Just turn up

The design industry feels harder than ever. Clients have tighter budgets, AI is solving ‘easy’ problems, and everyone’s competing for fewer opportunities. But here’s the thing: sometimes the best strategy is the simplest one…

The power of showing up

Don’t ever underestimate the value of just turning up. At the conference, the networking event, your kid’s netball grand final, or the local tennis club. Potential clients are everywhere.

Research consistently shows people like to deal with people and in a world of digital everything, just being physically present puts you ahead of designers hiding behind LinkedIn strategies and complex sales funnels.

A case study

Here’s a perfect example: many women over 50 suffer from dry-eye which manifests as watery eyes. Water eyes are a problem for anyone wearing mascara who doesn’t want to look like a panda by day’s end.

Cosmetic companies know this and actively target ‘mature women’. Needless to say I am firmly in their sight. 🧑🏻‍🦳 I bought a mascara perfect for the job. Problem is, my Instagram feed is now filled with ads for remarkably similar mascaras. All the ads look extraordinarily alike: similar grey-haired (but stylish 😉) women, similar product names and similar (pale blue) packaging. They look so alike when I decided to purchase a mascara for a friend I struggled to identify ‘my’ product in the plethora of ads.

An opportunity hiding in plain sight

This is not dissimilar to what’s happening across every industry. AI and templates are making everything look and sound the same.

Clients need designers to help distinguish their good/service/product from competitors.

It may take a while for the market to swing around, but it will. The opportunities will go to those who are visible.

Where to turn up

Everyone in the world is connected through six degrees of separation. Your job is to reduce those degrees by showing up where your potential clients are. That could include:

Industry events: Yes, even the boring ones. Especially the boring ones because fewer designers bother attending. (A designer in our network attended a specialist event and walked away with several valuable contacts interested in her deep expertise = gold).

Community activities: School events, local sports, community groups. These are warm connections waiting to happen. Clients like to work with people with like interests.

Client events: If your existing clients are speaking at conferences or hosting events, be there. Clients want supportive suppliers/partners.

Anywhere your ideal clients gather: Chamber of Commerce meetings, industry associations, even the local café where business people grab coffee when WFH. (A designer in our community landed a $60K project that started with conversation in the coffee queue. True story!).

So what?

Visibility increases the surface area of your luck.

The more places you show up, the more opportunities you create for chance encounters.

While your competitors are perfecting their automated email sequences and optimising their websites, you can be having real conversations with real people who have real problems.

The design industry isn’t dying but it is changing, rapidly. Clients still need help distinguishing their products and services. They still value relationships and trust.

Sometimes the most sophisticated strategy is simply showing up.

What do you think? Got any problems/questions? As always, happy to discuss further, just email Carol.

Carol Mackay

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About Carol

After 30+ years running a design studio, I accumulated a pretty special network of fellow designers. One thing most have in common: a need for more information about the ‘business’ side of design. Most are impatient with any task competing for time spent doing what they love – designing so they wanted more info about how to work more efficiently and effectively.

Not me. I love that intersection between design and business. I built a career working with Ombudsman schemes, the Emergency Services sector and the Courts. My special power has always been an ability to use design to translate the difficult to understand or the unpalatable message.

I now use exactly the same skills with creative business owners. I translate the indigestible into bite-sized chunks of information. I share insights, introduce tools and embed processes to help others build confidence business decision-making skills. More confidence makes it easier to grasp opportunities. More confidence makes it easier to recognise a good client from the bad.

Outside DBC I have mentored with Womentor, AGDA The Aunties, and most recently Regional Arts NSW.
And I’m a proud volunteer and board member of Never Not Creative.

Always happy to chat, I can be contacted here.