Whether to Engage or Reengage Clients, that is the Question

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On the one hand, there are innumerable online marketing experts who will tell you that you must engage prospects to convert them into clients. On the other, you have a significant number of experts claiming that you should reengage clients from the past because the return on investment (ROI) is greater from repeat business.

Both are viable approaches to marketing and it makes sense to pay attention to both; client acquisition and retention. But, reengaging a previous interior design client can be problematic. After all, a remodeling project is not exactly a once-a-week purchase for a homeowner. The same can be true for furnishing retailers; a high-end living or dining room set can last a lifetime. How often will your customers come back for more?

Yet, based on the latest research, designers and dealers will do themselves a favor if they can devise ways to retain or reengage existing and past clients. Why?

  • New clients are 7x more expensive to acquire than keeping or reengaging existing or past clients.

  • Probability of converting an existing customer is between 60% & 70%.

  • Probability of converting a new client is just 5% to 20%.

  • Repeat clients spend an average of 33% more than new clients.

  • Repeat clients are 60% to 70% more likely to buy an up-sell.

Finally, a general rule of thumb in business is that 80% of your future profits are most likely to come from 20% of your existing customers. These are just a few of the reasons that re-engaging and working to establish customer loyalty is critical to the growth of your business.

Re-engaging Past Design & Furnishing Clients

As mentioned above, people who invest in luxury furnishings expect them to last for generations. In addition, when an interior designer is contracted to complete a home improvement project, their clients don’t expect to need them again in a few weeks’ time. These are serious challenges for both when trying to reengage with clients.

The key to success here is to first, know your client base; and second, you must get to know individual clients as intimately as possible. Homes have more than one room to reimagine or furnish and, while it may seem obvious in the abstract, offering a “next steps” approach can offer a significant ROI.

For example, once you’ve finished a kitchen makeover, what’s to prevent you from asking your design client how they feel about their dining room, living room, or master suite?

Or, if you deal in luxury furniture, why should you avoid making a pitch to upgrade other rooms in your customer’s home once you’ve delivered that beautiful new bedroom set? How many more rooms might you furnish in the average home – half-a-dozen?

And don’t forget (please don’t forget), there are tens of thousands of people who've been forced to work from home in the past year or so. How many of your previous clients have you been in touch with to see if they need help putting together a comfortable, workable home office?

Your answer should be – all of them!

How Can We Help?

Of course, there is no way we could possibly outline every circumstance in which you could reengage with past clients. That’s not the point of this post. What we are trying to do is encourage you to think about how you might take a past relationship to new levels, while also not forgetting to engage with new prospects.

It's a tough job, but someone has to do it. And, that someone is usually going to be you!

Ted remains available to work with you on an individual basis, consulting on how you might best engage or reengage with your design and furnishings clients.

With more than 25 years of experience in the luxury furnishings and interior design industries, he has pretty much seen it all. So, if you're ready to work with a professional consultant who can help you become one of those agile entrepreneurs our changing world demands, feel free to… Get in touch with TD Fall today.