When you are trying to build your event design business, one thing that you are always going to be working for is more clients. While repeat clients are always a great thing, having a consistent flow of new clients is part of what helps you earn that event planner salary that you’ve made your goal. In order to expand your clientele, we’ve collected four great tips for event designers.
Develop an Event Design Specialty
If you want to build a thriving client base, you’ll need good word of mouth. Unfortunately, that can be one of the hardest things to get for many event design professionals. In addition to offering fantastic customer service, you also need something that sets you apart – some specialty that makes people take notice, so that when they hear a friend or colleague in need of an event designer, they can say “Oh, hire so-and-so, they are great with lighting”, or something similar. Find something that you can really specialize in, and make it your mission to become the leading expert on that thing in your area.
Be Smart About Social Media Advertising
These days, you can’t earn an event planner salary if you don’t plan to be on social media promoting your business. Be smart about which platforms you are using. For example, Instagram is a great platform because it’s visual, so you can easily share photos of the events you design. Facebook is very useful because the majority of people who you’ll be trying to attract have a Facebook account. But consider if your target audience is also on other platforms, such as Twitter or LinkedIn, and take your business there, as well.
Connect Your Design to Clients on a Personal Level
If you want to impress your clients with beautiful event design, you have to do more than just make the event look nice and operate smoothly. You have to ensure that it connects with them on an emotional, personal level. Take the time to get to know your clients so that you can deliver something they truly love. While pleasing your clients is an end to itself, it will also allow you to collect valuable testimonials that can help you grow your business.
Build Reviews on a Variety of Review Sites
Finally, don’t be afraid to ask your clients to leave you reviews on various review sites. Yelp, Google, Angie’s List - these are but a few of the places where your business could be reviewed. Consider sending out an email a month or so after the event with links to various review sites, asking for an honest review. This is a great way to build your reputation online, and helps attract customers who do a search for you after hearing about you in person.
While attracting new clients is never foolproof, these four tips can help you build your event design business. Want to learn more, or would you like to learn how to start an event design business? Check out our online course!
