Design Manager is dedicated to helping clients maximize efficiency, save time, and maintain impeccable organization in their interior design businesses.  Created specifically to address the industry-specific needs of interior designers, Design Manager offers an integrated project management and accounting solution that users can customize to best support their individual processes. 

With so many product features and opportunities to tailor the user experience, clients can always depend on Design Manager support resources to learn everything they need to know about how to use the software, find synergies in their work processes, get technical assistance, and general business tips. Adding to those resources, Design Manager recently announced its merger with 1stdibs and a bevvy of resulting client benefits, including free technical assistance and a host of new VIP perks. To mark the occasion, this article will highlight the robust and newly expanded resources Design Manager offers clients to help them get the greatest possible advantage from the software’s many features. 

Easy To Follow How-Tos

Design Manager has made it a priority from the beginning to educate users on how to use its many features, and has created hundreds of tutorial and webinar videos that cover every facet of the software from a number of different angles. Whether you’re in need of a broad overview of the software or a detailed dissection of a particular feature, the Design Manager YouTube page will have a video to match your query. 

Tutorial videos are a client favorite because they show easy to follow, step-by-step guides on how to use each feature of the software.

Jeremy and Jason of Bauer Clifton Interiors say, “The educational tutorials are so easy to learn from that there is a very minimal learning curve with new team members that join. It allows us to seamlessly see a project from conception through its completion, even with project management and procurement involved.”

Design Manager also offers weekly live webinars that clients can participate in. After these sessions are recorded, viewers can access them anytime via the Design Manager YouTube page. The webinars cover a variety of topics such as how to leverage a particular feature, how to manage business operations with help from Design Manager, and insights from guest industry experts. Tutorials and webinars are organized by topic, making it easy to browse or search for the specific information you need.   

The Design Manager blog is another free resource, available not only to Design Manager clients, but to the world wide web. The blog publishes weekly articles on a range of business advice and industry news topics, and is the place to go to keep tabs on everything pertinent to the business of interior design. For those just getting started in the industry, be sure to read Design Manager’s free guide on how to start an interior design business. 

Free Tech Support

Courtesy of joining the 1stdibs family, Design Manager now offers clients free technical support. Users who experience a technical problem can simply create a support ticket and expect a detailed response within hours. Not only does the support team offer quick issue resolution, but they can also answer software specific questions that users are unable to answer using the tutorials and webinar resources.

Nick Olsen of Nick Olsen, Inc. describes his experience with Design Manager’s support team: "After more than a decade in this industry, I simply could not run a business without Design Manager. My projects are highly detailed, and Design Manager serves as a database for all the minutiae while providing a straightforward platform for my amazing staff to place and track orders and easy-to-understand invoices for my clients. Beyond that, I’ve been very impressed with the immediacy and efficiency of its technical support. I would recommend Design Manager to any professional working in our field."

The Design Manager support team offers timely responses and can provide support, as necessary, to get to the root of an issue and solve it as quickly as possible. 

Hands-On Training

A great way to get you and your team up and running on Design Manager in no time flat is to schedule a training session with one of Design Manager’s product experts. Training sessions allow the client to customize education to a specific process and provide a team-wide learning experience. Training sessions can also help business leaders develop a strategy for how to use DM’s many synergistic features, which can then be demonstrated to their team. These individualized sessions, which can be conducted virtually at a rate of $95 per hour.  In-person training sessions at your office can be arranged as well. 

Libby Langdon of Libby Langdon Interiors explains the benefits of having her team learn how to use Design Manager collaboratively: "Design Manager has made us more efficient, because the people on my team are able to work seamlessly together. Another thing that’s great about Design Manager is the customer service, and I need that. I don't want my team spending time trying to look things up and not accomplish something they want to."

The 1stdibs Advantage

Becoming part of 1stdibs has brought a bounty of perks to both Design Manager and 1stdibs users. Clients of 1stdibs with DM Cloud accounts get a free upgrade to Design Manager for the rest of 2019 while Pro Cloud accounts receive unlimited users for the rest of 2019. Design Manager clients who use 1stdibs will have help building their client list with access to the Designer Connection service, typically reserved for 1stdibs members that are at the Bronze+ level in their Trade Rewards program. Of course, Design Manager clients who are new to 1stdibs will be able to set up a Trade account for exclusive benefits and support.

To celebrate joining forces, Design Manager and 1stdibs have also rolled out new features to help clients use each platform together in a seamless fashion. With the new one-click integration tool, users can add items from 1stdibs to their Design Manager Pro account in one click. The extra benefits don’t end there — other perks for Design Manager clients include invitations to exclusive 1stdibs event invites, which provide invaluable sourcing and networking opportunities, plus entry to the 1stdibs Gallery VIP experience, including swag on your first visit.

With so many details to keep track of, running an interior design business is no easy feat. Design Manager was created to support all aspects of business operations, like producing professional level client facing documents in a snap, creating realistic budgets, facilitating foolproof bookkeeping processes, and so much more. In order to make the most of its vast capabilities, now even deeper with its 1stdibs integration, clients can rest assured that Design Manager support will be there to demonstrate features, help designers find synergies in their work processes, provide technical assistance, and keep clients at the forefront of the interior design industry. For an opportunity to see exactly how Design Manager can bring organization, efficiency, and a sleek, professional touch to your interior design business, sign up for a free trial today.