How to find clients for your graphic design business

It is possible but it is not easy to get clients as an inexperienced graphic design business owner. This is due to the fact that many clients believe in someone with experience or someone they have worked with.

Research also shows that the best clients for a graphic design business are the ones who know you or worked with you before. They are the ones you should start selling your graphic design services to.

One way of letting them know about your business is sending them your business newsletters, emails and postcards.

Having done something for them in the past and after securing them as your new client you must ask them for referrals for more business.

One way of enticing your clients to bring you more clients is giving them incentives. You can offer them some discounts on their next design jobs.

As a marketing tool you can also create a portfolio of your previous design jobs. This you can use to present when you are selling your service. Your must at least have a portable and online portfolio for selling purposes.

Be always on the look out for new businesses in your surrounding. They might need to use your graphic design services to market themselves in the area. Get their addresses and send them mailers like postcards telling them about your services.

Usually new businesses need business cards, brochures, letterheads, forms and many other marketing materials.

You must also be friendly to other people in the industry and related industries. For someone who still needs exposure it also helps to provide your services free of charge on your spare time.

Chances are that someone you helped in the past can remember you and refer someone to you as a client.

For effective introduction in the market, it is advisable to hand deliver promotional and marketing information material to your prospective clients. You might even get an opportunity to meet with the decision makers in person.

To retain existing clients, it is important to make a follow-up after delivery to check if the client was happy with your service.

Ask them questions about your service and also find out if they would like something to be improved in your service in future. Clients appreciate follow-ups. If you make follow-ups on your last jobs, clients are more likely to remember you when they have other projects.

To remain competitive and on top of you game, it is important to educate yourself on new technology, and new trends also do both library and online research.

Finally, you must take a client survey of your current clients to find out why they chose doing business with you. This will help when you are preparing your marketing plan. It will give you an indication as to what the message should be. It helps to find out what works and what doesn’t. You will also learn from mistakes.