Marketing to Architects vs Designers

[ledrim]

I do a lot of interior scenes, I need to start marketing again. Shall I concentrate on Architects or Designers.

 

Thanks

Glen

[SunwayHomesEurope]

What about developers?

[IC]

Can't somebody do something about these bloody wire mesh posts cropping up in all the most irrelevant places?

 

Ledrim, what do you mean by designers? Interior designers?

[rotten42]

I do a lot of interior scenes, I need to start marketing again. Shall I concentrate on Architects or Designers.

 

Thanks

Glen

 

That's a hard question to answer. It really depends on your market. A good place to start is to join a business (lunch) group or your local chamber of Commerce. From my experience I have found Networking to be more valuable that Marketing.

[Jeff Mottle]

Go after the developers, they have the dollars to spend. Architects, Designers and everyone else are just the middleman who add another layer of complexity and potentially fees to the equation. Not to say that Architects and Designers can not be your clients, but recognize that the ultimate client is typically the developer.

[Zeilveen]

Developers are the place to be, it also depands a bit where you are in the world and who is doing what around you. Im glad im not in the same town as DaPriest

Lately in Holland there are many builders who are doing design and build things in house, they have tons of work and could use someone with your skills all the time...

[Kanashimi]

definitely developers. the money really comes from them. there are cases when architects and designers, without direct intention make your work more confusing and payment more complicated.

[Fran]

Developers (and ad agencies) will often ask things like "Can't you make the space look bigger than it actually is?" They are interested in selling square footage. Which is fine, but not everyone's cup of tea. That's were I draw a distinction between 3d rendering and Design Visualization. It's not like I'm a snob or anything, but I find architects and interior designers to be more focused on actual representation of design and so I prefer to work with them directly if I have a choice.

[leoJones2002]

I would have to agree that to get the developer as your client is the surest beat.

 

They are the ones with the investment and the drive to sell the building to potential buyers. They want their building to look its best and long before its built. so they need you.

 

The architects usually dont have the budget. Unless youre a huge firm, in which case, you probably already have a visualizer in house.

[oenstudio]

I agree, the Developers are the ones with all the money

[Joel Gray]

Architects, Designers and everyone else are just the middleman who add another layer of complexity and potentially fees to the equation. Not to say that Architects and Designers can not be your clients, but recognize that the ultimate client is typically the developer.

 

I agree that Developers have the money, but in my experience, Architects and Designers can insulate you from the politics that Developers bring with them. I would take the opposite stance as Jeff - I think the Developer actually adds a layer of complexity between you and the information you need to accurately depict the project (e.g. Architect, Designer, CAD files, material swatches, etc.).

 

Developers also have some negative traits in my book:

 

- They are accustomed to long schedules, often working on a development project for several months or years. Any sense of urgency that a developer presents is usually not valid. Be prepared to have your schedule stretched out and have a solid proposal that states what you will do and how long it will take to do it. Ask for a portion of the fees up front and state that you'll be billing once a month for the percentage of work completed (even if you think it will only take a few weeks to complete).

 

- Developers are like armchair-quarterbacks. They want to be the architect but they usually have very little design sense and lack the vocabulary to effectively describe what they want. You just have to be patient with them and communicate as best you can.

 

- Developers are also not as available as an Architect would be. They are running the entire show and you're just one more item on a long list of things that they have to tend to.

 

- Large developments are often governed by a committee of some sort. Answers to your questions will be slow, from several sources and often in conflict with each other. If possible, assign a single point of contact to someone who is willing to filter all of the comments from the prospective parties.

 

Good luck...

 

Joel

[xervia]

i've been doin a lot of thinkin too about the market for visualization because a lot goes into the work and then people want to offer you peanuts. i think i go with the developer school of thought. the architects usually need you only if it is a competitive bid.