Marketing Tips for End of Year Spending

As we approach the end of the fiscal year, the discussion turns toward agency end-of-year spending. Should federal marketers and sales assume selling for the year is done and look toward 2021, or should they implement a final surge campaign with the hopes of capturing any last-minute spending from unspent budgets? According to Lou Anne…Read More

Using Personas in Creating & Marketing Content for Your Federal IT Customer

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…Read More

Federal Marketing in a Post-COVID World: Developing a Plan of Action

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…Read More

#1 Misconception of Doing Business With The Federal Government

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…Read More

Refining the Federal IT Persona

Guest Blogger: Chris Parente, StoryTech Consulting If you want to successfully market a product or service, you need to understand everything you can about who your targeted decision-makers are and what they care about. A way to increase your understanding is the development of marketing personas. Per Wikipedia, “a persona in user-design and marketing is…Read More

How Contractors Can Use Federal Personas for the Win: Part Two

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…Read More

How Contractors Can Use Federal Personas for the Win: Part One

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…Read More

Federal Personas: Beyond the C-Level Suite

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…Read More

Federal IT Contractors: Your Help Made Federal Telework Possible

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…Read More

In Times of Need: How the Tech Industry Can Reach Educational Markets to Support

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)…Read More