9 Sales Promotion Ideas for Your Graphic Design Firm

In the business of graphic design, promotion is everything. The global economy we live in has made the competition fiercer then ever. When it comes to finding the right promotions, it’s about creating a balance of brand awareness efforts and actual promotions and special offers, giving your audience all the information and support that they need. 

You can’t just start a graphic design firm and hope for the best. You’ve got to advertise and build a presence in the world. Today, that includes building a strong online presence that can help you get new clients based on your reputation alone—but that’s not all. You have to take advantage of all of the tools, resources, and marketing strategies out there. Then, you can outsource your sales outreach. It’s time to get creative and get a move on promoting your firm to drive new clients and grow your business. 

1. Social media showcases

Not only should you have social media marketing in place, but you should utilize it as much as you can to showcase your talents, past projects, and unique, original designs. It’s free marketing and publicity, and it’s a way for people to see what you’re capable of so that they know whether you’d be a good fit for their needs. 

2. New customer discounts

Who isn’t running specials for new customers or email signups these days? One of the best ways to promote your design service is to give new clients a special discount or deal so that they can see what you’re capable of, and so that they feel as though you value their business. It’s a great way to promote new leads converting when you’re trying to grow your graphic design client base. 

3. Pinterest collections 

You’re a designer—why wouldn’t you take advantage of visual spaces? Pinterest is one of the best social media platforms for showcasing visual work and designs. You should utilize this site to curate boards that include your own designs, other designs you like, and trending designs, for example. The idea is to showcase your talent but also position yourself as a thought leader in the design industry. A good Pinterest collection can go a long way in helping promote your graphic design firm. 

4. BOGO and other discount specials

Perhaps you want to discount your services or offer free upgrades for your clients. Consider ways that you can attract their attention with these specials, such as 10% off their logo design if they mention your Facebook ad, or a free upgrade on their design package when they refer a friend. Whatever you do, make it valuable for them and make sure that you deliver the level of quality they deserve, too. 

This may substantially overwhelm your lead intake if you’re not properly prepared, so be sure that you have systems in place to handle this influx of business, like the assistance of the team at Smith.ai (more on us later). 

5. Mobile-friendly website 

The majority of people who are searching for products and services are doing so from a mobile device, be it a smartphone or tablet. They need to be able to access your website easily and navigate it seamlessly, no matter what device they’re using. There’s a great design method known as “mobile-first”, which guarantees that your website is mobile-friendly first and foremost. The rest will fall into place.

6. SEO optimization

You cannot, cannot, cannot succeed in any kind of business today without an optimized website, which includes SEO. Optimizing your website, social media profiles, and other online listings will ensure that you rank highly in the search results and get the organic exposure that you deserve. It’ll be a lot easier to promote a firm that shows up on the first page of the search results, rather than customers having to dig through the results or type in the URL themselves. Make sure your SEO is on point and the leads will follow. 

7. Contests and special promotions

Contests are a fun way to get your audience engaged and give them a reason to consider your firm. Perhaps you’ll hold a design contest, asking your audience to help you choose the best new logo for your client or to contribute a design of their own—what does this give them? It gives them the impression that you’re a fun company and an example of what your services can offer. You can even give the winner a discount on services or another special offer. 

8. Creative printed materials 

Print is NOT dead, as you well know. What you might not realize, though, is that it’s still a great tool for advertising and promoting your business. While people get hundreds of emails per day, their physical mailboxes are getting emptier and emptier. Direct mail campaigns, especially when you get creative with the materials and what you send, can be quite effective at promoting your design services. What better way to attract clients than to put your work in their hands, literally?

9. Partner with Smith.ai to field new leads and provide outreach in the first place 

Once your business starts seeing an influx of new leads, you’ll need to make sure that you’ve got a system in place that’s ready to field every single one of them. One of your best investments will be a partnership with a 24/7 answering service like Smith.ai. Our experienced virtual receptionists can field calls, texts, and emails day and night and can even make outbound calls and handle outreach campaigns to save you making the calls in the first place. 

We can also integrate with your CRM, offer solutions for appointment scheduling and live website chat, and handle payment collection, in addition to our lead intake and qualification services. Plus, it all comes with a tailored strategy so that we can manage it all for you. 

To learn more, schedule a consultation to discuss what the 24/7 virtual receptionists at Smith.ai can do for your graphic design firm. You can also reach us at hello@smith.ai or (650) 727-6484.