How to Market Your Design Business in These Changing Times With Crispin Butterfield

If there’s one thing that’s a constant in marketing, it’s change. The way interior designers market their firms now, compared to just a few years ago, is worlds apart. Today on the show we have someone who’s done it all, and successfully, Crispin Butterfield.

Crispin Butterfield is the creative force and mastermind behind Urban Theory Design in Kelowna, British Columbia. Even though she’s still a young designer, she’s been in business 15 years, and caters to high-end clients, particularly those who vacation in her beautiful Canadian town. She is a graduate of the Bachelor of Interior Design program at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, and her engaging personality and design-commerce savvy make her a valued and well-respected professional and mentor within her field. She’s able to uniquely see the parameters and vision of each project in ways her clients often cannot, and has honed the process and expertise required to grow incredible client and trade relationships.

What You’ll Hear On This Episode of Wingnut Social

• [3:30] Come out of your shell!
• [7:21] How Crispin survived the recession
• [11:21] How to make contact with general contractors
• [12:48] Don’t approach someone as if you’re asking for a favor
• [14:44] Getting started with high-end clients
• [23:39] How Crispin transitioned into social media
• [29:09] Crispin’s approach to social media
• [32:07] One marketing tip you need to follow
• [36:41] One mistake everyone should avoid
• [39:39] Whut up, Wingnut?

Connect with Crispin Butterfield

• Urban Theory Design
• Crispin on Instagram
• Urban Theory on Facebook

Resources & People Mentioned

• Creative Human
• Creative Human on Facebook
• The Four Agreements

How to connect with general contractors, etc.

Because Crispin came of age as an interior designer at a time when social media was non-existent, she’s a master networker. Of course you need to have a balance of both old-school networking and online presence, but Crispin really has done the work to establish herself in her community. One of the ways she’s done that is to join boards of local organizations, to support the people and causes she cares about.

And Crispin has the handshake down to a science. She sends her portfolio along ahead of time, so she’s never making a cold call on, say, a general contractor. But also, she never puts herself in the position of asking to work with someone. Instead, she tells them that she likes what they do, and wants to take them out for coffee to see how they could be part of her team. That is some interior design Jedi mind trick!

Crispin’s one marketing tip for all interior designers

Crispin has operated her company for 15 years, but at one point she had to up and move cities. So how did she connect with her new community? She worked hard on making her business as local as possible. She joined a local business council. She joined the board of a local charity. She made sure people knew she was dedicated to her hometown, so when they thought of a local designer, they thought of her.

Connect With Darla & Wingnut Social

• www.WingnutSocial.com
• On Facebook
• On Twitter: @WingnutSocial
• On Instagram: @WingnutSocial
• Darla’s Interior Design Website

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