How to generate more enquiries for your interior design studio

By Pierrus Agency · Published 5 November 2026

To generate more suitable interior design enquiries, define the projects you want, identify how those buyers could find you and give each route a practical plan. Support that work with clear service information and reliable follow up. Review the project conversations that result, so you know where to put your next month of effort.

When enquiries slow down, it is tempting to start several new marketing activities at once. That makes it difficult to give any of them enough attention or understand what is helping. We recommend starting with two routes you can develop properly: one through relevant professional relationships and one that reaches beyond your existing network.

The following process will help you choose those routes and turn them into a manageable 30 day plan.

Define the work you want to attract

Write a short brief for the next project you would like your studio to take on. Be specific about the service, location, scale of work and timing. Consider the fee you need to earn and the capacity you have to deliver it.

“More residential work” gives you little guidance. A more useful brief might read: “Whole-home interior design within our practical travel area, beginning with a paid design stage, with enough time for proper planning before procurement.” This is a fictional planning example. Add your own financial requirements and service boundaries before using it.

Keep the overall project budget separate from your studio’s fee. A substantial building budget does not automatically mean there is a suitable allowance for interior design.

Use that brief to define a qualified enquiry: a credible opportunity whose service, location, likely budget and timing broadly fit your studio. Record missing information as “to clarify”. Someone who cannot yet name a budget may need help understanding the scope before they can answer.

Find where the enquiry process needs attention

Review your last ten enquiries privately, or all those available if you have fewer. Record when each arrived, how the person first heard about you, what they looked at afterwards, whether the project fitted and what happened next.

Keep these stages separate: enquiry received, suitability understood, project discussion held, proposal sent and appointment confirmed. Record open opportunities too. A proposal awaiting a decision is different from one that has been declined.

The pattern should guide your next action.

This is a diagnostic starting point, not proof of a cause. Follow up on the uncertainty before spending more. If suitable opportunities are already arriving, improving how they progress may deserve attention alongside attracting new ones.

Ask two separate questions when you speak to a prospect: “How did you first hear about us?” and “What did you look at before getting in touch?” An introduction and a useful website can both contribute. Retain both answers rather than forcing the whole journey into one source.

Choose two routes you can sustain

Start with the route that has the strongest relevant evidence in your own records. Then choose a second route with a clear reason for reaching your intended audience.

For professional relationships, identify people who encounter the kind of projects you want at a stage when an interiors conversation would be useful. An architect, surveyor or specialist supplier might be relevant, depending on their work and your service. Our guide to building a referral network for your interior design studio explains how to select contacts and make an appropriate first approach.

For the second route, consider what you can establish about buyer behaviour. Are people searching for your service in the area you serve? Are relevant homeowners or professional referrers engaging with the subjects you can explain? Is there a suitable professional directory or referral service whose terms and audience you can assess?

If search looks relevant, begin with SEO for interior designers. If you are considering paying for search traffic, use the separate guide to deciding whether Google Ads is worth testing.

Choose using evidence, available time and cost. A route is only a useful priority if someone can carry out the work. Leave additional ideas on a later list until there is a reason to introduce them.

Make the studio easy to understand

Before sending more people to your website, check that they can establish what you offer. Explain which services are available, where you work, what the appointment involves and how to begin a conversation.

Show your judgement through useful explanations. You could describe how you compare material choices, prepare a room brief or sequence design decisions. An original, clearly labelled concept exercise can make that thinking visible without presenting it as a commissioned project.

Give each explanation a purpose. Someone learning about a full design service needs to understand its scope and responsibilities. A professional considering an introduction needs to understand where your work would complement theirs. Our guide to planning social media around suitable enquiries shows how to develop these subjects into content.

Finish with a clear next step. Ask for enough information to begin a useful discussion, and explain who will respond and when. Set a response expectation your team can consistently meet.

Put the next month into your diary

Use the first month to complete the work and establish what is developing. It is a review period, not a promise that projects will be appointed within 30 days.

Give every action an owner, a deadline and a time or spending limit. A sole founder can own every action, but still needs space in the diary to do it.

Keep a short weekly review. Count new enquiries, qualified opportunities and agreed next steps. Review proposals and appointments separately, allowing time for decisions. Ask what you have learnt about fit, what needs changing and which action is due next.

Copy this enquiry plan

Use one row per action in a spreadsheet or task list. Include these fields: target project, chosen source, action, owner, due date, time or cost limit, result and next step.

A fictional first row could be: “Whole-home design; professional relationships; identify five relevant practices and a specific reason to contact each; studio founder; next Friday; two hours; record the shortlist; choose two appropriate approaches.” It sets a controllable action without pretending to predict enquiries.

This week, write your target brief, review your recent enquiries and book the first action for each chosen route. You will finish with a plan that explains what you are doing and why.

Give the plan a fair review

The aim is to make new business development deliberate. Keep useful conversations moving, improve information that leaves people uncertain and record what each route contributes. If the evidence points to a problem with project fit or follow up, address it before simply increasing activity.

Pierrus can help you assess enquiry sources, choose priorities and organise the work around them. Explore our marketing strategy for interior design studios if you would like support turning this plan into consistent action.