Creating a strong brand for both the sector, companies and - in some cases - individuals is vital to success. We’ve been running the i-FM Brands Survey for decades - it's the only one of its kind in the sector.  We feel that getting to the heart of brand recognition is crucial to the advancement of FM and its growth overall.  It is important to evaluate this, as this is an area that can make all the difference to visibility, profitability, viability – as well as ensuring that we attract the talent we need to make the sector sustainable, and of course entice customers in and retain them, too.

Buying a brand or buying into a brand is often quite different for a service as compared to a product.  The services that FM offers and how they are delivered are extremely diverse, often in subtle ways, and they are constantly expanding and evolving, using new technologies to enhance them and make them more cost-effective and efficient.

Brand is not just a logo.  It is much more and needs to express the culture and values of an organisation for both internal and external audiences. Writing for i-FM recently, brand and design expert Myles Jensen described branding not as a logo, as many in the C-Suite might think it is, not as paint on your van - but as a system which should be intrinsically linked to the organisation’s DNA.  It’s not the surface treatment; it is the backbone.

So, in 2025 how is FM doing on this?  Does the sector overall have the recognition it deserves?  Do the businesses within the sector understand the power of brand and actually buy into it?

The questions we are asking here will help us identify and feedback to you not only if we are doing enough, but which brands in FM are the most enviable, most trusted, most respected, and who are the outliers who might just emerge as the most disruptive.

A strong brand identity helps make you stand out and stay memorable; it is a differentiator in a very competitive market.  On the other hand, as Myles Jensen puts is, “a poor brand is expensive”.  

Thank you for sharing your opinions and experiences.  By way of encouragement, there is a prize draw at the end – complete the survey and enter the draw for a chance to win a £150 Virgin Experience Day voucher (or you can choose for us to donate £200 to a charity of your choice). In every case, this survey remains entirely anonymous.  

Terms and conditions of the prize draw