Last week we looked at educating clients.

This week we’re looking at the marketing tools available in 2011 you can use to help your interior landscaping business. With all of the tools available – Websites, email, social media, etc. – one of the questions is finding the correct tools or tools to drive business. Let’s take a look at a few of the tools worth trying this year for driving revenue and profit…

Interiorscape Marketing in 2011

The idea for a post on marketing came from the Interiorscape Forum. A post asking about interiorscape marketing piqued my interest and got my attention.I thought the topic was worth discussing for a couple posts before we get back into design, planting and potting options, and other topics discussed on ProScape.

A few of the newer marketing methods mentioned in the post include blogging, Facebook, and LinkedIn. A few more traditional marketing methods are mentioned as well including joining your local Chamber of Commerce or Better Business Bureau and of course the best way to get new business – client referrals.

Traditional Marketing

Referrals are always going to be the best way to get new business. Obtaining new business is no different in 2011. Referrals are typically king. When working on designs for your clients be sure to ask them to mention you to their business associates. Mention to building owners that it would be great if they could suggest your business to other non-competing businesses in the area.

Your clients likely have been introduced to the idea of interior landscaping by the time they’re ready to ask for help on finding someone to design their building. The business owner will likely have been in a building with a great interiorscape or perhaps they have read about interiorscaping in a magazine or business blog. From there the owner will likely look to their trusted peers for assistance in finding a qualified person to get the design job done.

This is how most business is driven. It takes quality work and a good reputation to get referrals. Things usually don’t happen overnight in the referral world, but making it a point of your business today and with each client you should build your referral business over time.

Blogging

Blogging is perhaps my favorite marketing method to recommend to business especially businesses that provide services and products to other business. I’ve found businesses with businesses as clients fair best from writing quality blog content.

A few of the benefits blogs provide include:

• Search Traffic
• Industry Leadership and Trust
• Sales

Search engines love blogs. With a blog for your business you provide a consistent stream of fresh content – something search engines love. The search engines want to provide the best answers and content for their visitors questions. When businesses are looking for information on interiorscaping you’ll want to make sure your blog is at the top of the results for the questions they have.

By providing your knowledge and insight about interiorscaping with a blog you’ll establish yourself as a thought leader in the industry. Clients look for someone that stands out. An interiorscaper with a blog full of good advice ont he benefits of indoor planting will stand out as the go-to person for interiorscaping for business owners.

As with referrals, business owners generally have questions about interiorscaping. Something piqued their interest about the process, but they want to learn a bit about it before they just jump in. Your blog can be a source of answering their questions and once the business owner is comfortable with interiorscaping they’ll already know about you from your blog.

Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media websites get a lot of attention these days. Millions of people are using each one every day. A few businesses have been able to figure out how to engage these audiences and turn a bit of that attention into sales.

From my experience it’s difficult to drive customers from these channels. Some people are able to drive traffic to their websites, but that doesn’t always turn into sales and marketing is always about getting more sales for your business.

A key to social media may be to figure out where your customers are spending their time. Social media can be a great way to connect and engage. This kind of relationship can lead to sales and business relationships.

Summary

Referrals continues leading the way as a business driver for interiorscapers in 2011.

Providing quality work and service is the best way to build your reputation as the best interiorscaper in your area. Encourage your clients to refer you to their peers. Let your clients know about everything you offer. Don’t let them think you only provide the exact service you did for them. Working these relationships could be your best source of revenue in 2011.

Beyond referrals there is a plate full of new marketing tools. New age marketing on Facebook, Twitter, etc. still seem to have benefit for business to business companies so there is reason for your to spend some time there testing and trying to see if there is a social channel that works for you.

Blogging is something I recommend for all business to business companies. Blogging creates an online asset of knowledge, insight, and content. Search engines pick up on your content and share it with your potential clients. With a blog you can establish yourself as the knowledgable voice in the interiorscape industry.

Are there any other marketing initiatives you plan on focusing on this year?

What has worked for your that may work for others?

Share your thoughts.

Indoor Plant courtesy of ::Nicholas::

Tags: Blogging, Facebook, Interiorscape.com, LinkedIn, Twitter

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 16th, 2011 at 10:00 am and is filed under Interiorscape Industry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.