To be a successful interior designer, you have to understand your client’s needs and help them achieve their objectives as flawlessly as possible. That’s why client collaboration is so important for creating the best possible interior designs. In this article, we’ll discuss how to accomplish effective interior design client collaboration by teaching you helpful tips, as well as provide recommended tools to improve your processes.

What is client collaboration in interior design?

Interior design client collaboration involves everything from meeting with clients and general communication (emailing, messaging, phone calls, video meetings, etc.), to conducting client intake and sharing your design ideas, to receiving client feedback, addressing any change requests and keeping your clients updated on project status.

Why is client collaboration in interior design important?

When interior designers effectively collaborate with their clients, it can lead to designs that are much more in line with what the client had in mind initially. This will not only help you make your client happy, but can save you time in the long run so you won’t have to revise your final design. And when your clients are happy, they’re more apt to work with you again or spread the word about your great work. Successful interior design client collaboration helps ensure that clients feel supported and heard throughout the duration of the project and keeps you connected with your client in a meaningful way that supports your design efforts.

How to collaborate with interior design clients

Start to improve your interior design client collaboration by following these tips:

• Have your client fill out a new client questionnaire to share about their project goals, style preferences and more. (Get our free Interior Design Client Questionnaire + Template to use with your clients!)
• As a courtesy to your clients, make sure to ask their preferred communication method (email, text, phone call, video conferencing, etc.) and share the best ways to reach you, too
• Increase in-person or virtual meetings with clients you can get in more quality face time
• Ask your clients if you can record your meetings and/or take thorough notes when meeting with clients (and save everything!) so you can reference it when needed
• Make sure you’re communicating with all project stakeholders to keep everyone in the loop
• Provide outlined processes and visual deliverables, such as mood boards and project timelines (this can help clients really understand the way you work and your vision for the final product)
• Practice active listening so you’re attentive and engaged with your client and able to respond thoughtfully and take action on what they’ve shared
• Be honest and transparent in all your communication
• Give clients time to prepare before meetings and let them know what you need from them
• Err on the side of over-communication with clients and encourage them to communicate with you when any needs arise
• Check in and share updates frequently

Tools for better interior design client collaboration

When searching for interior design client collaboration software to use for your business, be on the lookout for the following features to help make collaborating easier while saving you time.

Client dashboards

Having one, unified platform to organize client meeting notes and communication, share project status updates, photos and more with your clients will make your interior design client collaboration much easier. So make sure to choose a software with a great built-in client dashboards feature.

Centralized messaging

Switching from your project management software to email or your phone slows down your productivity and leaves room for misplaced communication, so opt for software with centralized messaging to speed up collaboration and keep everything in one, convenient place. 

Cloud-based file sharing

Whether sending your clients a welcome package with helpful information about your project and processes or sharing photos of your progress, cloud-based file sharing capabilities will make collaborating with clients a breeze.

No limits on document uploads

Documents can really start to add up during interior design projects, so unlimit yourself with software that doesn't restrict the number of documents you can upload.

Visualization tools

Software with built-in visualization tools, like Houzz Pro’s 3D Floor Planner and Mood Boards, will not only help you to better collaborate with your clients but also sell your best ideas with impressive visuals. 

Change order tracking

Client requests for changes inevitably occur during interior design projects, so make processing change orders easier, faster and more reliable with change order tracking included in your software.

Video consultations

As with centralized messaging, having a video conferencing feature included in your software makes scheduling, running and saving video meetings and consultations much faster and easier.

Calendar and email integration

Make sure your collaboration software integrates with your favorite calendar and email platforms to keep everything perfectly in sync.

Conclusion

With effective interior design client collaboration in place, you’ll be on your way to much greater success in your design projects and achieving client satisfaction. Sign up for a free trial of Houzz Pro interior design software, which includes powerful client collaboration tools you can try out today! Still not convinced? Read a review from a real Bay Area-based designer, Heather Cleveland, and learn how Houzz Pro helped her collaborate with clients faster and easier.

If you’d like to keep reading, check out Project Management Tips for Interior Designers to learn more.