A steady flow of new HVCs guarantees your firm will always have high-end projects on deck. Also, if your firm executes with success the design projects demanded by your new high value clients, they will likely refer you to others, bringing in even more business to the firm. 

In context, inbound marketing consists in attracting and engaging ideal high value clients by delivering strategically designed content that educates, persuades and inspires them at the right time in their decision-making journey.

In this post, we outline how you can effectively attract ideal high value clients by means of a well-conceived inbound marketing strategy for architects. 

Identify and understand your ideal high value clients 

High value clients, or HVCs, are those clients whom a firm’s survival or profitability depends on. Without them, the firm loses competitive advantage and market share. Eventually, the failure to earn or retain HVCs will have an effect on the success, or not, of the firm.

In this context, one soon realizes the importance of developing a well-defined process for engaging HVCs. When thinking about marketing for architects and architecture firms, you want to think about marketing to high value clients.

But, who are your HVCs?  

Identify and classify your high value clients 

Inbound marketing helps you to be front-of-mind for your ideal clients. The first thing you need to do is identify who the ideal clients are for your firm. For this, the first step is to conduct research and create a detailed profile of the people you want to connect with. 

This helps create focus for every piece of content that you produce so that everything is targeted towards the ideal high value clients you want to attract. 

Before hiring your firm, clients will first come into contact with your website

The way consumers make decisions has changed over the last few years and your marketing should reflect that. Having a strong presence online is essential for generating leads because consumers are doing research and reading reviews online before making purchasing decisions.

The same applies to the architecture industry. Potential clients are researching online and comparing architecture firms before they decide who to hire. Not only do you want to be present in this research, you want to stand out.

By feeding your ideal high value clients with the information they are seeking at each stage of their research and consideration stages, you are at the front of the line as the “expert” or the “thought leader” architect. The more people find their information from you, the more trust they build in your firm and the more likely they will hire the services they need from you.

Inbound marketing is about helping your firm grow by turning you into a thought leader in your specific area of expertise.

Allow us to share a deeper insight in how inbound marketing can be tailored and directed specifically to attract ideal high value clients to your architecture firm by positioning you as a thought leader in your industry. 

Become a Thought Leader in your industry

Thought leadership is about sharing insights, ideas and unique points of view that provoke new ways of thinking, spark discussions and debates, and inspire action. A true thought leader knows a topic inside and out, has formed a clear and unique point of view about it, and shares that perspective.

Thought leadership and content marketing are intertwined. In fact, establishing thought leadership is often cited as one of the key reasons that A/E/C marketers engage in content marketing.

Following inbound marketing best practices, your firm starts producing and delivering thought leadership knowledge through your website, blog and other marketing channels that brings to light your expertise, capabilities and professionalism, providing timely and relevant content to target the high value clients you want to draw in.

The key here is to add value by offering relevant and specialized information on the specific matters that concern your HVCs, so as to capture them earlier in the process when they are in the research and consideration stages of their decision-making journey.

This way, while other firms are marketing their services, you are marketing your knowledge and expertise, and consequently, you are in better standing to attract, engage and delight your ideal high value clients.