A Decline in Trust and Confidence:
September 23, 2020
Insights Pulled from a Sneak Peek of the 2020 Federal Media & Marketing Study From the desk of Laurie Morrow, Vice President of Research Strategy, Market Connections Inc. Over the twelve years my team has conducted the Federal Media & Marketing Study, we have looked at how federal audiences are engaging with different media properties from print publications to online to newer social medias. In addition to analyzing readership, we also investigate habits, trends, levels of trust and confidence and time spent with media along with other marketing tactics year over year. With all the changes and pivots the federal market and those ... Read moreUsing Personas in Creating & Marketing Content for Your Federal IT Customer
August 20, 2020
Guest blogger: Mark Amtower, Amtower & Company Market Connections’ Federal IT (FIT) Persona Study should resonate with everyone selling IT products or services to the government. The always evolving IT landscape shortens the cycle of Moore’s Law every day, making it critical for the savvy IT product or services contractor to educate federal buyers on a regular basis. Smart federal marketers understand that to increase the likelihood of success, they need to extend this education process to a broader audience of influencers and decision-makers at target agencies. The FIT Persona Study helps marketers understand each type of persona that can participate ... Read moreFederal Marketing in a Post-COVID World: Developing a Plan of Action
August 5, 2020
From the Desk of Aaron Heffron, President Market Connections, Inc. While many of us remember fondly as a kid hearing, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus,” we all need to remember, “yes, folks, there will be a federal market after COVID.” Setting aside the debate of when the “after” is a reality, it is not too soon to start thinking about how to position your company to emerge from quarantine stronger and ready for action. You can do this by developing and implementing a marketing plan that accounts for the market realities while it hedges against market uncertainty. Here are FOUR ... Read more#1 Misconception of Doing Business With The Federal Government
July 23, 2020
Guest blogger: Kris Brinker, Ocean 5 Strategies There is no such thing as doing business with the federal government. We do business with people—government decision-makers, federal humans—who all have goals, fears, needs, priorities, and pain points. The US government continues to offer opportunities as the largest public procurement marketplace. Just a small piece of the federal pie would be a huge win. But, the hurdles and barriers government contractors need to overcome have not only changed but also become greater. The customer base for government contractors is becoming harder and harder to reach and contractors have to do more than ever to break through. New marketing techniques and technologies must ... Read moreHow Contractors Can Use Federal Personas for the Win: Part Two
June 29, 2020
Sales and BD Teams In part one of our blog series “How Contractors Can Use Federal Personas for the Win,” we shared the importance of getting internal team buy-in from leadership to marketing to sales. In addition to ways federal marketers can benefit from the use of personas, we noted the importance of collaboration between the marketing teams and the sales and BD teams to get the most out of federal personas. Federal personas can, and should, be living documents that are tweaked by newly gathered information. Sales teams can add key insights from their day-to-day frontline experience, as part of persona ... Read moreHow Contractors Can Use Federal Personas for the Win: Part One
June 25, 2020
Marketing Teams Our latest blog post “Beyond the C-level Suite” emphasized the importance of marketing to both federal IT decision-makers and influencers at agencies in different ways. Detailed personas for each federal influencer, from senior executive to procurement staff to end user can crystalize your approach and give you guidance as to the unique personal and professional challenges that can influence how and why they make decisions. In part one of this series, we’ll focus on how marketing teams can use federal personas to guide their strategy. Originating in the consumer market, personas used for B2G will differ in their area of ... Read moreFederal Personas: Beyond the C-Level Suite
May 21, 2020
The Importance of Influencer Personas for the Win How many times have you sat around a table, planning your next campaign and someone says, “We should just target CTOs, CISOs or CIOs – they make the final decision…”? We’re often faced with the same statement by public sector marketers who are looking to find out specifically what agency plans are and the likelihood their company would be short-listed for an upcoming opportunity. Are senior executives the only type of federal persona to consider for the win? One Can Say “Yes,” But Many Can Say “No” When prodded further about their marketing plans, the ... Read moreFederal IT Contractors: Your Help Made Federal Telework Possible
May 14, 2020
But There Is Still Work to Be Done Over the past 5+ years, Market Connections has surveyed and interviewed thousands of federal employees about agency challenges and needs that could be addressed through IT modernization. It is heartening to see that all the technology and work performed by federal IT contractors over the past half-decade has paid off at a critical time during which the need for federal telework has escalated. This was further confirmed in a recent article from WorkScoop, which highlighted key insights into how federal agencies were prepared for and responded to necessary telework activity during COVID-19. Thanks to ... Read moreIn Times of Need: How the Tech Industry Can Reach Educational Markets to Support
May 6, 2020
Distance learning involves so much more than making sure your child submits their homework on time. The role of technology in education has accelerated to a level many weren’t expecting for another 3-5 years, leaving some behind. Millions of students are without sufficient access to the online tools they need (Read this article from edscoop) and even the largest and wealthiest school districts are struggling to roll out the tools teachers and students need for continuity (Check out this article from WUSA9). There are significant opportunities for the technology community to step in and help. The level of technical expertise of K-12 ... Read moreTake Advantage of Increased Public Sector Social Media Usage
April 16, 2020
Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve shared how to take advantage of increased screen time among government audiences, as well as, how to effectively pivot your in-person meetings to virtual ones. Now we take a look at the pervasive online vehicle that only continues to grow in influence: social media. In addition to your own website and public sector media channels, social media is essential to reaching your target audiences. According to our latest Federal Media & Marketing Study (FMMS), on average, nearly one-third of federal employees are spending 15 minutes or more on social media. It’s no surprise the ... Read more