Entering the Government Market
Are you new to the government market? We can help you figure this out.
Companies that have well-established private sector businesses often look to the government market in order to fuel incremental growth. But without planning this market entry appropriately, most companies bank quick losses instead of quick wins, and often end up making poor decisions in order to mitigate early market mishaps.
Commercial practices simply don't port over to the public sector without addressing specific nuances. If you've already entered the market, you probably understand what we're talking about here, from differences in language (profit vs efficiency, revenue vs mission success, customer vs taxpayer, etc.) to differences in acquisition practices (mandatory competition, contract vehicles, regulatory requirements like FedRAMP, etc.).
With over 15 years working with government contractors, across product and solution lines, we can get you where you need to go with minimal drag. As with all of our work, we begin with facts--and if you don't have them, we'll find them.
Commercial practices simply don't port over to the public sector without addressing specific nuances. If you've already entered the market, you probably understand what we're talking about here, from differences in language (profit vs efficiency, revenue vs mission success, customer vs taxpayer, etc.) to differences in acquisition practices (mandatory competition, contract vehicles, regulatory requirements like FedRAMP, etc.).
With over 15 years working with government contractors, across product and solution lines, we can get you where you need to go with minimal drag. As with all of our work, we begin with facts--and if you don't have them, we'll find them.
Three Phases of Government Market Entry
Market Sizing & Research
GTM Strategy & Budgeting
Tactical Execution
Market Sizing & ResearchGTM Strategy & BudgetingTactical Execution
1) Market Sizing & Market Research
How do you determine where to allocate resources? We believe this begins with figuring out where the money's going in relation to the service or product you offer, then making fact-based business investments. Our analysis applies whether your company is brand new to the government market, looking to stress-test existing market coverage, or needs to find new areas of whitespace to expand the market.
- Where has the money been spent in the past? We dig deep into government contract data, spanning all agencies and covering the last 10 years, to identify the vendors, agencies, and programs that have received federal contracts.
- Uncover Trends in Contract Spend Data. Trends in spend data reveal the agencies (down to the specific offices) that are procuring relevant products and services, contractors that carry the most influence in those agencies, contracting vehicles of note, partnership opportunities, and competitive pressures, among other factors.
- Where will the money be spent in the future? Without conducting business development activities in the field, there are many signals we can look at from the comfort of our offices to determine where the money is going to go in the future. Legislative activity reveals where the spotlight will be in the coming years, indicating major programs and the key agencies that will be tasked with delivering on those programs. Executive office activity tells us where the President is placing the most heat, and federal agencies will act fast to fulfill those objectives. Agency budgets, whether published in the President's Budget or Congressional Budget Justifications, reveal discretionary dollars and key funding priorities. When combined with past spend, this forward-looking information gives the management team a well rounded picture of the market as it relates to its specific offering.
2) Government Go-to-Market Strategy & Budgeting
When you have a general idea of the market's size, you're prepared to develop plans for penetrating specific agencies, building partnerships, and running sales and marketing campaigns. But how do we balance limited resources so they can have the biggest impact on the company's revenue goals?
We'll help you define the strategies and tactics, and create an itemized budget that you can take to the C-Suite. The outcome is a marketing plan with three investment scenarios (low, medium, and high), considering your unique position in the market and existing corporate resources. We've worked with startups with no presence in the government space and large multi-billion dollar businesses that are new to the government market.
We'll help you define the strategies and tactics, and create an itemized budget that you can take to the C-Suite. The outcome is a marketing plan with three investment scenarios (low, medium, and high), considering your unique position in the market and existing corporate resources. We've worked with startups with no presence in the government space and large multi-billion dollar businesses that are new to the government market.
3) Government Marketing Tactical Execution
The next step is to leverage the marketing toolkit to generate demand by building brand recognition, crafting key messaging, and creating content. This is where we come in.
- Create and Optimize Messaging. We don't just find-and-replace keywords in your private sector collateral, we help you create brand new messaging that is entirely targeted at government audiences. This is how we cut through the noise and differentiate you from the competition. We cover messaging specific to the company's strategic narrative, products and solutions, use cases, and target agencies.
- Build Brand and Community. We help companies build communities of trust and thought leadership. These activities play a significant role in brand development because they create meaningful and long-lasting impressions of the company. When your company is seen as a credible and trusted source of information, agencies and partner firms seek you out. We help you convert customers into brand evangelists, find opportunities for execs and experts to speak on stage, and stand up low-cost, high-energy micro-events that stimulate dialogue and draw all the right attention.
- Build Campaigns. We build campaigns that span online and offline channels to bring in leads into the top of the funnel, nurture leads that are already in the funnel to get them closer to "close," and retain existing customers so they renew or increase spend. Campaigns hit federal and state & local government audiences where they are, from retargeted online ads that follow them across websites and devices to hyper-targeted LinkedIn ads, and multi-touch email nurture programs to account-based sales plays.
- Create Engaging Content. No one is reading your website or collateral. There is too much "content" out there, so how do we get people to pay attention? We create written materials that are highly relevant to specific account pursuits (white papers, blog articles), and video content that is easy to follow and quick to consume. We create content that is simple to share on social media and email, and cheap to produce.