Dealing With The Limitations of E-Design
Ahh, limitations...everyone's favorite topic, right? Well, every business model has them and e-design is no exception! Whether you're working with clients now or are in the planning stages of launching your services, I'm sure you've come up against some of those limitations or wondered how you are supposed to do "X" given that you're working online with clients rather than in person.
It's important to recognize these challenges for what they are, but with thoughtful strategy, a plan, and some honesty about when you've truly reached the limits of what e-design can do, you'll be able to offer the best services you possibly can to your clients. This service IS different than traditional, in-person design, and it's important to approach it that way!
The three most common limitations I hear folks talk about with e-design are:
How to get good "after" photos for your portfolio
How to help clients execute your design plan
How to communicate well online
Here's what I'd say about these...
1. How to get good "after" photos for your portfolio
Photos are incredibly important in interior design - we all know that! So how does one go about getting those photos when you work with clients online? There are really two options (because we ALSO know that clients aren't going to give you high quality photos, unfortunately!): shoot the space yourself or hire a photographer. Both require going to your client's home, which is totally ok to do with e-design! You just have to be strategic about the logistics.
Want to know more about how I handle this challenge? Take a peek at this post from earlier this year - I talk about exactly how I approach it! And if you decide you want to shoot the space yourself, but don't know how to do it in a professional, Instagram-worthy way, be sure to check out How To Shoot Interiors. It’s my online course that will teach you everything you need to know to get up and running.
2. How to help clients execute your design plan
Your goal as an e-designer should be to enable your clients to take the plan you've put together for them and implement it. You want them to feel confident that once you hand them their design they can go full steam ahead and create their dream room.
How do you do that? By communicating well throughout the process (we'll talk about how to do that well in a minute!) and providing the tools they need to bring the design to life. Those tools are: a shopping list with all the details on how to purchase, a floor plan showing the layout, and (if needed) additional setup instructions. If you hand them those three things - along with the design of course! - at the end of the design process, you'll have a happy client who can easily execute that design plan and (hopefully!) hire you again in the future since you made their life so much easier!
3. How to communicate well online
The keyword here is well. We "talk" to people all day long online through email, social media, and texts, but doing it well isn't always easy. Misunderstandings happen quickly, people don't always explain things well in writing, and messages can get lost. With e-design, you don't want any of that to happen! The keys are to stay organized, be prompt, be professional, and establish expectations up front. Tell clients how and when you will communicate with them - that goes a long way in setting the process up for success.
I also recommend you DON'T use email to go back and forth with your clients once you enter the design phase, but instead use a platform like DesignFiles*. This is the software I use to communicate with clients, present designs, make shopping lists, etc. It will keep everything in one place, alert you when a client sends you a message, and streamlines your workflow. I love it! It really helps with the communication challenges that come with e-design.
All right, friend - if you made it this far, congrats! That was a lot! I'd also love to know what challenges YOU see with this way of working with clients and how you've solved them.
*This post contains affiliate links, which means Mix & Match Design Company earns a commission from your purchase or subscription at no cost to you.
