Conclusion In his introduction to our 2019 Trends & Opportunities report David Emanuel wrote: “In a market rightly described as one of the most mature in the world, FM is still an uncertain business - not only in terms of its own identity but also in what it does, how it does it and for how much: the low margins in this industry sometimes seem as if they could call the whole model into question. We appear to be doing well in fighting off the problem of commoditisation; but the ‘race to the bottom’ in terms of pricing continually crops up as an issue.” Other articles in that report, notably those contributed by market research firm Frost & Sullivan and business advisors EY, emphasised how important it is that FM companies review and revise (as necessary) their strategies to ensure they are truly making their mark with their customers and in the marketplace more generally. In our 2018 T&O report, Peter Ankerstjerne, then chief marketing officer at ISS, wrote: “Fostered by globalisation, digitalisation and intense competition, the power of choice is now with the people, or the end-user. As a result, we must start to consider every facility or site as a market in its own right and acknowledge that different end-users have different needs and demands we as FM’ers and marketers need to understand and fulfil on a daily basis. The ability to develop services and products which cater for these needs has never been more important. Especially with the influx of new generations of workers into the workplace - people who have a quite different approach to both work and the workplace, not to mention new ways of communicating.” All this is about the power of brand, its critical role in communicating what a company is about and what its values and aspirations are. It’s easy to settle into a kind of Mad Men role, positioning brand as the single most important feature of any company – it may well not be; but it is undeniably important. People – customers, employees, prospective employees, market commentators – form judgements on perceptions, and brand appearance and associations are a key factor in that. As the charts above, and those from past reports, make clear – some companies do it well; some do it inconsistently; and some could try harder. In any case, taking your brand for granted, assuming it will ‘look after itself’ is a risky strategy – especially in this changing and uncertain period. A well thought through communication strategy has never been more relevant. A note of the respondents Our survey participants this year, as in the past, provide a good representation of the UK industry as a whole. Of those providing details, the majority work for service providers, though there is solid input from in-house FMs, too. All regions of the country are covered; and individuals’ experience spans a broad range, from 1 year to more than 30 years in the industry. A note on the analysis process As in the past, we used a simple weighting system in the ‘top brands’ charts to reflect the fact that respondents provide their answers on a first, second, third choice basis. In addition, we have taken steps to control for the fact that a small number of companies each year apparently marshal ‘get out the vote’ campaigns to boost their position in the rankings. 3rd December 2018 ISS Classification - Unrestricted
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