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How Are You Going To Recession-Proof Your Govt Solutions Business?
By Kelly Yocum
Increase Strategic Marketing & Networking: Experts across the globe maintain that to ensure your business is recession proof you need to increase your PR, Marketing, and most importantly your sales strategy. Now is the time to postpone spending resources on expanding your solution offerings and focus on marketing your existing unique core capabilities. Focus on what separates you from your competition and fight strategically for your shrinking market share. Many industries such as finance, real estate, auto, manufacturing, etc. are struggling with payroll let alone new budget for new solutions. If your business survives on providing cutting-edge technology solutions, many potential sales channels are slimming so where can you invest your marketing budget to maximize your ROI?
The Thriving Government Technology Market: Fortunately, the government market is still spending money on technology to make the government as productive, energy efficient and secure as possible. Unfortunately for most businesses right now, there is little time and resources to spend on mass marketing and waiting for your message to work its way up the food chain to impact the right decision makers with who have the money to spend. So while companies should spend marketing dollars in a down economy, determining the right channels is an overwhelming decision because there is little room for risk. When personnel, budgets and sales quarters are stretched thin, mass marketing is not nearly as effective as going straight to the top. Business owners and managers need to put precious and very necessary marketing dollars into a high-impact campaign directly targeted at the most senior government executives followed by a guaranteed opportunity to meet face-to-face and talk about implementing solutions that solve their challenges.
Why Traditional Events and Tradeshows Don’t Generate ROI For Your Government Market?: Tradeshows and traditional conferences have a very long and unpredictable return on your investment with the end goal of simply getting a lead. In a business world efficiently run by email and phone, the ability to build personal relationships and face-time has been lost. The true value of any event is the in-person interaction and out-of-office environment you have with a potential customer. Most companies sponsor tradeshows in hopes of getting their message to the masses gambling on the numbers game. Unfortunately, the caliber of qualified prospects you get face-time with at events is only as good as the program you attend. Nowadays, tradeshows are jam-packed with companies hoping to sell their solutions to customers yet they end up with a hall full of competition and few prospects. Most of a traditional tradeshow’s participation consists of companies trying to find customers and the participating attendees are usually lower-level. Most executive-level buyers would not be caught dead walking into a room with a million dollar+ budget and thousands of companies fighting to sell them on solutions – most of whom don’t understand what they need. Most of the tradeshows I personally attend are not intended for me as a buyer, but rather to learn about the industry’s needs and better improve my own organization. What you must do is find an educational networking opportunity that will guarantee face-to-face strategy meetings with decision makers who have money to spend with you! Government executives want to learn about new technology solutions and education industry on what they need#8212;just not in an overwhelming tradeshow-like environment!
Government Sales Approach: Many inexperienced salespeople don’t take the time to listen and learn about the government’s needs before pushing a solution on them that doesn’t meet their unique needs. Government buyers are frustrated because they know they need solutions and that their agency receives funding based partly on score cards that rate their success of implementing these necessary solutions. What the government wants is for companies to listen to their challenges, complex unique requirements, mandates set forth by OMB, specific agency objectives and then provide a customized scalable solution. The challenge companies face unfortunately is that top government executives simply don’t have time to meet with every company that knocks on their door. Resist the urge to "sell" your solutions to these very senior government executives and simply provide the industry expert advice they are looking for—they will come to you!
Relationships—who’s-who in Government: Another unfortunate hurdle companies face is having a history and relationship with the right government contacts. Those with the DC connections get the face-time, but and just because you know who they are and can get an appointment, doesn’t mean you have the kind of relationship that gives an advantage over your competitors who can also get on their calendar. But how does the government learn about new emerging, and competitively priced solutions at competitive prices if they can’t get access or face-time with the right contacts? If you don’t have the resources for a massive government sales force to cover this much ground, its near impossible for small and medium sized businesses to get their cutting-edge solutions in front of top government executives. Find unique intimate networking events that give you out-of-office face-time with the right decision makers in government—hard to find, but not impossible!
Government Market Research: Knowing which agencies need your solutions will help you consolidate your resources and focus on selling to those that have the budget. There are very few organizations that have access to conduct needs assessment interviews with top government technology executives. There are many expensive research companies that will sell you reports that tell you what you can find for free if you simply know where to look. To buy research without the ability to meet the source can be an empty investment. Seek out quality research from senior government executives who you will have the opportunity to meet with and discuss the solutions they need. The results will be far more successful because you will be looked at as an educational thought leader who is eager to learn what senior government executives actually need and provide them the right solutions. Put your money into a strategy where you can target the agencies that need your solutions now. The government needs real-time solutions—you just need to know where to focus your efforts!
What Others Are Saying About Why You Should Spend More On Marketing In Today’s Economy: Experts such as Glen Selig, a well-known “PR Guru” talks about pumping up your PR and marketing during an economic downturn. Selig is Called a public relations guru by CNN's Nancy Grace, Glenn Selig says “the worst time to stop marketing a company is during an economic downturn”:
About GTRA: The Government Technology Research Alliance (GTRA) works with government leaders in the areas of Security, Enterprise Architecture, Green IT, Leadership, and Health IT. GTRA conducts research to identify IT challenges and uses its findings to deliver executive-level education to government agencies. Through its unique interactive format and collaborative methodology, GTRA assists government leaders with educational objectives by developing curriculum and designing a customized program around the government's unique requirements.
Kelly Yocum
Founder & Executive Director
GTRA
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