Growing your small design firm presents some distinct issues. The good news is that this issue can be overcome with a combination of talent, team effort, and unbeatable skills while never compromising on quality, communication, or the collaborative environment within your architecture firm.
Easy, right. But there is reason to put in the effort!
This $41 billion market is ripe for the taking. As long as you can scale your firm successfully, you can have a large chunk of that market.
You want more clients and perfect projects, along with the ability to fulfill them successfully. Here are a few tips to help you do just that.
Research the Market
There are hundreds of growth opportunities around you, but you will only find them if you know your market and understand its movements better than the competition. If your services don’t align with the consumers’ needs and interests, your company will struggle to survive.
Never be afraid to try something new but do proper market research to evaluate the chances of success. So, regular market research is a necessary element for the growth of your architecture firm.
However, before you initiate your research, determine the types of projects you want to design to know exactly what to look for. The owners of most large firms recommend focusing on at least two or three practice areas. These practice areas should be on opposite economic cycles. For instance, you could be designing rental units as well as high-end homes.
Deploy Effective Management Strategies
Today’s market is way more competitive than it used to be. Therefore, it is vital to find and implement new ways to do things at your firm.
Sure, sticking to the old ways seems like less of a headache, but architecture firms that don’t want to be stuck in the same place forever should develop policies and procedures that facilitate growth. It will enable you to open doors to new possibilities and options. The firms need to build a structure with high odds of success.
To develop effective strategic movement, you need to determine your goals towards your architecture firm. Next, list all shared and general plans that specify measurable objectives, keeping precise targets in mind. Then, align this process with the organizational structure, sales messages, recruitment drives, leadership, pricing, marketing, etc.
This also helps your recruiters hire ideal candidates for the firm. Moreover, when you have defined standards for procedures, the onboarding process becomes more efficient. It will save time and cost of training the recruits on simple techniques.
Work on Your Brand and Market Positioning
People won’t be interested in your brands unless they see a unique value proposition in your brand. So, you have to set your architecture firm apart from the competitors. But, first, you need to understand what you offer your customers and how it’s different from all the other marketing messages they receive every day.
Developing a proper understanding of your business also helps you turn around your marketing efforts. Additionally, it enables you to create a diverse company culture and offer better service quality to potential customers.
With that kind of brand and market positioning, you will be able to attract customers organically instead of contriving them. All you need to do is communicate the integrity and originality of your brand.
The market is there. To get there it’s important to understand that your architecture firm is unique. So, you will have to find your own ways to scale it up. A strategy that works for your competitors won’t necessarily work for you too. However, reading and researching will undoubtedly help you get an insight into the industry. Talking to experts or friends, and colleagues can also help you develop a tailored solution for your business.
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