MARKETING TO GOVERNMENT

Government Contracting officers serve an important role in the purchasing process. They primarily perform the following tasks:

• Assure that the contractor performs the technical requirements of the contract in accordance with the contract terms, funding, conditions, and specifications.
• Perform, or cause to be performed, inspections and require the contractor to correct all deficiencies.
• Maintain liaison and direct communications with both the contractor and the using activity.

As a businessperson, you want to develop relationships with these contracting officers. They can be valuable advocates if you experience difficulties, and they can help you ensure compliance with any specific regulations.

You will want to move past these contracting officers to identify individual card holders. Do not contact the contracting officers for a list of  Government Procurement Credit Card  holders, they will not provide them!

Chances are your organization may already be doing traditional collection of information. Here are some ideas for collecting information:

• Gather cards at trade shows or events . My number one recommendation is to attend government specific conferences such as matchmaking events and provide incentives for providing contact information. Nowhere else will you meet a roomful of actual buyers, besides in the base cafeteria! Make a note on the business card or sign-up form if the person is a purchase card holder.
• Ask existing customers for leads . If you are already doing business with an agency, ask your contact for other people in the agency that might be interested in your product.
• Contact partners for leads . Do you partner with companies that do business with the government? Ask these companies to provide you with contacts and be willing to do the same for them.
• Volunteer to speak or participate in events . Many people develop commercial networks on the golf course, but your efforts don't have to be limited to the greens. For a small sum, your business can often sponsor athletic leagues, workshops, or community events in which your customers will likely participate. Attend the events and pass out information.
• Ask the contracting officer to distribute your information . Do your research and don't ask to send information to everyone at the facility. Think about what areas would use your product, and ask the contracting officer to distribute your information in that focused area.
• Provide a form on your company web site . Encourage visitors to make an initial contact with your organization, and make sure you provide a notice that the customer is agreeing to be notified!
• Advertise in agency specific publications . Military bases often publish their own newspaper or news web site and are well read by personnel, such as the Offutt Air Pulse at Offutt AFB. Contact the contracting officer or agency web site for information on publications and how to advertise.
• Advertise in function specific publications . There are publications for many other groups such as Veterans magazine.
• Advertise in geographic specific publications . Newspapers and cable television stations often offer geographically targeted advertising, and at less cost the publishing to their entire audience. Another option is to pick specific newspapers in just that location, such as the Bellevue Leader
• Gather information when subcontracting . If you provide a service to an agency, get the contact information on customer service, sales and support calls.
• Provide methods for providing contact information on all customer materials . This includes invoices, statements, brochures, customer surveys and feedback forms.
• Provide "pass-it-on" materials . Encourage people to pass your materials to other people they think would be interested.

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ATTRACTION

Many non-marketers use the term, "Marketing," when they really mean, "Promotion." Promotional efforts include everything you do to communicate your products and services to your customers. Many companies spend considerable money and efforts with a sales orientation without focusing their efforts.

Promotion is everything you do to communicate your products and services to your customers, and includes:

• Advertising
• Electronic marketing (newsletters, pay-per-click, etc.)
• Personal selling
• Sales promotion
• Sales literature
• Public relations
• Exhibitions and more

A marketing strategy reflects the goals of your organization - it is a subset of your overall business strategy - and creates actionable goals for your product. Strategy & Identification is particularly important in government sales as you may have new advantages based on your business classification or location.

Rather than focusing solely on selling as the solution to increasing revenues, marketers look to identify attractive markets that meet their criteria for doing business, develop products for those markets, and only then focus on selling to those markets. The result is improved profitability and satisfied customers.

Areas within Strategize & Identification include (this is not a comprehensive list):

• Preliminary market screening segment size & growth, attractiveness, & business objectives.
• Market segmentation & Targeting
• Targeting Markets by Analysis of existing customers for profitability
• Customer surveying
• List development

TRADE SHOW MARKETING OF YOUR COMPANY

So how can your company be focused and effective at its next trade show? Here are some specific recommendations:

1. Set your goals in advance . It's amazing how many companies attend shows without specific goals, and yet having goals makes your team focused during the event. An essential goal should be to get contact information and form a relationship with actual decision makers/buyers. Trade show attendees are typically shopping, but not necessarily buying. Depending on what type of item you sell, you may have the opportunity for making a sale at a show, but this is often more opportunistic. Be realistic with your goals, and consider anything above that an added bonus.
2. Plan your people. Your people are going to be on their feet and talking. They will get tired, so cycle them every few hours and keep them hydrated to keep them fresh. Try to staff the booth with enough people to handle all inquiries - at least two at a time - but don't overcrowd the booth.
3. Bring appropriate people. The lingo in the government is different from nearly all other businesses. Make certain the people in your booth can communicate with the attendees in their language.
4. Generate traffic in advance of the event. Contact existing customers that might attend and let them know where your booth will be located. Many attendees plan their trade show in advance by visiting the web site. Provide information on the conference web site or your own web site on your location.
5. Make your booth available. Don't place a table between you and the attendees. Move tables off to the side and invite people in from the traffic of the corridors.
6. Offer a clear and concise visual presentation. You only have a few seconds to make an impression. Place your company name and logo prominently and state what you do quickly. If you have a GSA Schedule or handle credit card transactions, make that immediately noticeable. Action pictures may help reinforce your message and add color to your booth. Avoid clutter or overwhelming items such as lots of text on signs.
7. Be noticed, but don't distract from your message. a good example is a booth for a plumbing company, who has a faucet seemingly suspended in the air and water coming out of the spout. It's effective because it draws your attention to their booth and you know from across the hall that they deal with plumbing. The free massages, putting greens for prizes, and drawings with spinning wheels attract unwanted people. This higher traffic may cause real customers to avoid your booth.
8. Identify buyers from the rest. At five minutes per conversation, you can ideally hold 12 conversations per hour, but trade show traffic fluctuates so you must prioritize conversations. Avoid generic questions such as, "Was there something I can help you with?" Pointed, inviting questions like, "What do you do with your organization or unit?" and, "I'm glad you stopped by, was there a particular item I can help you with?" will get you to the attendees core needs quickly. Know how to quickly handle casual browsers and focus on the buyers.
9. Establish a relationship. If you ignore all else, get contact information from visitors. With the increased security limiting direct contact, this may be the only chance you have to identify the person responsible for making purchasing decisions. Offer enticements for contact information. Make a note on business cards or on a pad of paper which contacts are buyers and those that are browsers.
10. Cut back on the freebies. Offer freebies if they entice people to provide you with something of value, such as a business card or personal information. I have pens, cups, squeeze balls, hats, and a model airplane from trade shows. While I appreciate the items - I haven't bought pens in years - they don't encourage me to do business with companies.
11. Limit the amount of information you provide AT the show. I've left trade shows with bags stuffed with product materials. I rarely go through those materials again unless I already had an interest in the firm, and usually discard the rest. Rather than give out brochures to every attendee that walks by your booth, get contact information and send follow-up letters with product information and brochures after the show. It's another point of contact, and the person will have more time to peruse your information.
12. Follow up. Have a plan for sending information and calling after the show, and keep following up throughout the year. With the heightened security, be sure to ask the attendee the best way to contact them. There may be restrictions or bottlenecks with some types of communication, but they'll know the regulations and the best way to contact them.