Understanding your market and knowing the “sweet-spot”

It’s as important to know if you are right for your client, as it is for the client to know you are right for them!

Director Alex Gavrilovic gives us his views on the changing face of client-provider relationships and how it pays to really know who your friends are.

“In the last year or so, I believe that market attitudes have changed in relation to the kind of FM provider clients are looking for. At Q3, we have certainly noticed a difference, and the whole shift revolves around the question of value. Not value in respect of whether the client believes they are getting value for money from the contract, but whether the client actually feels valued by their supplier.

“This changing mood has been to the benefit of Q3, because many clients are choosing to look away from the big market FM companies to smaller businesses who will not only pay them that attention, but also truly value their custom. Clients realise that they will get a better flexibility and higher levels of service from the smaller players because the client’s business is so much more important to those contractors.

“It’s also more likely that the contract will run smoothly and efficiently because the whole arrangement is built on direct, personal communication and high levels of trust. Clients draw confidence from this personal relationship, knowing that they can contact someone with the knowledge and authority to act and respond quickly and efficiently.

“In FM, experience is everything when forging a successful new business relationship. The Q3 senior team has hundreds of years of combined experience in the FM sector, across small, large and complex FM contracts. We know the business and are realistic about our ability to meet the requirements a client lays out in its tender documents, in terms of what’s deliverable, where we can excel and where the bigger competitors may struggle to perform. And because as a business we have always collectively tried to put clients first and centre in the process, experience has taught us to recognise the kind of client with whom we know we can work successfully. It’s what we at Q3 call the “sweet spot” and we’re getting better and better at recognising and delivering the winning formula.

“We are open and honest about our proposed FM solution, tailoring it to the specific needs of the client, their sector needs and geographical challenges. The final solution will reflect that. We may blend direct delivery with a supply-chain managed solution if that’s what we believe will work best and most cost-effectively. And if that sounds like a managing agent approach, it isn’t – where’s the value add in that arrangement? It’s more FM service integration, but unique in each contract deployment we create.

“With data and technology now underpinning FM services in virtually every contract, it’s important that the client is not constricted by the supplier’s choice of CAFM system and data repository imposed on them by the incumbent. Too often these days, when a contract ends, the supplier just walks away, closes the CAFM system and exports its contents onto an excel spreadsheet. This is of virtually no use to the client or the unfortunate contractor who takes over. Q3, through its Pulse technology system, provides all the benefits expected from a cutting-edge CAFM system during the duration of the contract, but at the end, the data and the IP remains with the client, thus ensuring continuity.

“When I started in FM, stability and familiarity used to be important in the relationship built between FM provider and client but recently, because there’s a steady churn of personnel in the industry, this continuity no longer exists. So, from the first client meeting to the contract award, and beyond, we always try to ensure that the client will meet the same team made up of subject-matter experts, that are relevant to that contract. The relationship building starts from day one and continues beyond mobilisation.

“I believe that this ability for both client and FM provider to recognise their best-fit partner, will become increasingly important in future tender processes. On more than one occasion recently client feedback has told us that Q3 won the business because of non-quantifiable metrics such as, “You totally get us” and “You have a great cultural fit”. It’s part of an emotional dimension of the purchasing decision that goes beyond regular PQQ measures of capability, financial security, experience in the sector and track record.

“There are a host of areas where in future, clients will be looking for suppliers with close cultural fit to go over and above the delivery of basic services and provide the value-add. For example, working with the client to create workplace environments and that encourage people back to the workplace and retaining talent. Similarly, customer experience is becoming huge, so being able to incorporate the personal touch through concierge and hotel management techniques becomes increasingly important.”