Earlier this summer Market Connections attended Women in Technology’s (WIT) “Decoding B2B & B2G PR & Marketing Trends” in partnership with Merritt Group. This informative discussion brought together a panel of leading marketing and PR professionals from small to large companies including Bitdefender, Hybrent, KPMG US and Microsoft to discuss challenges they face and successes they’ve had in marketing to other businesses and the public sector. According to the panelists, some of the biggest challenges include: keeping content relevant, internal broken systems (processes), speed of the industry and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and email marketing. With so many great panelist insights ...

Qualitative research is ideally suited to gain a deeper understanding of the opinions, motivations, frustrations, and priorities of your target audience. There are numerous ways to achieve this level of understanding, chiefly through focus groups and in-depth interviews (IDIs). Both methods can be highly effective at uncovering and unlocking valuable insights. Focus Groups Following a pre-determined set of questions, but with ample room to dive into previously uncharted yet relevant issues, a professional moderator encourages and manages an open discussion and the cross-pollination of ideas among the participants. While the size of the group can vary, a recommended amount typically involves 6-10 ...

Government technology influencers and buyers need content that will help them make informed decisions and often seek information from third-party experts such as professional associations and industry vendors to help educate them. Market Connections’ recent Content Marketing Review Study highlights the value of thought leadership content for government audiences in establishing your company as an expert and leader in the field. According to the study, public sector buyers of products, services and other emerging technologies prefer research reports, white papers and case studies to help them make informed decisions. To help them, this content should include detailed information such as data ...

Have you ever changed your mind? Not necessarily about something trivial like what you want for dinner, but truly changed your mind about a long-standing opinion of a person, company or issue due to a new experience, discussion or interaction? If you have, you are one of the few. However; as marketers, we ask our target audience to change deep-seated opinions with our marketing and PR efforts. Why is it so hard to change an entrenched opinion or perception? It isn’t so much about influencing that one person, but more about how much you can influence everyone around them. The Difficulty of ...

Nearly 250 years ago, the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, birthing the United States of America, a nation founded with the belief that all men are created equal, with unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Like Market Connections, our founding fathers believed gathering data was a crucial tool for measuring progress. In 1790, not long after the birth of our nation, the first census of the whole United States was taken. Here are some fun facts from that first census: Census Bureau Director: Thomas Jefferson Number of questions asked: 6 Total number of states: 13 Total population: 3.9 million Year ...

Over the past year, Market Connections’ signature studies, including the Federal Media & Marketing Study and the Content Marketing Review, have pointed to a rise in the role of professional associations with federal decision makers. These studies, along with additional surveys we have conducted in the federal market, have concluded that public sector marketers should strongly consider working with professional associations to reach federal, state and local decision makers. To further test our hypothesis, we created a PulsePoll™ specifically asking about the role of associations, with the hope that this data can not only support government contractors’ membership and engagement ...

When creating marketing content for a government buyer of products, services or emerging technologies, federal and state and local decision makers want to be educated and not sold to, according to the 2019 Content Marketing Review: Federal & Beyond. Content should help them make informed decisions and have minimal sales messages. Additionally, for state and local decision makers, consider including insight from government thought leaders to help support your message. Regardless of what you are selling, whether they’re simple products (including laptops, desktops, servers), standard IT services (cloud, cybersecurity) or complex emerging technologies (AI, automation, blockchain), respondents prefer research reports and ...

Market Connections would like to congratulate all winners of the 20th annual Women in Technology’s (WIT)  Leadership Awards. Presented on Thursday, May 9th, the awards showcase the outstanding accomplishments and contributions of female leaders in academic, entrepreneurial, government and corporate roles across the Washington, DC technology community. The 2019 winners include:  Corporate: Large-Market Sector – Toni Townes-Whitley, Microsoft Corporate: Mid-Market Sector – Padma Chitrapu, Neustar, Inc. Corporate: Small-Market Sector – Hildi Pineda, AbleVets LLC Rising Star – Allison Farris, Microsoft Small Business/Entrepreneur – Janel Merritt, DigiDoc Inc. dba Public Sector Solutions Groups STEM Leadership – Meg Layton, Symantec Corporation Unsung Hero – Mahwish Hamlani, Accenture Government – Chérie Smith, U.S. Army ...

Earlier this spring, Market Connections attended the Digital Government Institute (DGI) E-Discovery, Records and Information Management Conference and Expo to better understand the concerns surrounding mandates, requirements and solutions for the federal government and how contractors can support them. Aimed predominantly at government employees, and sponsored by top industry contractors, discussions concentrated on current technology solutions and requirements, policy updates and changes, and examples of successful electronic records and e-discovery programs. This diverse grouping of experts led to rich discourses that highlighted the distinct perspectives of the government, contractor and legal realms. One key challenge pervaded: As the volume of digital information ...

“Our company provides innovative, cutting-edge services meant to disrupt the existing paradigm through best-in class products, agile, game-changing industry leaders and a one-stop, value added portal.” If “Buzzword Bingo” were a game, this sentence would have hit all the squares on the bingo card! Writing a description of how your product, service or even your company, is different than your competitors can be difficult for B2G marketers. Commonly used words like innovative, cutting edge and next generation, have lost their impact and can ring hollow to customers. While marketers often get requests to use these words in their materials, can including these ...