Charelle Akihary – Heijmans & Beyond Eyes

Charelle Akihary is a Head of Marketing Strategy at Heijmans, a listed company that combines activities related to property development, construction & technical services, and infrastructure in the fields of Living, Working and Connecting. Together with the cleaning and facility management company CSU and PreZeroHeijmans launched the startup Beyond Eyes which assures a powerful bundle of knowledge and expertise for smart building management.

PROMOTING THE BEYOND EYES BRAND TOGETHER

“Beyond Eyes is a coalition of various companies who have joined forces to help building managers create a healthy, safe and pleasant environment,” Charelle explains. “We do this by connecting a building’s technology, usage and experience in a smart way, using a combination of smart sensors, clustered data and continuous monitoring with experts. The brand is growing, and the family of participating companies is expanding. As a new team, we need to ensure that each company promotes the Beyond Eyes brand according to the brand strategy, in a market in which their primary brand also has a stake. It’s important that we promote the Beyond Eyes brand together, in a communal way.”

“As a new team, we need to ensure that each company promotes the Beyond Eyes brand according to the brand strategy, in a market in which their primary brand also has a stake.”

WHERE THE GROWTH LIES

Charelle has a clear view of what it means to work together as a coalition: “Being part of this coalition means forming an alliance. The participating companies truly want to work together – that’s where the growth of the brand lies. It is our shared vision that connects us. From a marketing standpoint, this means a completely new way of working as each company already has its own strong brand, now this new brand is added to it.

“We’re not just activating the Beyond Eyes brand on its own but also promoting it using the participating companies’ existing brand activations. This means we need to make sure these activations are in tune.”

Each brand has its own challenges and agenda. We need to continuously balance each brand’s own interests with our common interests. The most important thing is to keep talking with each other and to keep looking for connections. That’s where a lot of our brand strategy effort goes. You need to believe in the common goal to make it work.”

THE RELATION WITH SALES ACTIVATION

“When building a new brand, the relation with sales activation is very important. And for sales, being in this coalition means approaching new customers together, and sometimes suggesting a coalition partner’s services to your existing customers. Referrals are a strong part of building this new brand. That requires a new way of thinking.”

“During this new approach, our Heijmans´sales professionals realised that to be strategic partners for our customers they need to bring more to the table than just services in their own traditional domain. Our customers are facing very complex challenges regarding building management and are looking for a solution that brings all those things together. The Beyond Eyes brand offers sales professionals a way to enter into a conversation with customers on a different level.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF DATA

So what is that new type of conversation about? “Building managers are no longer just responsible for arranging simple practical matters,” Charelle explains. “They are involved in energy management and therefore, in the energy transition; in creating a pleasant atmosphere; they are tasked with cleaning, security, maintenance, and much more. Companies are looking into building management to figure out how to best use their office space now that hybrid working is more popular, and because providing an appealing work environment is important in a tight labour market.

Overall, building management has evolved into a topic that involves facility management, real estate, human resources, the CFO, and the entire board. Important decisions need to be made, not based on a gut feeling but on data and the advice of experts who know how to interpret the data and how to put it to use, to help you make the right decisions. Our strength and our brand essence lie in the fact that Beyond Eyes has an integral approach. It’s technology and data-driven but it’s also about connection.”

“Anyone can capture data. Having the intelligence to make it relevant to your customer – that is the key to success.”

USING SMART INTELLIGENCE – AND MAKING IT EVEN SMARTER

Not only is data important in Beyond Eye’s products, but it is also of vital importance for the brand’s marketing. “Data plays a big role in our marketing. Heijmans used to be quite traditional when it came to the marketing mix. With Beyond Eyes we focus more on digital marketing and marketing technology and automation, using smart intelligence – and making it even smarter. That might not be very innovative for the market, but it is for traditional industries like construction.

Data also helps us when we look at customers’ brand preferences. And we’re seeing that other people in the organisation are noticing the results of what we do with brand building, sales activation and marketing technology, and they are following our suit.”

USING THE POWER OF BRAND TO TELL OUR STORIES

“At Heijmans, I’m seeing a shift from product thinking on its own to product thinking alongside building a strong brand and strengthening that brand through marketing.” Charelle continues. “We’re not yet fully employing brand and marketing thinking as other major brands do but we are moving in that direction.”

“We have so many interesting stories to tell about innovation, data & technology use and smart & sustainable ways of working but we need to ensure that those stories reach our customers, and we can do so through digital marketing.”

“Using the power of our brand to tell those stories is my drive because there is so much potential there. We already have a strong brand and showing what we do and what we stand for, makes that brand even more relevant. I am a strong believer that brands and organisations need to be viewed in relation to, and as part of a total ecosystem,” Charelle says passionately.

“Beyond Eyes is the perfect example of this: the strength of both the product and the brand lies in this new way of working together. If brands are brave enough to position themselves in new ways, they can gain a lot. That means stepping out of your own shadow and showing the world you are open to new ways of working and collaborating with others.”