In every business, customer satisfaction should be a priority to keep your clients happy and loyal. The happier they are with your services, the more likely they are to tell their friends about it – potentially increasing your customer base.
In the world of interior design, this is more crucial than ever to stay ahead.
Here’s how to ensure customer satisfaction in interior design.
When you first meet your clients, you need to get a feel of their style.
Assess their personalities and tastes by browsing their art or taking a look at their closets. Ask them to tell you their ideas and have your portfolio on hand so they can find similar designs that you’ve done. Be sure to put everything in writing.
Discuss your design fee and all necessary additions as well as their own budget from the onset to avoid any miscommunication down the line.
Cofounder of Cullman & Kravis Ellie Cullman recommends preparing the necessary paperwork for your clients from detailed proposals and timestamps to deposit slips.
You should also clearly map out your design process, deadlines, and deliverables so that expectations on both ends are met every step of the way.
Since most things are now digital, interior designers need to adapt as well.
Update your websites or social accounts like Facebook to be more professional. Customers will appreciate this easy way of contacting you, and this will also open lines of communication with them.
In a field where communication is key, you must constantly check these pages to see if you have any inquiries or comments and take the time to reply to these people.
You will drive more traffic to these pages once you start engaging more, possibly turning page views and clicks into future clients. This is also an effective way of building your brand.
As an interior designer, it’s not only your role to make indoor spaces beautiful, but to also ensure that they’re safe.
Selecting unstable pieces of furniture or potentially hazardous decorative objects can make your clients unhappy. This also applies to the overall ambiance of a room.
A good interior designer should be able to detect unseen problems that might escape the homeowner. If you notice that a room is feeling uncomfortably cold even after the heating is turned on, an article by HomeServe suggests performing basic troubleshooting techniques such as checking the thermostat and pilot light. This will help your client as you will be addressing issues beyond just the design process and may help them even avoid potentially costly repairs.
Going above and beyond your duties is a sure way to get rave reviews, especially if you personally do frequent checks. However, you should also draw their attention to the issue if you can’t fix it on your own. Your clients will thank you for your initiative in the long run.
You need to do something with the information and feedback you receive from clients.
Career expert Alison Doyle writing for The Balance Careers suggests that being a successful interior designer also means that you have strong interpersonal skills and the ability to find the middle ground between the conflicting ideas of your clients, subcontractors, and your own design expertise.
Since customer service is at the core of any business, you need to be able to reconcile problems and constantly innovate new solutions with sharp problem-solving skills. Addressing all concerns and having happy clients is how you will not only build but strengthen your network and have more people vetting for your talent and capabilities.
Being an interior designer is hard work, but having satisfied customers is one way you’ll be reminded that the job is ultimately worth it.
—
Exclusively written for Mydoma Studio by Alyson Decker
