A multi-award contract comes with no specific promise of business. So winners have to continually refine their strategies in order to maximize their wins and income from the contract.  As such, marketing within a contract becomes just as important as the original sales pitch.

Building the specific sales and marketing savvy needed to maximize contract income requires an explicit understanding of the perceptions and needs of those who have the ability to purchase off the contract.  To that end, many government contractors turn to market research to help answer questions critical to contract success, including: Read the rest of this entry »

Thank you to everyone who attended the April 8th Government Marketing Forum event; and a special thanks to all of you who offered feedback through our post-event online evaluation.  I am sure you will agree that our distinguished panelists offered great insight into Successful Marketing: Resonating with the Government Buyer.

It was an engaging discussion filled with humorous anecdotes about what works and what doesn’t when marketing to the government.  The room was packed before and after the program, with a great buzz of networking, which I know I found quite beneficial. This is not the end – only a start to a string of GMF events.  So, be on the lookout for future announcements.

Your organization can increase its chances of growth and success in government markets by answering six key questions.  In some cases, conducting market research will enable you to answer them much more accurately and thoroughly. 

1. Who will influence the purchase of my product or service?
2. Why will they buy my product?
3. Where will they buy my product or service?
4. When do they buy?
5. How satisfied are they after they buy?
6. What will they buy next year?

Read the rest of this entry »

Even some of the most seasoned and savvy business professionals haven’t had the opportunity in their careers to drive or even be involved in primary research programs.  That’s certainly nothing to be embarrassed about.  In fact, in many cases, these professionals are inexperienced with research because they’ve worked in organizations where the most senior members of management aren’t accustomed to making research investments and, therefore, don’t understand or appreciate the potential return. 

But, as markets get increasingly competitive and complex, research can no longer be viewed as a luxury.  Indeed, many of these executives and organizations are in dire need of richer business intelligence that can help them avoid risky mistakes and fuel continued success.

When Market Connections talks with potential clients who haven’t yet conducted true market research, we often hear the following questions: Read the rest of this entry »

As it becomes more and more difficult to generate acceptable participation rates with online surveys and focus groups, panels are gaining widespread popularity. Online panels are pre-screened and selected communities of people that have applied to take surveys on an ongoing basis in return for some form of compensation.

Many large companies, such as Microsoft and Disney, build and maintain their own custom online panels of pre-qualified research participants. Other companies and private research firms turn to vendors that market online panels. Some offer access to consumer panels, while others offer B2B panels for targeting professionals, including CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, managers, directors, and other business decision makers.

Accessing your online research audience via pre-selected panels offers some significant advantages. Read the rest of this entry »

How often do representatives from your organization’s key business functions convene to talk about what they do and don’t know about the market, customers, key prospects, competitors, product or service performance, and other critical business issues?

Market research projects create a reason – a platform – for doing just that. The most successful clients we’ve worked with pull in a cross-section of company representatives from the outset of the project. And, frankly, it’s sometimes astounding to witness how unconnected the dots are around some very key issues.

One research project can’t address every data gap in an organization, but it can deliver insights that can impact more than just one area of operations. This collaborative approach can result in quick and easy fixes or brewing problems that the whole group didn’t previously know even existed.

Make sure that you engage your research provider upfront, so they can design a research program that meets multi-purpose objectives that can impact numerous operational areas. A strong research partner can also help structure and focus your internal collaborative sessions to maximize their outcomes.

Taking a holistic approach to market research may take more work and more time, but will enable broader performance improvements. This translates into a better ROI and an extra pat on the back for you.

Don’t miss the Government Marketing Forum’s upcoming panel: “Successful Marketing  — Resonating with the Government Buyer.”

Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Tower Club, Vienna, VA
4:30pm - 7:30pm

Lisa Dezzutti will lead the panel where you’ll hear directly from government IT decision-makers including:

• Linda Cureton, CIO, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
• Jonathan Alboum, Deputy CIO, Department of Agriculture
• Ed Meagher, Deputy CIO, Department of Interior

For more details and to register visit:  http://www.fbcinc.com/gmf/.

Are you in charge of business development at an IT-related company? 

If you answered yes, you don’t want to miss our 2 new research briefs (available for each of 11 different federal agencies).  One reports on most-valued vendor attributes, and the other reveals the most popular sources of IT information. 

Here are just a few of the ways our briefs can help to improve your relevance and effectiveness with specific targeted agencies:

• Prepare BD and sales staffs
• Align with the right partners
• Segment messaging by agency
• Prioritize media outlets
• Improve show decisions

Read the rest of this entry »

If you think you’re in need of some more current business intelligence, you’re probably right.  But, market research = a serious commitment.  So, before heading down that path, ask yourself these questions to ensure you’ll get a reasonable ROI. 

Is a decent amount of the required information already available?  You may discover that some of the information you need is already accessible for a fraction of the cost of conducting primary research. So make sure to explore secondary sources such as trade pubs, internal customer databases, government documents, syndicated studies, and so forth. From there, you can assess if primary research is needed to fill in any gaps.

Can we afford to conduct research the right way?  The right methodology and sample size are critical to getting reliable data, If you don’t have the budget, it may be smarter to wait on research until it can be properly funded.  Cutting corners could lead to invalid results which could send you down the wrong path.  Your research partner can help you price an appropriate study based on your research objectives and advise on whether it can be scaled down to fit a pre-determined budget.

Is management willing to act on the results? Change is hard.  Especially if it requires substantial investments of time and money or if it takes a person too far out of their comfort zone.  Seek out the scope of improvements your management will support beforehand. This feedback could influence how the survey is scripted or even if it makes sense to conduct the research at all.

Is it even possible to act on the results?  Most of the time, this issue relates more to specific research questions rather than whether or not a study should be conducted at all.  For example, why ask customers about their preferences on your office location if you have a 15-year lease that you can’t break? 

Be realistic when assessing these issues.  And, seek the input of a research partner to do a reality check on whether conducting the research you have in mind makes sense or not.

Just because you can’t afford to spend what you should on market research doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do any at all. Amidst the inherent chaos known as the annual budgeting process, make sure to give very careful consideration to areas in which your organization will need new or deeper market intelligence to effectively deliver on objectives and spend those budgets wisely.

Of course, the trick is balancing the need for market research with the pressure to do more – and to do it faster and with less.  What’s our advice for overcoming that dilemma?  Push back.  Take a stand.  Show how the lack of business intelligence has led and will lead to uninformed decisions that, in the end, will cost more time and money than the upfront research investment.

It’s estimated that 25-50% of marketing campaigns fail. The vast majority of new products struggle to survive. And many organizations can’t seem to get ahead in the game because customers are defecting for reasons yet to be identified and corrected.

Market leaders understand the value of market research as an investment in uncovering market opportunities, mitigating risk, and measuring performance.  They include it as a standard budget line item – an absolute given - to develop meaningful campaigns that resonate with the target audience, To introduce new products and services that the market actually needs and wants. To build loyalty and retain customers. And ultimately, to move the needle.

So, how much should you budget for market research – and how do you protect it from those holding the ax?  That depends.  Click here for some initial guidance. Then let us help you develop a realistic research budget and approach to meet your research objectives. We can also share tips on how to convince others why this is a decision your organization can’t afford NOT to make.