INTRODUCTION

It’s not every day that someone approaches an Architecture firm for designing a new business-centre, office or home for themselves. We cannot emphasize enough on the significance of branding and advertising in the Architecture industry. Your prospects should already know your firm even before they actually need you! In case they are still not aware of your brand, they should easily find you.

As far as attracting new clients is concerned, your brand’s character and its communication with the potential customers has always been vital. Regardless of whether it’s for obtaining new customers or attracting top talent, conventional strategies for promoting aren’t as compelling any longer. You need to adjust to the changing times. The architecture industry is experiencing a generational change – both clients and employees are the progressive individuals from the current era. The young generation gives preference to the brands that connect with them genuinely. The organizations who are concentrating on internet marketing for finding new leads are developing at a significantly quicker pace than others.
Here’s how to stay relevant.

Website is your index

Make sure your website is both attractive and responsive. Regardless of whether you outline government structures or world-class resorts, build a website that can exhibit your best work on both desktop and smartphones. A SEO-friendly website architecture can direct imminent customers to your site. Once the prospects come to your site, your content should have the power to turn website guests into qualified leads. Landing pages are a lot more than attractive designs. They influence the client experience to a great extent and provide optimal information ( neither too superficial nor in much depth) like what you offer, why choose you, your contact information, the most recent blog entries etc. Refer to the websites of Gensler and Perkins+Will for some guidance.

Stay Unique

To have the capacity to effectively advance and market your firm, you ought to have the capacity to give something that is one-of-its-kind. You need to turn into a specialist of the domain in which you work. Decide the skills accessible in the workplace, and the sort of undertakings your firm might want to be known for.

Maybe it’s urban or rural design, groundbreaking strategies, private, social, or city. There should be something that potential customers can connect with your association’s name. For instance, if you wish to be a generalist and be known for innovative arrangements and top notch plans, then establish philosophy and process of your brand like Jacobs.

It is critical to consider who you are, what products or services you offer, what kind of customers you want to work with and the benefits you plan to convey before deciding your marketing methodology.

Credibility Matters

Let the people know what you believe in and what you think about your own brand, projects and employees. Make sure you convey that you are putting your heart and soul into the work. This would help you in creating a good brand image, so, if anyone in your circle requires an architect, it builds the odds that the prospect will get in touch with you rather than anyone else.

Social Networks for Stronger Relations

As an architecture firm, you must realize that creating associations with customers is fundamental to your existence. By utilizing online media marketing and content advertising, the best firms are growing their span and have established long-lasting and profitable connections. A majority of individuals prefer to know about an organization and its projects through the web. Also, their choices depend largely on your social media presence.

Web-based social networking is a methodology that most architecture firms have been moderate in embracing, even though it can help in getting genuine customers. Create your page on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram etc. It permits your firms to be more interactive and send messages in individuals’ newsfeed, notifying them about the content you post.

Talk about your projects, achievements, initiatives, events etc. on social media. It is not necessary to create everything, you can also retweet or share relevant content.

Instagram particularly is snappy and visual, so architects can “lure” customers with excellent pictures that identify with their style, without spending much time. The return on initial capital investment is also superior since it contacts many individuals without much exertion. With Twitter, you can post updates, retweet articles about your firm, drive individuals to your blogs, videos, apps, events and website.

Engage them with videos

Videos are very useful tool for understanding or conveying anything under the Sun. At the same time, they can be quite simple to create and share. Your prospects are very busy in their daily lives. It makes it difficult for them to have sufficient time and energy to read long descriptions or deep-dive into product catalogues. They like to watch videos because they are not just interesting to watch but also aid better visualization (something very important in the Architecture industry!).

“A Corporate video can summarize everything about your brand within a few minutes.”

Testimonial Videos

Testimonial Videos of your clients, employees and interns can help showcase your organization culture and in general communicates how awesome it is to work with you. It helps attract great talent and clients. Here’s a cool video from Gensler:

Explainer videos are making life easy for the customers as well as the firms, as they enable them to understand the concepts very easily. Videos can do wonder to your website traffic and google search ranking. They not only make your website attractive but also increase the time spent by each visitor on the website.

These help portray your image as an expert advisor and knowledge leader in your field. Share videos, facts & figures, discussions and insights on architecture. Moreover, you can also talk about something else that your firm believes in, like environmental issues, social concerns, CSR initiatives etc. You should also bring forward the people who work for/with you. Include them in videos, posts etc. to show the human side of your brand.

AR & VR – A brand new way!!

Augmented and Virtual Reality(AR & VR) have found significant applications in other industries, beyond gaming. They have paved a path into the marketing field to become an extremely effective tool.

Your clients do not need a model house/building anymore. They also do not need to take the pains of imagining the finished projects (and getting a surprised because it actually ended up looking something else!)

Through AR the purchasers can simply extend their phones and see an overlaid building in 3D to get all the information and visualization they are looking for. They can look at a building closely and “see” how it would look after completion. AR applications are highly interactive, the users can easily change the viewing angles, customize the interiors etc.

With VR, you can take your clients into a structure that exists only in your plan and imagination. They can walk around and explore it as if they are actually inside! Providing a unique VR experience can help your brand stand out. Additionally, it will help your customers take decisions easily and quickly.

Goodwill matters… Always

An ideal approach to get new customers is to keep your current customers upbeat since word of mouth still remains the most capable advertising device for architectural firms. Remember that social media has become a prominent platform for spreading the word.

When your customers are really happy/unhappy with you, they come forward to tag your firm and share their experiences. So, deliver what you guarantee and maintain a personal touch, by replying to their feedback and queries. Sending warm wishes on the right occasions is a good idea. Whatever your firm does, creates an impression, so always be careful about your brand image.