Many of the businesses I deal with today are swamped with projects and RFP’s for new work. Most designers are too busy to stop and smell the flowers, let alone develop and implement a new marketing plan. So, I ask you to consider this question: Where will your business be when the economy takes a turn for the worst?

If the answer is “I don’t know” or “I will have to lay off people” then you should read further. It is not a secret that the design industry is cyclical for all but the very rich clients. And even the super rich can be fickle at times. So, what is the solution to this conundrum? AAPE. Articulate. Align. Plan. Execute.

The first step is to articulate what your ideal client looks like in order to position your business accordingly. It’s like deciding how to dress for the opera. Do you want to be formal, dressy, or casual? How do you want your business to be perceived by the people that matter? Of course, the attire that I am referring to is the collateral marketing material that you choose to represent your services and product. It must be of the quality consistent (or better, preferably) with what your potential client is used to receiving from competitors.

The second step is to align your marketing with non-competitive industry colleagues. Why go at this alone? The same ad, direct-mail piece (or office rent and administrative support for that matter), showhouse, or sponsorship can be underwritten by someone that you respect who is targeting the same client. For instance, a solid alliance can be said for an architect, interior designer, contractor, landscape architect, and others. Depending upon the scope of a project, numerous professional and trades people can be involved. There is no reason that each company has to recreate the wheel. With more money combined, it is possible that more sophisticated marketing can be explored.

Naturally, planning is the roadmap to the future. A single ad in a journal is unlikely to provide lasting value to a business and is very “shotgun” in approach. Marketing is a comprehensive system that involves components of 1:1 events, advertising, direct mail, web development, and public relations. Alone, any one of the aforementioned items may seem sufficient, but usually do not yield the most effective results. So take the time to develop a strategy and put it in writing.

And lastly, execution is paramount to success or failure. Even the best design fails when the implementation is faulty. Chances are you are too busy to create a plan, let alone to implement it. So make sure that you have money to have someone else do this phase of your marketing. At the end of the day, you will make the most money by doing what you do best: design. Leave the other details to the people who do their jobs best including strategists, graphic designers, direct mail executives, and mail houses. If you have structured your services accordingly, it is likely that your hourly rate is higher than that of the people who can do the marketing, so it makes sense to leave this to the pros.

So, where will you be when the economy cycles downward? Hopefully, getting phone calls in response to the marketing campaign that you have implemented this year. Remember, seeds that you plant today may not come to fruition for six months to a year, so get started!

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