Over 80% of companies today use at least one of the emerging technologies for ease of operations. Firms that put emerging technology to use report a whopping 58% increase in their annual revenue.
All kinds of industries are being benefited by technological advancements. Interior design manufacturing, in particular, has seen a palpable shift in how it operates.
Cutting-edge technologies such as E-commerce and Augmented Reality have revolutionized how homes are designed with various tools as well as marketed to customers.
In this article, we take a look at the various ways technology has revolutionized interior design manufacturing and how you can make the most of it to grow your interior design business and connect with your customers better. Let’s find out how.
Offer accessibility and convenience
Source: Tubik
Interior design has traditionally been an industry that relies on entrepreneurs and customers being present at the location being designed. However, the application of e-commerce in manufacturing has paved the way for the interior design industry to expand beyond geographical boundaries.
Online interior design services have revolutionized the industry by making designing and decorating a home more accessible and convenient for homeowners. You can set up your website and conduct regular business through it in various ways, such as:
- Showcasing the different styles in which you design spaces.
- Selling different types of home decor items.
- Conducting consultations with customers virtually.
- Creating content about different aspects of home decor.
With the rise of technology and the internet, homeowners can now work with interior designers from the comfort of their homes, without needing in-person consultations and meetings. It saves time and effort while making the process much quicker and smoother.
An e-commerce solution provides all the B2B-necessary features while retaining the agility of cloud software to integrate effectively with your ERP and tech stack. By using your SAP or Microsoft Dynamics ERP, your e-commerce solution is built on a strong foundation allowing for complete data and technical integration that keeps your interior design business moving.
Provide cost-effective solutions
A critical way technology has revolutionized interior design manufacturing is by making it affordable to all kinds of customers. Online interior design services offer more cost-effective solutions for homeowners.
If you consult a traditional interior design firm to design a space, it often requires a significant investment on your part. You’ll have to go through the process of:
- Hiring them,
- Arranging meetings with them,
- They create different design ideas,
- Putting those ideas into execution.
And if the deal doesn’t work out, you’ll have to pay them visitation and other changes regardless. This makes interior design services a rather costly affair. One that people often don’t indulge in if they can’t afford it.
Online services, on the other hand, offer packages at various price points, making them more accessible to a wider range of clients. You can choose packages that suit you and make changes as per your needs.
Showcase unique products
Having an E-commerce store for home decor products can benefit businesses in the interior design industry by allowing them to showcase their unique products. Interior design businesses by nature involve various unique home decor items.
Unique items are not simply manufactured and sold like regular products. In traditional businesses, the designer would keep different types of products and use them in different projects as per the need.
But with online services, you can simply put them on display to a wider audience forever. People can look at them when they visit your E-store and purchase them if they want to just like regular products.
This provides convenience and flexibility for both the business and customers while giving you the option to showcase unique products that will catch the attention of customers.
Expand your global reach
Source: swatchbox
We talked about how technology helps interior designers break the shackles of geographical boundaries and expand their horizons. They have expanded their market niche globally through the utilization of e-design services.
They are not bound to physically work in a space to give their services. They can simply perform all accompanying tasks such as consultation and preparation online, leaving only the actual designing part to be done in person.
Reaching out to a broader audience and potential clients has been possible through customers accepting to utilize the online platforms. The platform makes running the business flexible by:
- Engaging a wide audience,
- Incurring low overhead costs, and
- Streamlining the workflow.
This has provided designers with great flexibility in performing their jobs while entertaining a much wider audience than they ever did before. They’re gaining more experience in the process and bettering themselves.
Provide commission opportunities
The e-commerce revolution has also provided opportunities for interior designers to earn commissions by recommending products through affiliate links. Whenever a customer uses the link to purchase the product, the designer can make a small commission.
This has many far-reaching benefits:
- It directly helps them make more money with their business.
- It helps them to help their customers purchase good products that they personally recommend.
- It helps them build a community with fellow designers and associates in the business, helping them build and grow a network.
- By engaging different types of businesses on their website, they grow the credibility of their website and business.
Commission opportunities have arrived as a boon for interior designers. It would not have been possible without the technological advancements that have led to them putting their services online and growing their business.
Be creative
73% of senior executives in companies aim to increase their investment in automation technology.
Automation has been one of the most valuable advancements of our time. Many people associate its importance with managerial or routine tasks.
However, it provides significant benefits to creative processes such as interior design as well. Put simply, when all your routine tasks are taken care of you simply have more time to devote to creative processes.
You can rest assured that your day-to-day tasks are taken care of to focus on what’s at hand. Moreover, you can use automation in creative processes as well such as recreating previous designs to move operations faster.
Use automation For:
- Managing your e-commerce website with tasks, such as order processing and customer service.
- Scheduling meetings with clients and sending them reminders about it.
- Compiling data about past interactions with a customer to understand their needs better.
Create Content
Source: Decor8
Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing while generating 3 times more leads. By taking their business online, interior designers are now able to create engaging content about their field that interests customers.
It serves a multitude of purposes:
- It allows them to talk about different aspects of interior design that they’re passionate about.
- It helps them establish credibility as a brand and evolve into a thought leader.
- They will be able to build a community among people who are passionate about interior design and are willing to learn more about it.
- It helps them in their marketing efforts and increases sales by generating genuine interest in their services.
Use Augmented Reality
Interior designers are increasingly using the up-and-coming Augmented Reality (AR) technology to create realistic 3D models of the space they are decorating. This allows them and the clients to experience and explore different designs before finalizing the one they want.
AR can be used in a few different ways in interior design processes:
- Create the design of a space from scratch.
- Create a few different designs for a space and compare them side by side.
- Make changes and see how they blend with the rest of the space then and there.
This allows both homeowners and designers to save money, time, and resources by experimenting with various designs virtually.
Create smart homes
Smart homes refer to house designs that incorporate technology to facilitate better living, ease, and convenience. They are a growing trend in interior designing as more and more houses are created with various technological innovations incorporated into them.
Some of the most common items used to create smart homes are:
- Thermostats
- Smart lighting
- Smart fans
- Smart furniture
They can be controlled via smartphones and tablets. The idea is to give the homeowner more control over the way appliances and furniture work in their home.
This is why they have become a widely preferred addition to interior design as both clients and designers seek appliances and devices that both add to the look of the place while giving increased functionality.
Convenience and cost-effective solutions rule the technological innovations in interior design
Interior design has traditionally been associated with analog and creative ways of working. However, it has been excellent in adopting the technology to its aid and using it to advance its operations.
The application of e-commerce in manufacturing can significantly impact the interior design industry by making the process more accessible, cost-effective, and global. It also provides opportunities for showcasing and selling unique products and earning commissions.
Newer technologies such as Augmented Reality and Smart home solutions have taken the industry by storm and heralded impressive changes in the way one can design a space.
Let us know in the comments how you think technology has changed the way the interior design industry operates for the better.
