Are you keeping your New Year Resolutions?

• better work-life balance?
• bigger jobs, higher fees?
• more design input?
• chase that dream job?
• be better organised?

Over the Christmas break, you probably had time to reflect on your life and your business ... did you make any New Year resolutions to take your practice in a new direction?

Well, it's already February and I wonder how you are doing on the business front and whether I can help you?

For those of you in central London, you might be interested in attending a series of seminars starting on February 13th 2013 which I am co-hosting with Christopher Jenkins of Wingrave Yeats accountants.  These sessions are designed to provide business management tools to architects challenged by the current economic environment.  Small group size guaranteed.  For more information and booking click
Review your practice and plan for successful 2013 course 

For those of you in the UK regions, I am delivering RIBA Core Curriculum CPD on 'internal management'.  
My 3 hour session is a quick-fire, intensive step-by-step business review.
Date                             Location                                  Time

(24 January                    Birmingham                             completed)

26 February                  Crawley                                    2pm - 4.30pm

12 March                      Exeter                                      2pm - 4.30pm

09 May                         Cardiff                                      2pm - 4.30pm

13 June                        Gateshead                                2pm - 4.30pm

10 July                         Reading                                    2pm - 4.30pm

17 July                         Leeds                                       2pm - 4.30pm

18 July                         Cambridge                                2pm - 4.30pm

24 July                         Nottingham                               2pm - 4.30pm

18 September               Manchester                              1:30pm - 4pm

19 September               Liverpool                                  10am - 12.30pm

03 October                   Bath                                         2pm - 4.30pm

15 October                   London                                     5.30pm - 8pm

Fees RIBA/CIAT members £55 + VAT /  Non-members £80 + VAT

For bookings email cpdclub@riba.org

I look forward to hearing from you.

info@klmori.com

Targeted marketing

Is your marketing message what your clients want to hear?  Are you telling them things they want to know? Or are you just pushing information about yourselves?  Is your website a catalogue of buildings? Is your marketing activity targeted - or is it a scatter-gun effect? 

First you need to 'segment' your market - group potential clients who have shared interests or values: this might be by industry sector (retail, office, residential), or by client type (private-domestic, commercial developer, public sector) or geographical location (local to your office, regional UK, international).  Then 'profile' that group - identify who they are and research the issues they share.

My clients are architects - so I make sure that all my marketing material includes a sexy image of a building:

This usually grabs their attention. It does not have to be a building, and it is not always appropriate to be promoting a particular architect, but images work well for my target clients.  For my Christmas cards, I have commissioned a range of colourful kitsch Christmas images:

As I write my Christmas message in my cards, I am now thinking through what issues are most affecting architects at the moment - and what service might they need in the New Year?  I am taking the RIBA Business Benchmarking report as my starting point, and know that 60% of architects practices do not have a business plan.  So my marketing message will be about planning for future success, and perhaps reminding people about the courses I run in central London.  I always feel the start of the year is a good time to review business and adjust objectives for the coming 12 months.

Please contact me info@klmori.com if you would like more information.