Where to put your marketing dollars in 2019
It's that time of the year again, budget season. You know, when your CFO or controller constantly interrupts your day with questions about your 2018 spend and ask for details on your 2019 plans.
To help you out, I've pulled some stats from FM research that we (Building Operating Management magazine) conducted in 2018. It may give you some ideas on where to direct your 2019 dollars.
Top 10 Media FMs Use to Learn about Products/Brands for Purchase
In 2019, I suggest that you return to the basic of marketing. Start by "fishing where the fish are." In other words, advertise your brand and products in the media channels where FMs tend to go.
By and large, FMs are pretty much an "old-school" group. 76% of them still like to read about products and services in print. As a result, industry trade magazines remain their #1 source for product and brand information.
Close behind print at 73% are search engines. No surprise. Like everyone else, FMs have embraced the ease and convenience of online product searches. As a result, it might be a good idea to invest some of your 2019 marketing dollars in a google ad words campaign. Better yet, talk to the publishers at the FM industry trade magazines. I'm sure that they can put together an adwords campaign for you.
Face-to-face marketing pays off big in the FM market as many facilities executives say they travel to conferences and trade shows to learn about products for purchase.
I met with several marketers recently at an FM industry event. Every one of them said they use an integrated marketing program to generate leads. They all are combing print, face-to-face and digital components to build their sales.
Top 10 Media Channels FMs Use
Trade Magazines — 76%
Search Engines — 73%
Conferences/Trade Shows — 59%
Trade Magazine Websites — 45%
E-Newsletters — 36%
OnlineVideos — 36%
White Papers — 26%
Webcasts — 18%
Social Media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) — 17%
Blogs — 6%
More on FMs' Use of Social
What about social? Should you invest in social? Sure, I think it's worth putting some dollars into social. However, keep your expectations modest, as social channels haven't caught on with FMs for business purposes. Since the average FM is 53 years old, social is not intuitive to their buying habits. However, 3 out of every 5 FMs use social to find facility-specific information. Note, this doesn't say they use social to identify brands and products to purchase, but it does tell me that social might be worth investigating or testing in 2019.
Social Media Sites FMs Use to Find Facility-Specific Information
LinkedIn — 48%
Facebook — 19%
MyFacilitiesNet.com — 14%
Twitter — 7%
Pinterest — 5%
None — 39%
I'm working on my 2019 marketing budget right now. If you have thoughts or ideas how you plan to allocate your marketing dollars. I'm all ears. Drop me a line or give me a call.
414-368-6860
Facilities Management Marketing Blog Home