How to Attract Interior Design Clients who are Sustainably-Minded
I recently had the honor and pleasure of joining Odile Smith of The Biophilic Hub for The Biophilic Hub Summit. Odile helps interior designers and architects transition to nature-centered profitable businesses, and she and I talked about building a successful marketing strategy to effectively target and reach new audiences in your interior design or architecture business: those who care deeply about the environment and its survival.
It has taken many decades, but adopting some sustainable practices has become commonplace for many Americans. We recycle, carpool, and use low-energy consuming LED light bulbs. Of course, many people would agree that current strategies fall FAR short of needed efforts to ensure our planet and its resources will still be fully available to future generations.
That’s a discussion for another day.
Within the interior design industry, “Sustainable Design Practice” has evolved over the last several decades from something that was initially a specialty focus — to now — a theoretical approach that should be embraced by all designers as standard practice. Certainly, the design profession at-large has adopted the stance that it is imperative to be wise stewards of the earth’s resources and to be cognizant of ways in which selections impact natural resources, indoor air quality, material recycling, energy usage, and water efficiency.
Designers who have the desire to increase their knowledge and affinity with sustainable design strategies may want to pursue the LEED Green Associate credential offered through the U.S. Green Building Council. Having this credential is a way to showcase your knowledge and credibility regarding “green” design practices, not to mention, it’s a great way to differentiate yourself from other designers in your area.
Maybe you have thought about your marketing and whether it resonates with potential clients who are sustainably minded. If you feel that potential clients out there want to align themselves with design professionals who themselves strongly embrace sustainable approaches, and you’re not currently reaching these people — where and how do you communicate with them?
If you feel you are in a market where people tend to have a broad ecological worldview — how do you put yourself and your message in front of them?
How do you reach and engage clients who may have an elevated concern with the earth and its resources?
If your current marketing doesn’t address these issues, you are likely not resonating with or attracting these potential clients. So if you want to reach more potential clients who feel strongly aligned with environmental concerns, you’ll want to adjust your messaging.
A note of caution here. If you want to present yourself to potential clients as a designer who uses sound environmental design practices, you cannot stop by just saying that. You must walk the walk and practice what you preach.
Make sure you are sourcing locally, to reduce the environmental impact of transportation.
Make sure you specify low-flow plumbing fixtures in the bathrooms and kitchens you design.
Communicate closely with your reps to understand the recyclable content and recyclability of the materials and products you are selecting.
Be aware of the sustainability positioning of the vendors and manufacturers you specify most often.
Saying that you have a sustainability focus when you really don’t is misleading, and is often called “greenwashing.” This is when businesses market themselves as being environmentally friendly but actually do nothing that aligns with this approach. Potential clients — particularly those who feel passionately about the environment — will see right through this. If you are not messaging knowledgeably about sustainable practices, don’t claim to be an environmentally-conscious designer.
So, let’s say you DO want to increase your business toward a sustainability-aware audience. And let’s assume you DO feel knowledgeable and competent in green building practices.
So, let me talk about how to build a successful marketing strategy to effectively target and reach a new audience in your interior design business — those that care strongly about environmental health and sustainability.
If you are repositioning your company to reach a new audience, it all begins with SALES and MARKETING.
Here are the six most important things you can do to market yourself as a sustainably-focused design professional.
01 | THE SUSTAINABILITY-MINDED CLIENT MAY BE A NEWLY IDENTIFIED “IDEAL” CLIENT FOR YOU. IDENTIFY WHERE THIS DREAM CLIENT HANGS OUT AND HOW THEY CONSUME INFORMATION AND MEET THEM THERE.
Both social media and personal contact are important, especially given that most interior design businesses cater to a local market. It is important to find out where these people are and how they like to consume their information, and then show up there.
Educate your client about your service. Host or co-host a workshop, perhaps with another professional: a builder, a realtor, a manufacturer’s rep, or a landscape designer. Look for venues where you can engage with audiences of sustainably-minded people.
02 | MAKE SURE — FIRST OF ALL — THAT THE SERVICES AND THE PRODUCTS YOU OFFER ARE VERY CLEARLY DEFINED ON YOUR WEBSITE.
If not, that may be your first step.
If that language about what services you offer is clearly in place, you can add some messaging within your service descriptions that speak to environmental friendliness and sustainability mindfulness. Make sure the process and result of your service speak to those values and your new mission of sustainability.
How do you define the new company mission with this new focus? Perhaps reach out to previous clients who you have a strong rapport with. Ask for feedback about the perceived importance these issues have, and what practices may resonate with them.
Then write new content, or edit existing content on your website that addresses a mission focused on environmental responsibility. It should speak to creating environments that promote an improved human experience, and about preserving the earth’s resources for future generations.
03 | IF YOU HAVE NOT WORKED ON A SUSTAINABLY-FOCUSED PROJECT BEFORE, OR YOU HAVEN’T INCORPORATED A SUSTAINABILITY OR NATURE-CENTERED FOCUS INTO YOUR PROJECT DELIVERY, START SMALL.
Don’t take on a full home new-build that is going to be marketed as a sustainable home right from the start.
Instead, create one sustainably-focused service and test it on a small basis. Make it a service that your newly-defined, environmentally-focused, ideal client wants and will pay for.
When you find something that works, sell that, and then make it better with client feedback. Then, increase the scope of the service, the value, and then eventually the price. Then that can eventually become your whole business — because you’ll slowly be able to take on more of those project types, and fewer of those that don’t have a sustainable focus.
Then, clear out any old messaging or content that doesn’t align with your new sustainably-focused goals. Adjust your digital marketing to reflect the new audience you're trying to reach and the types of projects you want to take on.
Over time you will build credibility with this new audience, and — BONUS — your new messaging will not deter a less environmentally-focused client. Even if it is not a particular client’s focus, environmentally-aware messaging is generally viewed as universally positive.
04 | UPDATE YOUR PORTFOLIO AND THE IMAGES ON YOUR WEBSITE.
If projects don’t reflect this new focus, eliminate them (I know!!! You paid for professional photography - so this might be hard!). Have written content that aligns with each image that speaks to those values.
Some of the elements you might highlight in your portfolio — that show yourself as being an environmentally conscious designer — might be:
The use of rapidly renewable resources (bamboo or cork floors).
The use of recycled content (countertops using recycled glass, fabrics or carpet with recycled content).
The use of woods that are ethically harvested (wood floors that are FSC certified as being responsibly forested).
The use of energy-efficient lighting, typically LED, and motion sensors to ensure non-use in unoccupied spaces, as well as dimming controls for reduced energy usage.
The use of low-flow plumbing fixtures to reduce water use.
Recycling or donating what is not or is no longer being used (cabinets, furniture, excess installed product) rather than throwing away. ReStores, run by Habitat for Humanity, exist in many cities and will happily take construction material and furnishings donations.
Refurbishing existing furniture or case good pieces, rather than purchasing new ones.
Inclusion of large or numerous windows to maximize daylight in a space and allow views of nature, both of which promote human well-being.
Limited use of finite materials, such as granite or marble slabs, that took millennia to form on the earth’s surface. For countertops, quartz, butcherblock, porcelain, or concrete are considered more sustainable materials.
Sourcing from local manufacturers to reduce lengthy carbon-emitting transportation and shipping. For instance, choose the quartz countertop vendor whose manufacturing plant is closest to your geographic area (Cambria in Minnesota, Silestone in Florida)
Instructing your painting contractor to use low VOC (volatile organic compound) paint which limits off-gassing and irritating odors.
Designing around standard product sizes to reduce material waste.
Designing recycling centers within kitchens and mudrooms that allow material sorting per that municipality’s pick-up requirements.
Calling out these strategies on your website will easily communicate your commitment to socially-responsible design.
05 | SPEAK TO CLIENTS ABOUT THE LONG TERM BENEFITS OF SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES.
Appeal to their awareness path and personal interests: how ethical sourcing will improve the lives of their children and grandchildren, how recycling and reuse of recycled content will spare the earth's resources from extinction.
Currently, humans are using up natural resources at a far greater rate than they can be replenished — an unsustainable situation that means our offspring may live in a resource-depleted world. Talk about respecting the planet based on strategies around the 3 R’s:
Reduce - use as few new raw materials as possible. Reduce the use of water and electricity.
Reuse - use things that already exist, rather than having products newly manufactured.
Recycle - if a product cannot be reused as is, find where it can be disassembled and its raw materials reused for another purpose. Many manufacturers have reclaim programs. Talk with your reps to learn what can be done with product past its useful life.
As you shift to develop expertise in this area to make yourself recognizable, continue to talk and write about these earth-friendly strategies.
06 | THEN SCALE THAT MESSAGE AND CREATE LONG-FORM CONTENT THAT IS ALIGNED WITH ETHICAL AND NATURE-SUSTAINING DESIGN.
Through blog posts or written articles, have all this information and knowledge and education, and inspiration that you’ve created around this topic available on your site. Then, build social media posts from that content.
I really suggest this strategy as perhaps the most effective — putting out long-form content in the form of blogs or email newsletters that position yourself as an expert on sustainable and socially responsible design practices. Provide content that will bring awareness and help educate and inform this new base of potential clients.
Then, repurpose that long-form content for Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest to drive engagement and traffic to your site. This content will resonate with the new audience you are marketing to. Remember though, social media is a platform, not a marketing strategy. Once you get people to your site, the messaging you created (#2 and #3 above) will make sure your content speaks to those values.
Pivoting toward messaging around environmental responsibility may be a logical step to take in marketing your business. But it needs to be clear and consistent. It makes sense in today’s world to be both an environmentally responsible designer AND to tout that message so like-minded clients can find you.
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