There is a language for architecture 鈥� spoken almost exclusively by architects 鈥� and there is a language for effectively marketing professional services to clients. They are not the same.
Nikita Morell, who specialises in writing websites for architects, has analysed 663 practice websites over the past year or so in her quest to discover what works best. She has boiled the results down to five ways in which practices can immediately improve their websites in order to attract better clients.
1. Write like you speak
鈥淢any architects create their websites to impress their colleagues or peers. This is a problem and here鈥檚 why: it is highly unlikely that architects are going to be your ideal clients."
鈥淭o consistently get better projects, try to work with better clients, not the ones who constantly undermine or question your value. And to get more opportunities, you need to speak the same language as your ideal client, not other architects."
鈥淎pproaching your writing this way will help you write copy that鈥檚 more informal and conversational in tone 鈥� so you can better engage your ideal clients.鈥�
Nikita recommends using the free voice-to-text tool in (found under 鈥楾ools鈥�). Rather than staring at a blinking cursor, she says, talking to your computer will help you develop a conversational tone of voice, and you may find your ideas flow easier.
2. Sprinkle testimonials throughout your website
鈥淭estimonials are a powerful way of proving your competence. Recommendations and endorsements from satisfied clients are a great way to build trust and credibility, overcome scepticism, and give a sense of what it鈥檚 like to work with you,鈥� Nikita says.
The best part of these types of endorsements is that they let others do the bragging for you. However, the temptation is to corral all of your testimonials on a single page. Nikita advises otherwise: sprinkle testimonials throughout your website, and this will lead to a higher chance of an ideal client actually reading them.
3. Always tell your ideal client what to do next
Your ideal client has read your homepage, your 鈥榓bout鈥� page, your biographies, and your project descriptions. It鈥檚 time for the next step of the process of website improvement.
鈥淵ou need to tell prospective clients what you want them to do next,鈥� Nikita continues. 鈥淎sk yourself what鈥檚 the one thing you want readers to do after reading my website. Do you want them to schedule a consultation? Send you an email? Follow your Instagram account?
鈥淢ake your call to action as specific as possible, so there is no room for confusion or misinterpretation."
鈥淚nstead of a generic 鈥榞et in touch鈥�, add a layer of specificity, so it becomes: 鈥榃hether you鈥檙e bouncing ideas around, know exactly what you want, or you鈥檙e somewhere in between, we鈥檇 love to have a conversation with you. Get in touch.鈥欌��
4. Turn your practice features into client benefits
鈥淎 powerful writing technique when trying to build trust with ideal clients is to explain how your practice features will deliver client benefits,鈥� Nikita says.
鈥淎 鈥榝eature鈥� is something special about your practice. For example, you could write 鈥榃e鈥檝e won awards,鈥� or 鈥榳e successfully deliver architecture services鈥�. A 鈥榖enefit鈥� is how your service makes your client鈥檚 life better. These benefits could include, 鈥榳e save you money,鈥� or 鈥榶ou鈥檒l enjoy the design process when you work with us鈥�.鈥�
Nikita goes on to detail one tip in this area, which asks the architect to imagine they are explaining their practice to a belligerent client:
You tell them: "We鈥檝e been in business for 12 years".
They say: "So what?"
You say: "Well, 12 years is a long time".
They say: "So what?"
You say: "It means we鈥檝e had exposure to a lot of different types of projects".
They say: "So what?"
You say: "This means you can be confident we鈥檒l meet your expectations".
This confidence in your own abilities and experience will radiate through to the client.
5. Use your contact page to filter out not-so-great client
Your contact page is your secret weapon, Nikita says. It can pre-screen prospective clients so you don鈥檛 waste your time dealing with difficult 鈥減rice-shoppers,鈥� or people who want to pick your brain with no intention of hiring you.
Nikita recommends two ways to make a contact page work best for an architect:
- Add budget brackets to your contact form. Set the lowest bracket to your minimum fee and you鈥檒l immediately filter out those only looking to snag a bargain.
- Add specific questions to your contact form. That way, you can assess whether the prospect is a good fit. Example questions: What is your design style? What are you looking for in an architect? Have you worked with an architect before?
Thanks to Nikita Morell, .
Text by Neal Morris. This is a Professional Feature edited by the 澳门王中王 Practice team. Send us your feedback and ideas.
澳门王中王 Core Curriculum topic: Business, clients and services.
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