9 Sales Promotion Ideas for Your Interior Design Firm

Interior design clients aren’t just going to show up and need your services. They might need a little sales outreach, but promotions need to be a part of your strategy if you want to drive growth and increase your client base faster and easier than ever before. As a bonus, it will draw in an audience that appreciates you and help increase your brand visibility. The Internet has created a whole new space that’s going to offer a lot more creativity when it comes to promotions and business generation. Here are some ideas to get you started on promoting your interior design firm and attracting new clients. 

1. Hold a makeover contest or drawing

This is a really fun way to promote your interior design firm. You could invite people to send in photos or videos of their “ugliest room” or a space that is in desperate need of an upgrade. Then, you can choose the winner and reward them with a free design or another type of special, discount, or reward. This also helps you collect potential leads because you can get people’s names and contact information when they submit their photos or videos. Plus, it’s a fun way to get your audience engaged and really give people something to appreciate. 

2. Use social media for promotions

Social media marketing is about a lot more than just setting up profiles and occasionally checking in or sharing posts. You should have a full social media marketing strategy that includes sales promotions and other ways that you can attract new business. Consider having people use hashtags, retweet your posts, or even mention that they saw you on Facebook to get a special discount or offer. This will help you find a whole new audience and cater to your existing audiences in a brand new way. 

3. Set up a referral program 

Referrals and word of mouth are the bread and butter of many businesses today. Referral programs are one of our go-to choices for anyone looking for help promoting their business. Why not use your existing clients to generate new ones? If you do good work, people are going to tell their friends and family anyway. If you offer them a reward or discount for referrals, you’ll see an increase in business in no time. Just remember to offer something for the person doing the referring and the person being referred so everyone wins. 

4. Offer incentives for reviews

In the same regard, you can offer incentives and rewards for people who post reviews of your interior design firm. You can ask for reviews on your website, business directory listings, or even on social media. When people give you a review, you can give them a discount, a free consult or service, or some other reward. Perhaps you’ll even give away cool little design items and décor pieces to encourage renovation projects and design upgrades. 

5. Attend home shows and trade shows

Trade shows and home expos are a great place for any business that works with residential homes, including interior design firms. These shows are held locally and regionally throughout the year and offer a variety of audiences that you can peruse to generate your own new business. You can even offer promotional items at this event or give people a special offer for mentioning that they found you at the show. 

6. Partner with contractors, realtors, etc. 

In the business of interior design, realtors, contractors, and other related businesses are going to be important to your design firm. Make sure that you form strong relationships with anyone who can refer you for design services (and that you’re referring them, as well). Industry connections are great because they generate warm leads. It’s also going to give clients confidence because they’re getting the referral from someone they’re already working with. You might even offer discounts or specials for cross-promotions. 

7. Offer new client specials 

If you’re not already offering some type of incentive or special for new clients, it’s time to get on board. There are several different ways you can go here. You could simply offer a discount on services for new clients, or consider offering a free design consultation for a second room when you do a design on the first, for a couple of examples. Essentially, you want to make sure that you’re giving people a reason to give you a try. Get creative with this and consider offering different incentives based on where clients come from to diversify your efforts even more. 

8. Email and mailing list discounts or offers

Email and direct mail are always going to be essential marketing tools. If you want to win more business and promote different services, use these tools to your advantage. You can create email marketing campaigns or direct mail campaigns that offer specials or discounts for people who respond to the ad. Plus, you can even give incentives for those who sign up for the mailing or emails in the first place, helping you build your lead database and grow your business. Just make sure that you’re giving people something they can actually use or it’s not going to be worth their time. 

9. Partner with Smith.ai for sales outreach, promotions, and more

Once you’ve got all these new leads coming in, you’re going to want to make sure that you have systems in place to handle everything, including a 24/7 answering service so you never miss an opportunity. When you partner with the virtual receptionists at Smith.ai, you get that along with solutions for appointment scheduling, lead intake, and even live website chat. 

And, if you’re lacking the resources or just want a hand with the promotions in the first place, find out how we can assist with a full array of outbound sales and support solutions, manage your outreach campaigns, and so much more. 

To learn more, schedule a consultation to discuss what the 24/7 virtual receptionists at Smith.ai can do for your interior design promotions. You can also reach us at hello@smith.ai or (650) 727-6484.