When you start a web design agency and begin your journey through the market, some tough challenges lay ahead. One of them – and perhaps the most obvious one – is how in the world do you get customers? How do you convince someone that you can create an amazing website for them, make sure it functions well, is understandable, user-friendly, and that it can endlessly increase their earnings? The answer is: it’s quite a task. It depends on your agency’s particular area of expertise, and whether you intend to develop sites for individual entrepreneurs, startups, or somewhat accomplished companies, and so on.

The good news is that every successful website design agency in San Francisco started in the same boat. There’s always a point in history when a soon-to-be-successful company doesn’t know how to get on its feet and start running towards the milestones on the road to success. If you have a great team that is dedicated to creating amazing websites, there’s almost nothing that can stop you. You can always go online and look for interviews with founders of some of the most prominent web design agencies, where they explain how they started and how they got their first clients. But, since you’re here and are already reading this piece, you will not leave empty-handed.

It’s always better to start with at least some information on how to improve your initial situation. We have made a list of five tips that will help get it going with customers and build your reputation from scratch. While some of them might seem obvious, having them all in one place will give you a new perspective on things. Keep reading to find out more and godspeed!

Attracting Web Design Clients – Tip #1: Always Do Great Work

The #1 way to get new customers is to do outstanding work for each of your clients. You’d be surprised at how much people talk and discuss things, even if they are scattered across different niches or industries.

Over time, you will notice that most of your web design customers will be coming to you from your previous customers if you do great work for them. Word-of-mouth and referrals are strong tools. But to benefit from these tools, you have to earn it, and this can only be accomplished doing excellent work every single time.

Nothing else speaks to your work’s quality, like doing it well and finishing each project on time. Happy customers will tell other people about your agency. Although this way of attracting clients is a bit passive, it can help you sustain a solid customer base.

Attracting Web Design Clients – Tip #2: Expand Your Referrals

Expand the network you have already created. By getting out there with a little creativity, there are simple ways for current and previous customers alongside your friends or family to refer potential clients to your web design agency.

Order a set of business cards that other people can share for you. You could even add a special promotion on them. Make sure to include projects you have completed in your portfolio, so your previous customers can share them with colleagues and even competitors – you ideally want them showing off their awesome websites that you created.

Also, make sure to ask customers to tell others about your company. Asking for referrals is completely natural. Moreover, those of your clients that fall in love with their completed projects will be willing to tell others about you and your amazing team.

Attracting Web Design Clients – Tip #3: Specialize in a Particular Industry or Niche

Just like any other kind of work, specializing in a particular industry or niche, will get you more clients. This can make it easier to target prospective customers and work on projects that you will know the ins and outs of from the beginning. It may provide you with a great advantage to be working with customers whose businesses and needs you understand.

Whether you want to create sites for small businesses, nonprofit organizations, or artists, there is perhaps a particular area in which you would enjoy working more than another. Logically, a good industry or niche fit is one that you have some interest in and understanding of, the one that matches your design style and the one in which you feel confident that you will excel.

However, be careful about working with too many customers from the same niche or industry in the same geographical area. You want to make certain that each one of your clients feels special. You don’t want them to think that you are creating the same designs for their competitors – this will surely make you lose customers.

Attracting Web Design Clients – Tip #4: Advertise Your Agency

If you have a hard time getting web design customers, perhaps you might need to advertise your services. You can start with an inexpensive option, such as leaving flyers in public locations or even posting about your company on social media. Then, it would help if you expanded to paid campaigns via social media and Google ads. This will expand your reach and won’t hurt your budget.

In case you have a larger budget or normally work on the more expensive design projects, you may consider advertising in videos or print publications. Before you start planning any ad campaign, you must first understand where you can find prospective clients and then put ads in those locations, social media groups, printed publications, YouTube videos, and other avenues.

Attracting Web Design Clients – Tip #5: Communicate with Other Specialists

One of the most effective ways of getting web design customers is to extend your network of design professionals. It can help you establish a connection with other specialists who might refer prospective clients to you. Of course, don’t forget to share that love, too.

Networks aren’t only about designers! Yours can include writers, photographers, illustrators, developers, and other related fields. Such a network can create amazing leads not just for you but for everyone in it as well. You can start by joining a professional web design organization in your area and start building connections.

Conclusion

When you already have a team of reliable specialists, who can create great websites and are standing on the threshold of getting new web design customers, the first thing you should take care of is cherishing relationships with your community of colleagues and your current customers. The rest follows naturally. Being a great web design agency is not only about generating revenue. It’s about being a great and creative team that knows how to do its work and can share the love with other teams in times of need.