Bridging Demographics and Psychographics Distances in Nigeria’s FM Industry


In the earlier analysis, Infoprations has pointed out the need to generate insights from facilities before solving any issues. Beyond analysing the facilities and application of emerging insights, Infoprations has equally discovered that FM companies have to close demographics and psychographics distances between them and the representatives of clients such as organisational buyers and individuals.

FM Companies and Client’s Persona

Like studying man’s demographics before approaching him, FM companies also need to have client’s persona. It is imperative to have company revenue, if the solutions are being proposed to business entity. Individual’s income range or status should be prioritised when the solutions would be used by people not organisations. In addition to knowing the company’s revenue, the year of establishment is also crucial. Understanding the year is another means of keying into the company’s short and long terms strategic goals and objectives, which will help in proposing tailored solutions to most of its facilities, especially those acquired during the start-up year.
In addition to what Infoprations notes under the insights generation from facilities, FM companies should go beyond mere inspection by knowing the age, cost of buying facilities, depreciation value and maintenance history.  This is imperative because solutions could not be proffered to a facility that companies have little or no knowledge about its antecedents and operational performance.
Location is another distance that must be bridged by FM companies, particularly those plying their trade in Lagos, Port-Harcourt and Abuja.  Since many organisations patronise FM companies for improved operational activities, it would be a wrong strategy to have employees who will not respond to clients’ needs as soon as possible. As Nigeria works towards the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially the goal on climate change, FM companies should always consider their clients’ location.
Is the location prone to indicators associated with climate change and global warming? Answers to this question will direct FM companies’ personnel on the specific material resources they will use while delivering solutions in such location. Another benefit of location analysis is opportunity to protect users of facilities and ecosystem. The end results of having robust demographics details include cost reduction, operational efficiency and sustainability of critical and soft facilities.

Organisational Buyers Are Human Too

Facilities are not only bought by people. They are equally used by people. In businesses, some people make decisions regarding which facility or FM provider should be contacted for the maintenance and management. In specific terms, businesses also need to be treated as consumers who have attitude and behaviour, which must be studied before capturing necessary values. FM companies that want maximum values must connect with organisational buyers’ senses. The buyers could be Heads of Facilities Management, Facility Managers, and Heads of Operations among others.
Like consumers of goods and services, organisational buyers also have sensory components of taste and smell. In consumable goods, customers taste and smell products and ignite his or her purchase decision. This also applies to FM solutions. Organisational buyers want professionalism and competence in place of taste and smell. 
In this regard, Marketing and Communication teams must ensure a strategic link between clients’ attitude and behaviour, and their companies’ attitude and behaviour. To strike the needed balance, physical and digital channels must be appropriated during negotiation and execution periods.
Taste and smell also connote that clients have been informed of the available FM solutions. Beyond this, they (clients) must seeing quality in terms of values addition and operational efficiency during execution of tasks. Positive or negative experience during the tasks execution will determine the extent to which companies would have the clients as repeat clients in the future. Past experience will also determine acceptance of the new solutions being proposed.

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