5 Essential Marketing Strategies for government contracting

It is not enough to register in SAM.gov and hope someone knocks on your door.

It is harder than ever to attract federal buyers in this new federal administration. 

Whether you are looking for the easiest government contracts to win or larger more complex opportunities, your marketing is essential.

You need to be more responsive and proactive to demonstrate that you are the partner they need.

The Top 5 Places Federal Buyers Look for Vendors

1. In-house Department Database: lists of previous vendors they've worked with

2. Agency Internal Registries: Agency specific databases where vendors have registered in advance

3. DSBS: SBA's Dynamic Small Business Search database containing the profiles of hundreds of thousands of small businesses

4. General Referrals from colleagues or previous vendors

5. Google

5 Marketing Strategies to Be Sure Your Company "Gets Found"

1. DSBS
   • Compare your profile to similar sized companies in your niche.
   • Use the filters to search for companies in your area of expertise – starting with keywords Does your company appear in the results? Why or why not?
   • Does the link your Capability Statement on DSBS function or error out?
   • Did you maximize the word count available in the Capability Narrative, Special Equipment / Materials and Keyword fields?
   • Does your profile list your past performance so buyers can see you have business experience? (Many 8(a) companies forget to complete this part – even tho they have solid experience and qualifications.)
   • Compare yourself with companies in your space. Do they use different keywords? Is your competitor's profile more complete? Do they use different NAICS codes?
2. GovCon in a Box
   • Use filters to search for companies in your area of expertise, region or tag. This database lets you search for companies with previous experience or past performance.
   • Reverse engineer the process by searching your competition
   • Review the Federal Visibility Score for your company. What elements you are missing? This score is a reflection of your small business profile in DSBS, SAM.gov and FPDS.
   • Do you use enough of the right keywords in your capability narratives and profile?
   • Use the AI NAICS code generator and AI Keyword generator tools to fill the gaps.
3. Capability Statement
   • Is your Capability Statement updated with direct contact information, recent awards and targeted keywords specific to your niche?
   • Do you include metadata in the document properties so that it rises in the results?
   • Is your current Capability Statement featured on your LinkedIn company page and in the experience section of your employee LinkedIn profiles?
4. Company Website
   • Does your website have a dedicated page for government contracting?
   • Do you use an easy to access URL like www-MyCompanycom/government ?
   • Do you use the same consistent narrative on your website, DSBS and Capability Statement?
   • Is it clear how your company supports government efficiency?
   • Is your CapStatement easily accessible on your website and SEO searchable?
5. RFI / RFP Opportunity Browser
   
   • GovCon in a Box features a free AI powered Opportunity Browser Search for opportunities in your niche that your company might be qualified for
   • Look closely at the descriptions for keywords that you might have missed in your own company narratives.
6. Peer Review
   Marketing is the key to revenue and business success. Don't leave it to chance.Reach out to industry peers and colleagues and get some feedback. This is also a great way to start conversations and also to offer reciprocity.
You may be an expert in your field but you need to have fresh, objective eyes looking at your marketing assets to guarantee that you are presenting yourself in a way that attract the right attention.

The federal government buys from the best company they find, not necessarily the best company for the job.

The typical federal buyer may be tasked to find qualified candidates for any number of contract opportunities at the same time. They are pressed for time and initially just looking for a preliminary group of generally qualified vendors. Our job is to be everywhere the government buyer is looking with a seamless consistent message to get their attention.

You need to be everywhere the government is looking to ensure buyers can find and evaluate your company.

Invisible companies don't win government contracts.