In
this issue: We're Now on the GSA Schedule!
 Market Connections has been awarded a General Services Administration (GSA) contract. As of October 1, we’ll be on the GSA AIMS schedule under SIN 541-4A – Market Research & Analysis Services. We look forward to providing our deep government market expertise and full-service research services to federal agencies.  Taking the Guesswork out of Messaging
Effectively marketing products or services can sometimes be tricky.
 Certainly, it starts with a smart positioning statement that will drive the development of the most compelling message to be used in sales and marketing efforts. But, even a slight change in the message phrasing, emphasis, or even alignment with the company’s brand can make a big difference in how customers and prospects perceive the product or service. Research can reveal if the market understands your product or service and if the messaging is effective. For example, one of Market Connections’ clients launched a completely new service to its traditional core audience about a year ago. After sales for the service languished, they came to us to learn why. It was indeed perplexing, as our client and its closest two competitors are the top market leaders in terms of their traditional service offerings. 
Research Firms Value Prior Studies
 A research firm must gain a thorough understanding of the client’s situation before developing and executing an effective market study. Clients who are experienced in research know the importance of providing as much background information as possible to their research provider. However, as they’re conducting input meetings and forwarding brochures and other documents, they often neglect to gather and share results of prior relevant studies and analyses the organization has conducted. Market Connections recommends that clients share relevant findings from previous qualitative, quantitative, and secondary research and analyses conducted by other research companies and by in-house resources. Typically, this requires that our points of contact query others in the organization to learn if they have such research results or relevant data to share. However, it’s worth the effort, as findings from prior relevant studies and internal analyses help enable us to:
| 
|
