How To Respond To an Inquiry
For you as an architect or designer there are lots of ways to attract new clients by showing them what you do:

  • images, short videos, stories, and IGTV on Instagram
  • long, widescreen videos on YouTube
  • galleries on LinkedIn and Houzz
  • you can show your works on iPad at live events
  • or have big printed images, booklets, scale models, and flat screens in your office.
But let's imagine that you have an inquiry from some person. He wants to know more about you and your services. How best to respond?

I want to share with you what options we have tried, what worked for us, and what will probably work for you.

Options
Basic Email
A long email containing text, some attached images, and a couple of links to YouTube videos.
Pros:
+ easy to create, edit, and customize
+ no software or platform needed
Cons:
- you can't update anything. So if you have a new project in the portfolio or your prices have changed, this person will never know it if you have no website.
- it looks a bit primitive
- no video in text, only links
- no more than 25 MB of content - not enough for your portfolio
- no interactive elements, such as 360-degree tours
- no analytics available, the only option is email tracking--you will know when your email was opened. In most cases, this feature will cost you about $5 a month.
Visually Appealing Emails
A colored and stylized email made from templates on Wix, Mailchimp or another platform.
Pros:
+ looks nicer than a basic email
Cons:
- it's still just an email, so all the cons of a regular email are applicable to it
- you'll need to learn a new (but very convenient) software
- it's a paid service, $5 - $10 / month.
PDF / PowerPoint / Google Docs presentation

Pros:
+ may look nice if you hire a graphic designer
+ may contain a lot of text with a good structure
Cons:
- you'll need to invest a lot of time, energy, and sometimes money to make it look professional
- can't be updated after sending
- in many cases, it will be difficult to add video
- no interactive elements, such as 360-degree tours
- no analytics.
Your Instagram account
Pros:
+ most of us already own one
+ Instagram looks like it was created for use as an online portfolio
+ the number of followers, likes, and comments you get may help you gain the trust of potential clients
+ your clients may want to follow you so that can read your new posts
Cons:
- it is difficult to structure information so that your client will easily find what he wants to know
- it takes time to create a creditable account
Your Houzz account
Pros:
+ clients can find you when they are searching for a professional architect or designer
+ great structure of information
+ testimonials and ratings will add creditability
+ you can add as many projects with photos as you want
+ easy to update
Cons:
- you might not want to give a link on your Houzz page for potential customers to inquire about your services, because a lot of your competitors are also on Houzz
- you can't create a unique look for your account
- you can't use 360-degree tours or any other interactive elements.

Your personal website
Pros:
+ thanks to modern platforms like Wix, Foursquare, Jimdo, Tilda, etc., creation of a personal website has become easy
+ galleries of images and videos
+ 360-degree tours and any other features that can be used in a web browser
+ you can structure content the way you want
+ you can choose from many beautiful templates or create your own design
+ easy to update
+ can be integrated with your Instagram feed
+ you can share information about your services simply by sending only the address of your website
+ you can print your domain name on your business card
+ you can get a custom email address (like anna@3danna.com)

Cons:
- you have to learn how to edit it
- it's a paid service ($5 - $10 / month)
- in most cases, you might want to buy a domain name ($15-$25 / year).
JUNE, 23 / 2020

Text author: Anna Golovanova
Made on
Tilda