The General Services Administration recently awarded the long awaited Networx Universal contract – one of the largest technology contracts in quite some time – to three of the four bidders. However, as is the case with other multi-award contracts, Networx Universal is really nothing more than a hunting license for the winners.

In fact, because it comes with no specific promise of business, winners Qwest, AT&T and Verizon will have to continually refine their sales and marketing strategies in order to maximize their wins and income from the contract. As such, marketing within a contract becomes just as important as the strategic campaigns and sales pitches that contractors target to the general market as a whole.

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:

How aware are potential buyers of both our company and the breadth and depth of our offerings?

How do potential buyers perceive both our company and our competitors on the contract in terms of strengths and weaknesses?

What are the most important features and benefits that buyers are seeking? How do those vary by agency and/or department?

Do potential buyers have needs relevant to the contract that are not currently met by our offerings – or those of one or more competitors?

What are buyers’ true pain points and decision-making factors, such as location, fast turn-around, flexibility, innovativeness, history, backgrounds of team members, and more?

What magazines, radio stations, portals, blogs, conferences, and such are important to potential buyers?

Market Connections typically recommends in-depth telephone interviews for this type of contract-specific research. This qualitative approach reveals both the rationally-based needs and requirements as well as the emotionally-based perceptions, attitudes and beliefs of potential buyers. With such insights in hand, contractors can develop tailored “playbooks” or sales strategies for each relevant agency or department. Equally important, they can develop marketing messages and materials that will more effectively resonate with the target audience.

As you can well imagine, gaining the market intelligence necessary to solidify your position as the provider of choice on a contract is well worth the investment.

To Top

You’ve likely heard research professionals use the term “statistical significance” when talking about market study findings. Unfortunately, some researchers don’t clearly define the term for their clients and, as a result, inadvertently mislead them.

While “significant” in normal conversation means “important”, in the world of statistics it means “probably true” rather than due to chance. It conveys how likely it is that a relationship between two data points under study really exists. Additionally, the higher the level of significance, the more likely it is that the statistic is reliable. Equally notable, when researching a large sample size, very small differences will surface as significant.

However, just because a research finding is statistically significant does not at all mean that it’s necessarily important. For example, a study may reveal a significant decrease in the decision-making influence of tradeshows on the target audience. However, despite this decline, tradeshows remain the single most important source of information for the target audience, and tradeshow attendance rates have remained steady. If a large percentage of the company’s revenue is produced from leads generated at these tradeshows, the finding is really not important enough to merit a dramatic shift in strategy.

The most commonly accepted level of significance is 95%, meaning that the finding has a 95% likelihood of being true. This level is widely accepted among research and statistics professionals as an industry and academic standard. Depending on the sample size, industry, and type of research being conducted, some researchers are comfortable going as low as a 90% significance level.

So, the next time your research firm conducts a study for you, expect them to identify and present statistically significant data. But, don’t assume all of that data is important to the overall research project goals or to your company’s business intelligence. Rather, plan on assessing the true importance of significant findings within the context of your business objectives and strategies. And, if your research firm is a true partner, they’ll be more than happy to help with that assessment.

To Top