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By Keith Loria, Church.Design
Looking for New Clients?
It doesn’t matter if you’re a large architecture firm, a medium-sized design studio or a small integrator, the secret to success will always come back to generating new business. And for those companies that work on worship spaces predominantly, it’s important to have a way to attract new church clients.
A big part of the process is providing solid Request for Proposals and Request for Qualifications, but even if a company makes the shortlist of those being considered, it’s no guarantee that it’s going to be chosen.
David Evans, AIA, president of Mantel Teter, Kansas City, Mo., says it’s important to rely on past clients to help bring in new ones.
“Pastors talk to pastors and the experience they have with our firm is a big deal when they speak to other pastors,” he says. “For those new church clients, hearing a success story…or not, carries a ton of credibility. Taking care of and staying top of mind with our past church clients we’ve found is the best way to find new church clients.”
Plus, past clients can also be new ones. Evans notes that about 33 percent of his church projects come from repeat clients. Staying top of mind with people can be done with frequent touch points and building a relationship that allows the firm to add relevant value to the issues any new prospective church client may be dealing with.
“In doing so, the firm becomes a trusted advisor and resource,” Evans says. “Never stop cultivating the relationships of past church clients, they’re the best connection to new ones.”
Sharon Exley, co-founder of Chicago-based Architecture is Fun, also agrees that reaching new clients often comes down to engaging previous clients.
“We stay in touch with all of our clients, adding them to mailings and including our collaborations on social media,” she says. “We tag them in posts that show the work we created together. Quarterly, we send a larger email, we use Mailchimp to highlight one key project or value and share a few quick touch points.”
She notes re-engaging with previous clients allows the company to stay in touch in positive ways. Posting and tweeting about shared experiences not only tells stories of value and success but demonstrates the company is proud of work that they generated together.
“Happy clients talk about you,” she says. “That is immeasurable.”
Rise of tech
One of the best ways to have your company stand out in today’s age is by building a solid social media presence and putting your company in the eyes of the community. Many of these people will have ties to a church and they could have the ears of church leadership, which means they could be a good recommendation when renovations or new buildings are planned.
“Technology has for sure changed the way we connect and find new church clients,” Evans says. “We recently did a national church survey and discovered that over 20% of churches ‘buy’ their architectural services using the internet. What this really means is they use the internet as an exclusive first line of discovery and research into a potential architectural partner.”
Therefore, he notes, having an excellent online presence and one that adds value to the church’s research is a big deal in terms of positioning to be an expert and advisor.
Not only should you have a strong website with lots of photos of completed work, including before and after pictures to show what was done, but solid Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages as well. All of these should be updated regularly and showcase any church projects you are currently working on.
Exley shares never underestimate social media for marketing.
“It’s not a fad, it’s a way to share those stories and for us as architects and designers to lead the conversation,” she says. “Make it a habit. We’ve long thought of our firm, Architecture Is Fun as a brand, so leveraging our stories, client tales of success and showing all parts of the process, particularly the participatory part, adds credibility and connectivity.”
Relationship-building
Forge relationships with those in the church so that you remain top-of-mind for new projects.
Networking is a powerful aspect of architecture business development, so getting to know contractors, designers, agencies and builders can be a powerful way of helping to grow an architecture firm.
“Connectivity is important,” Exley says. “Sometimes you need that link, the connect-the-dots that will help make you visible to a prospective client. Build your network and remember that networking is a two-way street. Try to be a giver, not a taker. Check in with colleagues. When we all ‘build,’ we generate work.”
Keith Loria
Keith Loria is a full-time freelance writer focusing on business and design issues. He can be reached at freelancekeith@gmail.com.