February 01, 2021 Published by Majo Martinez

How to find clients for your graphic and web design business

It goes without saying that bringing in new clients is one of the fundamentals of developing a business. A substantial part of that task involves understanding how to source, select, and contact customers and businesses that are ideal fits for your business.

It goes without saying that bringing in new clients is one of the fundamentals of developing a business. A substantial part of that task involves understanding how to source, select, and contact customers and businesses that are ideal fits for your business.

Whether you’re posting on a design marketplace platform, building an online presence with your business website, contacting potential new customers, or scouting design hotspots in town, the success of your customer acquisition search will inevitably depend on the quality of the connection you establish with your future client.

1. Outbound marketing to reach out to new clients

Image courtesy of findthatlead.com.

There are many different ways of generating leads or developing new clients. One way is to reach out to potential clients with proposals, which can be made in person, over the phone or via email.

There are a vast array of online tools and services, such as FindThatLead and Scrab.in, that can help you generate and contact leads. However, to get the most out of your outbound marketing strategy, it is essential that you first gather, select, and organize the user data at your disposal correctly.

Sort out potential businesses and customers by categorizing them according to their location, profession, size, revenue, budget, and rate of growth. You may also want to take into account other factors, such as your potential client’s strong points, as well as their partners, competitors, and service providers.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Is there a key player within the business that should be contacted directly? What are the company’s graphic or design-related pain points, and how can your web design business provide a solution?

Needless to say, outbound marketing campaigns that are grounded on accurate customer profiles will provide high-quality leads that may go on to become successful clients. By correctly categorizing your data pool, you can save time and money down the line, and drive up the proportion of revenue and positive interactions you bring in from new clients.

Once you’ve correctly sorted and selected the clients that match your business profile, it’s time to develop your proposal.

First off, assess your brand’s strengths and weaknesses. Interview your champion clients –the ones that keep coming back time and time again– and try to detect patterns or areas in which your business excels.

Thirdly, reach out to potential clients and get feedback on some of the issues that they are facing on a day-to-day basis. What pain points are they struggling with?

How can you sell potential clients the idea that they have a problem that you can fix? How can you diversify your portfolio of products or services to provide new solutions for potential customers?

Lastly, ask your marketing team to work closely with your sales staff to develop tailored email or phone-in campaigns that highlight your competitive edge to the clients that you selected in the sorting process. This two-step strategy is all about nurturing meaningful, result-oriented interactions with your potential new partners.

Make sure that your campaigns are personalized, thoughtful, and well-timed. Adjusting the contents of your proposal to fit your client’s ethos can go a long way –and might just help you clinch that deal you’re hoping for.

 

2. Design job sites

There are a plethora of websites out there for web and graphic designers looking to promote their trade. Behance, Dribbble, FlexJobs, or Upwork, to name just a few websites, are some of the leading freelance marketplaces for artists and designers who are looking to get in touch with new clients.

Signing up on a design job site is an excellent option for individuals who are happy to accommodate their client’s needs and are less focused on developing a brand or a long-term business partnership. Needless to say, freelance marketplaces are rife with competition, so it is crucial that you create a clear, attractive, and consumer-specific profile in order to stand out from the rest.

Lastly, it bears stressing the importance of having an up-to-date and client-oriented portfolio. Including calls-to-action that prompt potential clients to engage with you is just as important as tracking your website contents that you choose to display.

Keep in mind that a portfolio is a tool designed to turn a buyer into a client, and NOT necessarily a montage of your finest works.

 

3. Build your online presence

Instead of reaching out to clients, you might try getting clients to get in touch with you. Many graphic and web design businesses invest heavily in their websites and social media, continually posting new material and high-quality content in order to consistently rank high on web browser searches.

This approach stimulates webpage engagements while also boosting the visibility of your brand and its standing as a leading player in the field. It may take time and considerable effort, but, in the long run, the rewards that it provides far outweigh the costs.

To funnel traffic to your homepage, consider using SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and consulting other web page development tools, such as Google Trends. You can also reach out to other web or graphic design homepages, blogs, and social media profiles, and build organic connections with them through shared contents and links.

The longer a person or a business stays on your homepage, the more likely the engagement will develop into a business relationship. Think of your online presence as a customer acquirement gateway, and your homepage as an online store.

 

4. Hit the design hotspots

In this digital age, it is easy to forget how face-to-face encounters with potential clients can be extremely successful.

While going out to meet people may seem like a scattergun approach to acquiring new clients, going to the right venues and events can make in-person engagements successful endeavors. Target design hotspots, art conventions and galleries, industry events, co-working hangouts, or book launches –feel your way around until you bump into your next graphic design client!

Finally, you also may want to consider jumping into Facebook groups or blogs to scout for clients or post business proposals in popular design forums.

Finding new clients for your graphic and web design business is all about being patient, consistent, and trusting in your contents and brand potential. No one method is guaranteed to bring results. Still, by reaching out to clients, building your online presence, posting on web design marketplaces, and hitting design hotspots, you will undoubtedly increase your chances of acquiring new clients for your graphic and web design business.