With the rise of freelance marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr, it has become harder and harder to sell creative services like web design. Considering the ever-growing number of freelance web designers, it sometimes seems like companies are no longer capable of making affordable offers.
Moreover, sometimes it seems like an unrealistic expectation that customers would require recurring web design assistance that is also maintained at a high level of quality - that is, clients who are willing to pay for what such a service is worth. It is a frequent issue that web design companies face in this day and age.
Although customers are often elusive, they still exist and are waiting for you to find them and create amazing websites for them. With the right set of skills and tools, your web design agency can attract them rather quickly. Check out the tips below, and you will see that getting new clients isn’t as hard as it seems.
Tip #1. Get a Hold of Social Media
If you have ever tried to market a service before, you already understand that social media is one of the best tools available. By sharing your company’s experience, showcasing your brand identity, and conveying your business message yourself as an authoritative voice on social media, you can build an audience across multiple platforms quickly. You can then use this newfound community to attract customers to your company.
The fact that social media is an inherently visual medium isn’t a negative thing. Being a web design agency, you can add identity to your portfolio, testimonials, etc. You can share your best work and use captions to make your brand seem more approachable.
As for the things that you can do on various platforms to attract customers, take a look at the suggestions below:
Facebook is a rather effective way of getting the word out to your particular community of friends online. You can set up a professional-looking company page, pack it with your works, and then invite your friends to join the page and share it via their profiles;
Instagram is perhaps the best platform for web designers. This is a visual platform that will let you create a quasi-portfolio that will include your previous works and share your brand identity with the world;
LinkedIn is quite effective in getting yourself discovered by potential customers. There’s a tool named LinkedIn Recruiter, which allows companies to find talented employees, and it uses keywords to find the best candidates. It would be best if you made certain that your profile is up to date and has links to some of the websites and landing pages you have created previously. It also wouldn’t hurt to have at least several recommendations from your previous customers;
Pinterest is also an effective way to showcase your company’s work by making appealing boards filled with your designs. If the content you post to Pinterest is unique and original, other platform users are going to re-pin your posts, thus generating greater exposure to your brand.
No matter which platforms you decide to use, persistent engagement is the key to success. Make certain that you post regularly and engage with users that comment on your posts.
Tip #2. Begin Networking at Meetups
Networking in person is particularly effective in gaining new web design customers. By communicating in person, prospective customers stop considering you and your company as one of the many firms that come and go and instead start trusting your company as an experienced team of professionals.
Networking is a simple way to communicate with your target audience, and it helps build personal relationships with them. Getting your first customer is often the most critical tool for accessing your future expansion. And you might well meet that initial client at a networking event!
Attending local Meetup events is a simple way to network in person. Most of these events are free to attend. Check meetup events that are more likely to have your target audience in attendance. For instance, if your target audience is tech startups, then make sure to join relevant Meetup groups and attend their events once in a while.
Tip #3. Quality Content Matters
You may not realize it yet, but as a web design agency, you have access to technical skills and insights that other people would be willing to pay considerable sums to learn. Although designing a simple landing page, for example, could be a child’s play to you, thousands of people are looking for information about how to do it right every single month.
Since you’ve already set up a company page on social media (maybe even more than one), a quicker solution for obtaining customers is to generate and promote specific content through your social media pages. It can be an eBook about call-to-action (CTA) design or a podcast that is focused on using various web design tools or an infographic that breaks down the web design process into steps.
You can also promote your content by starting a blog for your target audience. The profit of creating it is that you will have a web page with all your web design articles. It is a quite effective way for prospective customers to find your work and see your company as a professional team as a result.
Tip #4. Set Up a Landing Page to Capture Leads
Getting your company landing page out to the world is a critical step for obtaining contact information from your potential customers. Your landing page has to be shared regularly on your social media profiles and should always include your other content (an eBook, infographic, podcast, or anything else).
Since you have a team of web design professionals, you will easily create an effective landing page. Remember to showcase your brand identity and get your main message across to every visitor. The very first part of your landing page is the most important part because it has to both capture the visitor’s attention and concretely convey your message. It should have a CTA button set up in the most appropriate spot and promise more information on your services below. But, because people mostly view the very top of the page, you want to direct all of your creative efforts into making it as appealing as possible.
This fact does not mean you should neglect the rest of your landing page. It still has to be packed with valuable information and your business message. However, the visitors that get to the lower parts of your landing page are going to be more interested in just checking your information out and are less likely to become your customers than those who click “Order Now” in the first part of your landing page.
Conclusion
Getting the first customers for your web design agency might be a challenge, but it’s not unrealistic. Just look around and take a look at how many web design companies are out there on the market. All of them have started at some point and didn’t have any clients. You’re in the same situation, and it’s a situation full of great opportunities and possibilities. Just make sure that you keep everything consistent and can handle all the things you claim to be able to do. Quality work is your ticket to the huge client pool of the modern market, so stay true to yourself, keep up the good work, and look for ways to communicate your unique message to your target audience.
Herbert Merrick
UI/UX Design