Tuesday, August 26th, 2008
Not too long ago, John and I had the opportunity to go to the Tower Club and spend a few hours participating in Mark Amtower’s Government Marketing Best Practices seminar. If you ever get the chance to go to one of his seminars, I highly recommend it. Not only is he full of useful information, but he is also a highly engaging speaker.
Without giving away all of his secrets, here are a few take-aways from the seminar:
- Know your target market: What do they read, what events do they attend, and what organizations do they belong to? These are the areas in which you should focus your efforts.
- Build a solid foundation of supporters first: It’s better to have a loyal contingent in one agency than a mere smattering of followers in several agencies. Build a strong foundation in one agency or department before branching out.
- Nurture your network: People in the government space switch jobs often, so keep track of your loyal customers, reach out to them often, and they may just bring your business with them next time they make a move.
- If you host an event, feed people: You may host a brilliant event, but if you don’t feed your attendees, they will like the event a lot less than if there had been donuts. (Mr. Amtower does tend to follow his own advice, so you can expect some goodies if you attend an event of his.)
For more information about Mark Amtower, his publications, and events visit www.federaldirect.net.
1 Comment 
Posted by Molly Huie in Events, Government 
Monday, August 18th, 2008
Thank you to everyone who joined us in July for our webinar, “How to Create a Competitive Advantage Using Market Research”. We hope you found it very informative. During the broadcast, we welcomed questions from listeners, but because of time were unable to answer all of them. Below are two viewer questions about research that we’d like to take a few moments to answer now.
Q: How can one calculate the cost versus benefit of market research?
A: This question relates squarely to your objectives.
How much are you investing to bring that product to market?
How much are you spending on the marketing campaign you plan to implement over the course of the next 12-18 months?
Consider these factors and then set a portion of that budget for research.
A companion issue to the above is not only to conducting the research, but also to paying attention to the results. For example, one client ignored the results of a study we conducted that showed several flaws in the product they were planning to launch. They launched it anyway, and unfortunately, that company went out of business months later. Consequently, it’s not simply a matter of budgeting for research, but of understanding that the research may reveal issues that must be resolved prior to launching the product or service. This means that resources and flexibility in the launch schedule should be built into the larger marketing plan.
Q: How do you get hard to reach public sector customers to participate in research studies? What methodology is best for reaching these customers?
A: The public sector is a tough audience in general, but it’s an audience we specialize in, with 80-90% of our studies targeting this sector. Market Connections has worked hard to build a reputation of honesty and integrity, and our vast experience has made ours a name public sector respondents can trust.
Our experience has shown that telephone surveys are more effective with this audience than online. This is the case for a few reasons. Mainly, we’ve seen online results drop dramatically since 9/11, and especially in the past few years. Public sector employees are inundated these days with email, and also have a number of filters on their PCs that may further hamper messages getting through to them. Another issue is that with online research, you cannot control who is responding to your survey. For these reasons, we recommend an online methodology only for specialized studies in specific cases.
Through experience, Market Connections has learned that to reach public sector employees requires persistence. It is often the case that the first person contacted is not the one we need to speak to. Also, it’s important to use interviewers trained not only in eliciting responses during the interview, but also in the right outreach techniques, and who are capable of the special handling public sector respondents need.
Did you miss the webinar’s original broadcast? Watch it online NOW!
No Comments Posted by Dave Glantz in Government, Market Research
Friday, August 8th, 2008
In today’s world, many professionals rely on emailââ?¬â?a quick and convenient communication toolââ?¬â?as their chief form of communication. Personally speaking, I use email daily to keep in touch with almost all my clients and vendors. With so many messages going outââ?¬â?sometimes as many as a hundred a dayââ?¬â?it is important to always keep in mind the proper etiquette for business emails.
Here are a few tips and tricks we at Market Connections use to send effective emails with a positive impact:
1. Re-read your message before sending it. Just step back and take a moment to consider your wording, and who the message is going to prior to clicking send.
2. Still not sure about sending? Ask a colleague for their thoughts. If you are still unsure about the impact of your message, get a trusted colleague to critique the message for you. A few moments of help up-front may save a lot of time spent apologizing after the message is gone.
3. Can you reach out to the person more effectively in person or over the phone? Face-to-face and over the phone communications can be more timely, more personal, and much more effective than back-and-forth emails.
4. Stop and reconsider all forwards. Jokes and cute stories may be amusing fare for friends and family, but keep your business contacts strictly business.
Want more tips and tricks to send great emails? Check out Send: The Essential Guide to Email for the Office and Home, a book dedicated to making emailing easier, written by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe.
We want to hear from you! How important is email in your daily life? What tips do you have for improving email communications? Leave a comment to let us know!
2 Comments Posted by Karen Quesenberry in Current Trends
Thursday, August 7th, 2008
Don’t miss your chance to join our friend Mark Amtower at the Tower Club next Tuesday morning for an entirely new presentation highlighting what works and what doesn’t work when marketing to the government, including current hot topics such as Traditional vs. Web 2.0 Marketing Tactics. This is the BEST event for product vendors targeting the federal government, so don’t miss your chance to attend!
Where: Tower Club, Vienna, 17th floor
When: Tuesday, August 12
Time: 7:30 AM- 11:00 AM, Continental breakfast included
Investment: $195, including a workbook and TWO special bonus CDs
Click here to sign up for Mark Amtower’s Government Marketing Best Practices 2008!
No Comments Posted by Molly Huie in Events
