How to *own* the interior design process and take control of your project
How to *own* the interior design process and take control of your project
"A GOOD SYSTEM SHORTENS THE ROAD TO THE GOAL" - Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Have you ever worked with someone and had no idea what was happening next in the process? You have a great initial meeting, give them a brief on what you'd like done (this could be anything from hiring a cleaner, to talking to your accountant, any service really). You think, "Excellent, this person really gets me". You leave that meeting feeling pretty chuffed with yourself that things are about to change, your world is about to get a bit easier with the help of this person. Happy dance!
Then, nothing. Radio silence. That initial energy high has worn off and the annoying things which prompted you to hire that person to help you in the first place begin to creep back into your world. Do you call or email them to follow up? How long do you wait? (I don't want to be annoying or 'that person'). So you give them a couple more weeks to get back to you (maybe they've been busy 🤷 ) meanwhile wishing you could just skip ahead to the part where your problem is solved and they're are taking care of it, allowing you to move onto the other 427 things on your to do list. Frustrating right?
This is exactly what happens with interior design. I've had clients nervous about moving forward because they've had a bad experience with either, another designer, or with another service based business. A bad experience being, not knowing what the next step in the process is, being unsure of when they'll hear from that person again, or what will they actually get at the end of the day (get your scope of work in writing). And, oh gosh, how much is it ACTUALLY going to cost?!
These are all completely valid concerns. I feel exactly the same as a consumer when I'm engaging someone else to help make my life easier.
You see, the key to delivering an exceptional customer experience, comes down to having a clear systemised process to follow. I'm a systems nerd, I absolutely couldn't get through life without have lists and processes for everything, especially in my business. So here's how I roll:
I have a 9 Stage Design Management Process which I follow for EVERY single project. It's a template. It gets repeated every time which ensures I deliver each project to the same high standard. Have a look at Our Process - it'll take you to a good looking flow chat which visually walks you through each of these stages.
In that process, each stage has a set of DELIVERABLES. This is essentially a list of things that I am going to complete for my clients. By xx date. And it will cost xx price. Pretty transparent right? Ensures my clients know exactly what they're getting, when and how much those design fees are going to cost.
When a client engages my service, they are sent an initial questionnaire. This contains questions that help me get to know them and how it's going to be best to communicate with them. For example, one of the two key questions I ask in there is, "How would you prefer me to communicate to you throughout the project? (Email or phone call). And, "How often would you expect to hear from me?" (Every day, Once a week with a summary, Only when you need something from me). Once I know the EXPECTATIONS of my clients, I can easily ensure I'm going above and beyond to exceed those. And we end up with an outstanding result - a beautiful home and happy clients.
Powerful stuff right? It seems so simple of course! But think about how many services which you've hired and haven't know what you'll clearly be receiving for your money or when.
Need some more advice or help on your specific situation? Get in touch!
We can talk through what’s working, what’s not and some tips on how you can move one step closer to living that more conscious and considered life you’ve been wanting.
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