule a consultation today and start showing your clients why you’re the right choice for their project. 

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