Interior design, architecture, remodeling, and furnishing are all luxury services that clients have high expectations for. If there’s anything that can kill the success of your firm, it’s a bad customer experience. That’s why, if you want to offer premium or luxury services to your dream clients, you need to design an impeccable customer experience.
A welcome package is a crucial element of your signature client experience and part of your onboarding process. In this article, we discuss the following:
- What exactly is a welcome package
- What should be included in your welcome package
- How you can design a perfect welcome package
Let’s dive in!
What is an Interior Design Welcome Package?
The interior design welcome package is a collection of assets that you use to welcome your new client into your world. You should send it as soon as the client has paid your initial fee. I believe you should have 2 types of packages:
The Digital and physical package. Let’s discuss each!
The Digital Package
Your digital welcome package should consist of one email with links to every important asset you have created. The goal of this package is to welcome the client immediately after they have purchased and to give all the necessary information so you can have a successful project together.
Why immediate?
Well, when a client signs a contract or makes a purchase, big or small, this is particularly true for big purchases – they are experiencing buyer’s remorse.
Buyer’s remorse is thought to stem from cognitive dissonance, specifically post-decision dissonance, that arises when a person must make a difficult decision, such as a heavily invested purchase between two similarly appealing alternatives.
Wikipedia
This happens even if they are excited about working with you! It’s normal behavior and with the right welcome package, you can remove it completely.
In today’s day and age, there’s no excuse for delaying the experience of our clients. You can accept payments online, and you can set your systems to send the welcome package the second they pay you. So, your first client onboarding system should be setting up your immediate digital welcome package!
The Physical Package
The second type of welcome package is the physical one. This will most likely take some time before it’s at your customer’s premises, but it has an important role in your client experience. This could be a box of printed versions of the same assets that you have already sent to them in your digital welcome package.
You could also add something delightful in the box, maybe your signature candle or some high-quality chocolate. The goal of this is to delight and add a bit of surprise to your client experience.
What should an interior design welcome package include?
Your welcome kit should include all the materials that your customers need to get started with your service. In the digital, you can add the following assets, i.e. brand materials that you have created for your business:
Portfolio
Add a beautiful portfolio of your work so they can spend time dreaming about their transformation. Create a PDF version of your portfolio with selected projects. Remember to add some testimonials to your portfolio!
Company FAQ
The company FAQ is your guide for all things that happen inside of your business, and most importantly, what clients are always asking you! Create a PDF that describes your company’s working method, processes, and rules. Your Company FAQ should include your team presentation, service packaging, contact details, delivery process, showroom address, preferred way of communicating, and more.
Also, remember to add your rules, terms, and conditions in the company FAQ too, because while they will be outlined in the contract, it’s good practice to include the most important rules in your company FAQ as well.
Getting started steps
Add also simple instructions for getting started. This is best to send as a checklist, where the client can easily check each step. I’d recommend making this a digital one with some video presentation of the steps!
Project Guide
The project guide is similar to the company FAQ, and can also be added to the same document. However, in the printed version (we get to that in a minute), you might want to create two separate documents, just in case you need to update them regularly. Create a PDF that describes your company’s project management method.
Interior design questionnaire
You most likely need a lot of details and answers to be able to create the designs and run the project that your customers just purchased. Add a list of questions to the digital package, and a link to the online questionnaire where they can submit their answers.
Why both?
Because, many of the questions might take some time to complete, and your clients might need to sit down with family members or colleagues and talk things through before they submit their answers. To make this simple, you can create a PDF of all the questions they need to think about, directions on how to fill it out, and then a link to an online form where they can submit their answers when they are ready!
Login details to the communication platform
You should also provide access to the communication/project management platform where they can find a copy of the agreements, and all the important documents, and keep an eye on the project and communication.
Every premium service provider needs to have a client management portal. This makes you stand out as a professional and makes your project management simple and stress-free.
Branded box
If you really want to impress your clients, you should invest in a branded box design. Create packaging with your logo and signature style, and use it to send your physical welcome box.
Branded materials
Include a special touch like branded notepads, a folder, or a beautiful pen with your logo. These add an elegant touch and work as s great reminder even after the project is completed. And, you never know where these materials will travel, adding more marketing touch points.
Client binder
Clients love the binder! If it works with your delivery and offboarding process, then you could send them the binder already now, and then add materials to it when you complete the project. This binder will now contain all the printed versions of your assets.
Handwritten card
Add a special note to your clients. You should have branded cards with your most celebrated work, add one of those in the box and send a personalized, handwritten note about how excited you are to start the journey.
A gift
You should also add a gift to the box. A branded pen is not a gift, but a great brand booster. The gift is something they truly enjoy. If you have a collection of candles, then add one to your welcome box, even if it has your logo on. Or if you don’t have a collection of decor, you can buy something stylish or tasty and add it to your welcome package!
Make it stylish, on-brand, and fabulous
Your clients came to you for a luxury experience, provide them with one they never forget!
What to avoid when designing your welcome package
A few things to avoid when designing your welcome package:
- multiple deliveries. Send everything in one email, and in one box.
- conflicting instructions. Make your experience simple and joyful.
- too much information or difficult to read. Keep it simple, use bullets, checklists, and the right order of links. Also, use the same wording for your assets.
- too much about you. While you want to highlight your talent, it’s really about your client and their experience.
Welcome Packages are part of your signature client experience
I truly believe that a well-designed interior design welcome package will not only set you apart from other designers but also ensure your client experience is as fantastic as possible. A welcome package is part of your onboarding process, which is the most critical part of your delivery ensuring the rest of the project will be a success!
Check out our client welcome packages and onboarding training in the shop!
