Episode 23:

Hello and Welcome to the Part3 with me podcast.

The show that helps part 3 students jump start into their careers as qualified architects. I am your host Maria Skoutari and this week will be looking into the next step of starting your practice, which is Marketing the business and setting your marketing plan - PC2 Clients, Users and Delivery of Services of the Part 3 Criteria.

But lets first start with what is Marketing?

Marketing is an overall term which includes publicity, advertising and branding and consists of the social and managerial processes by which products incl. good or services and value are exchanged in order to fulfil the needs and wants of individuals or groups. 

Why do we need to do marketing? 

Marketing is integral to everything in the practice because without marketing you won’t have work which means you won’t have a business. 

Marketing effects everything, the practice’s philosophy and aspirations, the type of work you want to do, recruitment, financial position and practice structure. 

So who typically carries out the marketing for the practice? It can be done by everyone, through a designated marketing manager or director, it can be the employees, external consultants, even people you don’t know may be talking about and marketing you're practice. 

So imagine now that you’ve just finished with the setting up of your business in terms of the business plan and all the basics of equipment, premises and so on and you’re ready for your launch. So in order to get started you need to find new clients and projects to develop the practice and keep it going - this is where marketing comes in.

The good thing about architects practices, the clients can literally come from anywhere, any background or business type, making architect’s clients quite a diverse group. That’s also, however, the tricky part because you want your marketing strategy to be effective so you need to develop it strategically to target a certain group you want to attract. This would have come out from your business plan in which sectors you want to focus on and which areas.

Generally clients will be interested if you have access to the resources necessary to supply their needs. Some will be looking at your portfolio, others may want to see that you have a team of staff, consultants and even contractors to help you realise their vision. Many clients thought, don’t even really understand what services an architect can offer or where an architect can add value and they find it difficult to articulate their feelings when it comes to what the want in terms of design and quality. So the key question here is how can an architect inspire a client to take the big step in investing to buy something that they are not aware that they need until it is given to them? In these instances, it’s useful to step back and look at the bigger picture that clients just want a solution to their problems. And that’s where architects come in with their marketing strategy to demonstrate what they over, how they offer it and why. The key to successful marketing is to be able to think like your clients and demonstrating an understanding of the issues that clients are facing within their sector and outlining what are their aspirations, their fears, their constraints, their opportunities, and how they measure success and failure. 

Marketing helps you to understand the requirements and characteristics of potential and existing clients and matching or developing your skills to meet those demands.

The key questions you need to ask yourself before determining your marketing strategy is to decide:

• What type of work do you want to be able to do?
• Which are the most desirable markets and which clients are typically involved?
• How big do you want the practice to be?
• Which sectors will help you get there?
• What image do you want to portray to your clients?

So you first start by putting together your marketing plan which will determine where the practice currently is and where it stands, where the practice wants to get to, how will it get there and how will it achieve its goals. 

We would then start by breaking down each key point, first starting with where the practice currently is and where it stands - under this point you would set out a brief overview of where the business is in relation to its key markets and put together a SWOT analysis. From there you would set out the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threads which we discussed in episode 21 and it will be informed through extensive research that you carry out of the market and competitors. 

Then you would expand on where do you want the practice to be which will be informed from your goals and objectives for the practice that were set out in your business plan, which should follow the SMART rule of being specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed. 

Once you’ve established your goals and objectives you would then evaluate on how do you actually get there, which is the third point. For this step you need to set out a strategy which sets outs exactly what activities you will be undertaking to meet your objectives. It is at this point that a marketing plan is vital in helping you succeed with new business development, client relationships, advertising, branding and PR. 

Is one of your strategies or objectives to become known through competitions? Competitions provide a good opportunity for you to present the practice’s strengths and thinking without logistics of size and other business factors getting in the way. Another potential route to obtaining new clients is through networking and attending events. Another step that will get your practice closer to achieving the objectives you set out is through client relationship management. In order to be successful you must invest the time in gaining a good depth of understanding of your client’s business and plan and even building a personal relationship with them will greatly help to build a long lasting and strong relationship with your clients, ensuring they will keep coming back to you. So when approaching a client make sure you use their language, which involves highlighting your exchange value, your use value, image value, social value, environmental value and cultural value. Focusing on these six points will help more clients to lean towards your practice over another. Always try and put your self in the shoes of the recipient and what would convince you to appoint someone you’ve never heard of before.

Then the next part of your marketing plan will be to determine your advertising strategy. A potential good first start that will help your practice get noticed and help you achieve your objectives is by becoming an accredited RIBA Chartered Practice which in essence informs your clients that you provide quality work and to a high standard which may help in making your more desirable compared to other practices. Good advertising follows four key principles:

1. Attracting attention by standing out through strong imagery
2. Maintaining the initial attraction through clear copyright and more detailed content
3. Create desire by how you portray your skills and services
4. Always leave a ‘call to action’ - providing your contact details so interested parties can contact you. 

Through your advertising make sure your practice brand shines through. A businesses brand encapsulates everything about it, showing your values and key characteristics. How would you like clients to interact with your brand? Would you provide high-level branding that’s open to everyone, attracting various and diverse clients? Do you want to be slightly more specific through mid-level branding by exposing your practice through targeted advertising, signage and exhibitions? Or would you seek to have very specific targeted material for specific audiences and clients through brochures and presentations?

Start by putting together your practice brochure which includes information about the practice’s history and personnel, then develop more sector specific brochures e.g. residential design, then you should aim to focus on the practice website.

You need to ensure that your website and social media attractive, easy to navigate and provide the client with the information they may be looking for since those will be the first places a client goes to select their architect so always remember the content is for your clients not for you so try not to strip out valuable information that will be vital to help a client select you as their architect. So make sure you obtain a registered domain name to use for the website. If you are struggling for budget there are numerous free website design platforms that you can use to build your website. If budget does allow though, make sure to use a professional to build a bespoke and unique site that meets your aspirations and vision and that it reflects the practices design, quality and approach. Your website and social medial are not just a source of advertising, promotion and a source of information about the practice but they are also means for clients and their advisers to select architects and draw up shortlists so make sure it has a memorable homepage that says what your practice does at a glance, what type of work it aims to produce and how it produces it - pick out what is most important. 

Make sure you are present on all social media platforms to give your practice the most visibility it can have in attracting new work and clients. A key one of course is LinkedIn where you can see who’s viewed your profile and reach out to prospective clients and build up a network through there, also make sure to take advantage of other platforms such as twitter, instagram, and so on. 

Other key tools that will get your practice out there is through press releases and magazine articles - find a project you would like to publish and ask for the clients permission and then identify a possible publication route which can be through local press, journals and so on. Go out and meet editors and journalists and offer them stories, by helping them publish more content they help you by publishing your project and getting your work out there. Generally get your self out there as much as possible.  

So to be successful in your marketing strategy and advertising you will need evidence that you are who you say you are, you have the qualifications, experience and track record and evidence that your practice matches the clients aspirations. This evidence provides clients with reassurance in feeling safe in appointing your practice. These can include presentation drawings and sketches, photographs of completed projects, client testimonials, any press coverage, awards, competitions, publications, staff CV’s, company profile, project list, client list, you may even need annual accounts, bank references, insurance documentation to demonstrate your reliable with accounts and money and on top of your finances along with quality assurance documentation of the practice procedures and evidence of relevant accreditation and so on. 

Another aspect that can attract clients to your practice is if you provide specialist work that is in sufficient demand and with low supply making you very desirable and niche. 

And then you would move to the final step of your marketing plan which determines if you achieved your goals. If you followed the route of setting SMART objectives with specific deadlines and timeframes that should lead to the obvious point by which time actions are completed and which objectives have been achieved. The aim of this phase is to refine future plans and actions and to learn which actions were successful and which weren’t in terms of achieving your goals. The marketing plan is a live process that will adapt and change overtime to meet the changing needs of the practice as it grows so you should make sure its maintained and supervised on its success throughout the year as it will inform if the overall programme is being maintained, the right staff and numbers are used on projects, if the budget it set at the right level, if the promotional aids are sufficient and of the right quality, if the presentations are well prepared and executed, if the rights targets have been identified, how effective the marketing tools and techniques are and if quantifiable results have been produced so far.

So once you’ve established your marketing plan and PR activities comes the time to actually pitch to clients. 

These five key points will make sure you win the job:

First, be Prepared:

Make sure you are prepared before your pitch. Familiarise yourself with the background of the project and the building type. You must then demonstrate to the client that you have the right attitude and care enough to deliver them value and creativity. The project must be as important to you as it is to the client. Make sure to ask questions and centre the pitch around the clients needs and show them you know about their business, competitors, history and goals and what’s important to them. 

Next point is, Preconceptions Count:

This involved all the small actions you have done before the meeting, your correspondence before the meeting, the way you walk in the room, introducing yourself and what you say while you set up your presentation. Make sure to pay attention to everything, remember people’s names and use them when you say goody at the end to show your attention to detail. Consider what organisation or individual you are pitching to and act accordingly. 

Next point is, Stop selling when you’ve finished the pitch:

Keep to the allocated time and don’t keep talking. Listen carefully and closely to any questions and answer them carefully. Always follow up with a brief email or letter saying how much you enjoyed meeting them and look forward to the opportunity of working with them. 

Then the next point is on Ask for what you want:

Don’t be afraid to ask questions directly if there are key pieces of information you need to know and make sure they know how keen you are to win the commission and don’t be afraid to tell them. 

And last but not least, reinforce tour brand:

Keep reinforcing your core messages of your brand to give consistent and helpful information to potential clients so they understand where you sit in the industry and what your key offer is. 

 A few key pointers to take away today from this episode:

Marketing: the basics

• Existing contacts - Stay in touch with your existing clients and contacts.
• Word of mouth and personal recommendation is the most effective means of getting work.
• Website - Even if it is only a single page announcing your existence and listing your e-mail address and phone number, you need to have a web presence.
• Directories - Make sure you are in the Yellow Pages and any other appropriate directories, both printed and online; especially if the listing is free.
• RlBA - Use the RlBA Client Services recommendation service. Submit information and images. Keep information up to date.
• Literature -  Have at least a printed sheet publicising your practice to hand out or send out.
• Networking -  Go to events and meet people, including colleagues and potential clients.
• Press and media - Make contact with journalists, submit regular press releases and news stories, write letters, articles, etc.
• Exhibitions - Participate in exhibitions and architectural marketing events.
• Events -  Organise activities as part of events such as Architecture Week. Open your practice for public visits and get your buildings included in events such as Open House.
• Surgeries - Participate in Architect in the House/Office events or hold architectural surgeries at other times or during other events.
• Groups and clubs - Become active in local groups and activities, whether connected with architecture and design or not.
• Pushiness - Being shy and diffident never won any work.
• Have a marketing strategy and put it into action.
• Ensure that you have covered the basic and straightforward means that will get you noticed and that allow you to be found by someone not looking overly hard.
• Make sure you have a website with your basic contact details.
• Pay attention to your existing clients and contacts. Looking after them will show far more results than chasing after new and unknown leads.
• Compile (in advance) the evidence to show potential clients, use for publicity, etc. Maintain it in a standard format that can be quickly assembled for specific uses.
• Find ways of getting the kind of experience that is called for in your target sectors. Be ingenious and creative if needs be.
• Get your practice on approved lists, attached to consortia, in supply teams and into frameworks.
• Respond to advertisements and calling notices looking for architects and architectural services.
• Sell yourself hard - no one else will.