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They're the people who are in charge of buying everything in a university, office complex or government building-from the carpeting to the furniture to the heating system. They're facility managers, and they're the perfect market for anyone selling any product that goes in a building.
Managing Facility Managers
"Anywhere there is a significant building, perhaps 100,000 square feet or larger, there's bound to be a facility professional in charge of managing that building," says Tim Rowe, vice president of marketing at Trade Press Publishing Corp., the publisher of Building Operating Management magazine. "A facility manager is generally responsible for the operations of the facility, from the boiler room to the rooftop. They generally have a staff of professionals who work under them in different capacities, such as electricians, carpenters or maintenance personnel."
And their responsibilities start early. Facility managers are involved in specifying a geographic location for a facility and working with the architects, general contractor and builder on the specifications of the building, according to Leland Kroll, president of Kroll Direct Marketing. "These folks are very broad-natured in their scope and often wear lots of different hats," he says.
Rowe estimates that 85 percent of facility managers are male, and their ages range from the mid-40s and up. The facility management profession is starting to face a "graying" issue because managers are starting to retire, but there are fewer and fewer people coming up the ranks to replace them.
Facility managers can be found in any geographic area, but they tend to be located in states with larger cities, such as California, New York and Illinois.
Keep in mind that facility managers are not the same as building managers. "A lot of people muddy the distinction," says Susan Coene, publisher of Today's Facility Manager. "Building managers are employed by a real estate company, and they don't have as deep a decision-making power as the facility manager, so you have to be very careful about imitation."
Where Their Bucks Go
Facility managers buy just about everything you see in a building. They buy these products as part of new construction projects or when they're renovating a building or a space within a building. According to Michael Platt, account executive at the list management and brokerage firm Statlistics, one of the categories that's been getting a lot of interest over the past three to five years is security: cameras, key passes, etc.
Anything "green" is sure to be on facility managers' radars. Eco-friendly cleaning products and green, energy-saving technologies are going to be a point of continued emphasis in the market over the next couple of years, Platt predicts. "The green movement has become a tidal wave that has washed over the facility managers," says Rowe. First, facility managers are looking for education to get a better understanding of whether or not the green movement will help them save money. Then, they want to know that products will make buildings more energy-efficient and drive down the bottom line, since in many cases green products cost more.
As for out-of-category purchases, "We're starting to see interest from the consumer product suppliers like Dodge trucks, for example, or American Express," says Rowe. "We are seeing more interest from these types of companies because they have realized that the facility manager has a significant income and has the ability and wherewithal to purchase products on a personal level." Platt says his firm is seeing list usage from credit cards; training companies; and companies and associations like Sears, Roebuck and Co.; the American Water Works Association; the American Chemical Society; and American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Building a Connection
According to Rowe, both direct mail and e-mail work well for reaching facility managers. "Direct mail is very good for building some awareness and some visibility for the product," he says. Platt agrees that direct mail works because it gives facility managers something concrete to hold onto. "You have a guy walking around a building with a clipboard and he has a couple of postcards and a catalog, and he's going around to the different managers asking, ‘What do you need in your division? What do you need for your operations?'" he says. "Maybe the hard copy is serving this niche better."
E-mail, Rowe says, is great for getting a direct response, but a mix of tactics works well; hit all the bases to reach this audience. "I use print, such as magazines, as well as e-mail, as we market our conferences, trade shows and webcasts to the facility managers," he explains. "All of them, hand in hand, work well. This mix is probably the best way to go if you want a guarantee of reaching these people."
Mastering the Message
Facility managers are busy and have so many responsibilities that in your messaging you need to keep it simple, grab their attention and offer a good bang for their attention buck. "They are looking for almost an ROI on their time," says Rowe. "If I spend time with your e-mail or direct mail or print ad, how are you going to help me improve the operations of my facility, the efficiency of my facility, the performance of my facility?"
Due to budget cuts, facility managers are looking to drive down costs, so cost-savings offers go over well. "They are looking to improve the performance of the building as the building ages, which is a difficult proposition," says Rowe. Facility managers are asked to do this without a lot of money, which means they're trying to save in one area of the building so later they can put those saved dollars into other parts of the facility.
Targeting facility managers with a mix of marketing methods is the route to building solid-and profitable-relationships with them.
Linda Formichelli is a freelance writer based in New Hampshire. She wrote about marketing to private pilots in Target Marketing's July issue.
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