Marketing and Client Relations for Interior Designers

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xi

PART 1 Effective Marketing Strategies 1

1 Positioning Your Firm 3

2 The Marketing Plan 13

3 Objectives 19

4 Company Profile/Internal 23

5 The Marketplace 41

6 Current Issues Influencing Our Market 53

7 Market Research 61

8 Targeting the Right Clients 67

9 Partnering with Technology 73

10 Techniques That Develop and Nurture Relationships 81

11 Who Will Lead? 103

12 Preparing Marketing Materials 107

13 Becoming a Major Force in Interior Design 117

PART 2 Selling as Communication 121

14 An Introduction to Selling 123

15 The Client Comes First 131

16 Rapport 137

17 Organization 143

18 The Art of the Interview 151

19 Your Brand 159

20 Preselling 175

21 The Presentation 183

22 Qualifying the Client 191

23 Defining a Project 207

24 Customer Service 215

25 How to Handle Complaints 221

26 Contracts and Letters of Agreement 225

27 Charging for Your Services 231

28 The Installation 249

29 Learning 257

Suggested Reading List 261

Index 263