Organize Your Interior Design Client Experience Workflow: The Inquiry Phase
Updated September 2023
“It’s not worth doing if it’s not worth doing well.” This is pretty much my life mantra, and it was something my dad said all the time. It goes through my head when I’m tired and want to half-ass something. I hear him saying, “It’s not worth doing if it’s not worth doing well,” so I’ll often assess and think I either stop doing it like this or I do it right. Most times, I end up doing it right, and then I’m so glad I did because a) it’s done well, and b) I know I won’t have to go back and redo it later and spend even more time on it.
I use this same mantra when I’m working with my clients to help them streamline their interior design processes (client-facing processes and behind-the-scenes processes). I like to get a complete understanding of their business: who their clients are, where their clients are coming from, and what results they get their clients. From there, I help them to create a perfect interior design client experience workflow that will help them to run their projects more efficiently and that also adds tons of value for their clients.
On the flip side of that, if you are working with clients and your process leaves them confused or unsure of what to do next, they’ll be focusing their time and energy on that distress and not on getting the most out of their investment with you. No one wins!!
With my 1:1 consulting clients, we design and refine a customized client experience workflow that lets their clients simply show up and get results (whatever those results may be). Because my clients have prepared them and have set boundaries and expectations every step of the way, their clients know they’ll be in great hands. In this day and age, attention is money, and if you can design your client experience to allow your client to focus all their attention on getting results (and not on “I wonder what comes next…” or “What am I supposed to do now”…), then everyone wins!!
Ready to create your own perfect client workflow? I’ll be doing a series of posts to walk you through the exact steps you need to take to get your process up and running. If DIY isn’t your thing, check out my Client Experience Templates and have them downloaded and in your inbox in minutes.
The only way I know how to do things is to start from the very beginning, so we’ll start with that very first point of contact.
Here goes!
STEP ONE: HOW ARE CLIENTS FINDING YOU?
First, let’s assess where your clients are coming from.
Are they finding you via your website contact form?
Are they messaging you on Instagram or Facebook?
Are they sending you a direct email?
Or are they (gasp) calling* you?
If they’re coming in from multiple avenues, that’s great (leads!!) BUT I always recommend directing them to the contact form on your website as a first step so you are able to collect the information you need before moving to a discovery call.
If Potential Clients are Contacting You Via Your Website Contact Form:
Make sure you are capturing the right information (and not too much!). This article walks through the Contact Form Mistakes to Avoid.
Customize the message in your website builder that they get right when they hit submit. For example, in Squarespace (my website builder of choice!), when potential clients submit the form on my contact page, they are redirected to an on-brand page on my website that lets them know my hours and when they can expect a response. Click here to watch the tutorials.
The benefits of having a redirect page (or having an automatic email go out right when someone responds) are that:
It lets potential clients know when to expect a response (and gives me a business day to get back to them so I am not stressed out and constantly checking my email).
It lets potential clients know my business hours, so if they email me on a weekend they know they won’t hear back until Monday.
It’s an instant elevated thank you from ME so they know they actually will receive a response (versus most contact forms where you feel like you’ll submit and never hear back).
It’s received by potential clients when they are most interested, excited, and eager to find someone to help them with their project — thus a great time to position your business in a different way than others they are likely contacting.
If you have other resources that would be helpful for a potential lead, you can use this auto-response to lead them there (maybe a Facebook group, Instagram, a great blog post, a lead magnet, etc.) — anything that will be helpful for them to know or do before they hear back from you.
If Potential Clients are Contacting You Via Facebook or Instagram:
Are you okay doing business in messenger or in DMs or would you prefer they email you, call your phone (shudder), or schedule a call? Regardless, you can set up auto-responses in both of these tools to give potential clients the info they need without having to jump through any hoops.
If you like doing business in the DMs and PMs, then have your auto-response for that platform prepared and ready to send.
In Facebook, you’ll go into the page you manage, then click Settings → Messaging → then edit the “Auto Reply” function. From there you can include all your info, links, etc.
In Instagram, you’ll go into your business account, then click Settings → Business→ Quick Replies → New quick reply
Once there, you’ll type a shortcut word (I recommend the abbreviation of their service offering that would apply to the inquiry or a more general one if you aren’t doing business in the DMs). You can use this area to link your scheduler, link to your service offerings, or send them your email (whatever you want them to do next!). Then, when you get a DM, you just type in the shortcut word, and it will auto-fill the response you already typed out.
For a majority of my clients, this auto-response includes business hours, the typical turnaround time to hear back, the email address or contact form link for who to contact if it’s a service inquiry, or the link to their contact form to submit the inquiry there. It’s totally up to you and how you want to do business.
My personal recommendation: Funnel inquiries into ONE channel — a contact form is my top recommendation. If someone inquires in the DMs, always ask for permission to send an email with more information. Example: “Thanks so much for your message. Can I send you an email with more information about working together?” Then, email them with high-level details and the link to your contact form.
If Potential Clients Reach Out Via Direct Email:
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Depending on your email service provider, this will look a little bit different, but I love setting up a rule or an autoresponder so that an automatic email goes out when someone sends an email in. For me, this looks like a thank you, my business hours, my email turnaround time, and then anything else I think might be helpful for them while they’re waiting for my response.
This autoresponse can also include a link to your contact form so they can fill it out. Again, it is so important to have this information from a potential client; otherwise, you’re going in without knowing anything about the project (and potentially wasting time!).
If Potential Clients Call You For More Information*:
Okay, here’s where I gasp. I am not a fan of having my phone number on my website and I typically encourage my clients to remove the phone number from their business sites as well (when applicable).
I work from home and sometimes my kids are also home and if someone calls me and I answer thinking it’s personal and not business, then I’m instantly thrown off track. If my kids are home or I’m driving and I answer, then it’s even worse. I have zero control over that client experience and it’s just not a good first impression of my business. Because all of my interior design business owner clients want to provide a luxury experience for their own clients, I strongly encourage them to remove the phone number from their website and inquiry process, until they have vetted the client and know it’s a good lead.
My clients are typically solopreneurs or small teams and they can’t afford to spend valuable time on calls with unqualified inquiries. But that’s a whole other topic...this first part in the client experience workflow series is just the very basic first thing that goes out to people right when they email to set the stage for what it’s like to work with your company.
If you don’t have these set up yet, I would encourage you to pop into your systems and spend a few minutes adding these messages.
You might also like this post about how to respond to initial inquiries and how to streamline the next phase of your process or this one about the #1 inquiry mistake to avoid.
If you are ready to have a streamlined client experience for your interior design clients and wedding planning clients, be sure to check out my Client Experience Templates to have the entire system delivered straight to your inbox in minutes.
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