Branding For Architects: How To Attract Clients And Win Projects
The work you do for your clients is a priority, but have you thought about your brand:
What it looks like from an outsider’s perspective
How your ideal client gets to know about your firm
Your brand is often the first impression people will have of your business. It influences how they view you and your architect firm. This is important to you. It’s how you position yourself as an expert, establish a professional reputation and attract the work you want.
Your brand needs to do 3 things:
Set you apart from your competitors
Connect with the right people
Build trust with clients
You might be thinking ‘my brand is my work’. The work itself does all these things. It does play an important role, but if your want to go further and build a professional reputation in your industry, it’s time to consider your brand.
In this article, we’re going to show you some the benefits of building a brand for your architecture firm - with all the information you need to make this happen.
Why branding is important for Architects
Branding is not just visual. It isn’t limited to a logo or colour palette. It’s also about having a clear plan that aligns with your goals and creates a bespoke identity. Over time your brand will generate enough growth and you’ll begin to see the results. Here’s what you can expect:
1) You’ll stand out to your ideal client
Your brand gives potential clients an insight into what they can expect from working with you. As an Architect Firm, clients are investing in your expertise - they need to believe in what you do.
Allow them to develop a sense of who you are and how you can help. If you’re consistent, you’ll be able to build a reputation you want to be known for. It’s about influencing how people think about your business that will help you stand out to your ideal client. It will also make your business more referable.
2) Helps your firm be recognisable
A unique identity will help you stand out. You want to be familiar to clients - with branding they can instantly recognise as being your architecture firm.
Your logo, colour palette, tone of voice etc. are a quick way for clients to engage with your brand and identify who you are. How you use these visuals and the quality of graphics says a lot about your intentions. People will notice mistakes and differences in your branding which will have a negative impact on how your brand is perceived. The inconsistencies might look careless, messy and lack credibility which they might feel is a reflection of you and the work you do for your clients.
Consistent branding will create an identity that’s memorable and distinct across all touch points.
3) Build trust with stakeholders and potential clients
Cohesive branding looks professional. It shows that you’re dedicated to what you do and why you should be taken seriously. Inconsistencies might make your brand look casual, as if you don’t care about the image you present. You want to show your clients that you’re committed to your brand values and have high standards for the services you offer.
It’s important to maintain consistency in your messaging. Not only will it show your intentions as a business, but it will help build credibility, attract the right clients and establish you as an expert in your field.
Building a brand for your architecture firm
You already have a brand regardless of whether you’ve deliberately built one. But what if you actually took control of the narrative and created a unique identity that set you apart from a generic architecture firm.
Here’s what to consider:
1. Brand Strategy
A brand strategy is a detailed plan that determines how you reach a particular goal. Elements of defining your strategy include your purpose, core values and personality. When this aligns with your visual identity it will help maintain consistency. This will ensure that all branding decisions are relevant to the vision you have for your architect firm.
2. Your ideal client
This is part of your brand strategy, but we thought we’d create a separate point just to emphasise its importance.
This is because every branding decision is influenced by the people you want to attract. That’s why strong brands are specific about who the business is for.
If you’re not specific about who you want to work with, you won’t stand out. From your clients perspective they’re looking for results. They want to know how your services will help them. The more specific you are, the bigger impact your messaging will have. Clients don’t invest in generic architecture firms - they work with architects they know they can trust.
Here’s some questions to think about:
Where are your ideal clients located?
What are their pain points?
Are they individuals or large companies?
Are they contractors or homeowners?
What does their budget look like?
What values are important to them?
Understand who they are, what they are looking for and how you’ll reach them. Position yourself as the go-to person for your type of service. When it’s clear who your business is for, your ideal client will know you’re the expert that they need.
2. Creating a consistent visual identity
Consistency says a lot about your intentions. People will notice mistakes and differences in your branding which will have a negative impact. Think about what you want your brand to look like and work with a brand designer to create a unique identity you can grow with.
They will create Brand Guidelines that will help you maintain consistency across every touch point. They are essentially a set of instructions on how to communicate your brand. It includes everything from your brand narrative to your visual identity and is great to refer back to, to ensure everything stays on-brand.
3. Being authentic
People want to connect with people. As an architect, a human connection is important for building trust with clients.
You might think being professional means being formal or presenting a polished image of your business in order to be taken seriously. When really clients want to see who they’re really working with; an architect who’s passionate about what they do and cares about their clients.
It’s about building an unique identity that reflects the reputation you want to be known for. Your business is a people brand after all, so it’s necessary for clients to want to get an insight into who you are and how you work.
4. Encouraging employees to get to know your brand story
Your brand story is the narrative that connects you to your ideal client. This messaging shares your purpose and core values that should be reflected through every touchpoint of your business. It influences how you talk about the business, communicate with clients as well as your approach. That’s why it’s important that everyone on your team understands what the business stands for.
5. Create a professional online presence
An online presence is more important than ever. Used in the right way and your business can really benefit. With a range of different platforms, we recommend focusing on a couple to begin with. Consider where your ideal clients hang out?
Consistency is important so create a system that works for you. You never know who’s watching. They could be a potential client or referrer so create content that demonstrates your expertise. Even if they’re not ready to enquire, make sure your architect firm comes to mind when they do.
6. Rebranding too often
Your brand might need to adapt to the changing attitudes or behaviours of your clients and industry. If this is the case, you might choose to alter how you communicate your brand. It’s likely to involve the visual elements of your brand, so it’s important from a branding perspective that any slight changes are consistent and well-considered.
Final Note
Branding is about building trust with clients. This means being reliable, honest and professional, but most of all being consistent with everything that you do. You don’t always have control of what people think of you, but your brand will influence how people view your brand and engage with your business.
If you’re looking to grow your business and feel your brand is holding you back, here’s how we can help:
Brand Mini
This includes a mini brand strategy, logo suite, colour palette, font selection and brand guidelines.
Brand Signature
This is a bespoke package which includes brand strategy, visual identity as well as website design, various print options and digital design.
BrandLite (our introductory package)
We believe every architecture firm has unique qualities that make them who they are. That’s why we have an introductory package. It’s where we get to know each other and gain an insight into what you need. We talk to you about your goals and vision for the business and put together different options for your brand.
The package includes:
Our initial assessment of your existing brand and how it may be holding you back.
An outline of the story behind your brand. This will create a clear message that connects you with your ideal clients.
Initial moodboards and mockups of potential concepts for your new brand.
A clear roadmap with recommendations to help you achieve your goals.
The price for our introductory package will be deducted from your Brand Signature fee.
The Brand Mini is a set price of £950. You’ll receive a quote and proposal for the Brand Signature as part of the BrandLite package.
Find out more about our work at Studio Sulis here.