Unlocking Success in Government Marketing
Whether you are a seasoned player in the GovCon space or a newcomer, understanding the nuances of government marketing is essential for growth and scaling. Hundreds of billions of dollars in opportunities exist, but competition can be fierce and unseating incumbents difficult.
Each fiscal year, federal contract spending typically ranges between $700 billion and $1 trillion+, distributed across defense, infrastructure, professional services, technology, construction, healthcare, and more. The largest opportunities remain in defense, infrastructure modernization, and professional services.
In this article, we are sharing B2G marketing best practices recommended by government marketing agencies to help you win more of that budget.
Why Government Marketing Matters
Government contractors operate within a distinct ecosystem very different from B2B markets. Their products and services impact critical functions across defense, infrastructure, healthcare, and technology. Tailored government marketing strategies allow your services and solutions to resonate with agency needs and mission alignment while emphasizing reliability and security.
Effective business-to-government (B2G) marketing helps your company stand out from the competition and prove that you are the most valuable choice. Messaging is at the core of your branding. To increase brand visibility, you must clearly and succinctly articulate your value. A well-crafted targeted message will help you get the attention of your target decision-makers and influencers. Don’t forget that scaling a B2G company relies on attracting teaming partners and recruiting and retaining top talent, not just impressing government decision-makers. This article focuses on the agencies.
Federal buyers also increasingly rely on AI-powered search and answer tools, like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews, alongside traditional research methods. That means your messaging and content need to be understandable not just to the humans evaluating your company, but to the AI systems they’re using to find and vet you.
Read About
Before You Market — Getting Started
• Register and Certify Your Business
• Conduct Research to Identify Contracting Opportunities
Government Marketing Best Practices
• Create Clear and Succinct Messaging
• User-Friendly Website Design
• AI & Search Discoverability (SEO/AEO/GEO)
• Build Brand Trust and Credibility
• Government Marketing with Ocean 5 Strategies
Government agencies work with people and organizations they know, like, and trust. A consistent marketing presence helps build your credibility and build brand trust. When agencies can connect your brand with quality and performance, you have more conversations and win more contracts. Companies trying to grow and scale often consider partnering with a government marketing agency to help navigate the complexities of marketing to the federal government. Startups and young companies most often need to rely on a bootstrap budget and more DIY.
Before You Market — Getting Started
Register and Certify Your Business
Are you new to federal contracting? Perhaps you have a well-established B2B business and are seeking government contracts for the first time. Or you might be a brand-new business just getting started. Before you can start selling to the federal government, you will first need to lay some groundwork. Government agencies can’t even consider your business for a contract if you miss this step, and you will want to reference these in your government marketing.
- NAICS Codes
Determine NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) codes appropriate to your business. These codes are used by agencies to conduct market research, locate viable small businesses for contract opportunities, and determine size standards. Note: You can select multiple NAICS codes that align with your business, but you only need one to register with SAM. - SAM and UEI Code
Register with the System for Award Management (SAM). You will be assigned a 12-character alphanumeric Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) when you register for SAM. You will need this number to do business with the federal government or receive federal funding. Note: The UEI has replaced the DUNS number as the federal government’s authorized identifier. - PSC (Product and Service Codes)
These help describe the “What” of your products and services, while NAICS codes describe the “How” your products and services will be used. Contracting Officers use PSC to make market research decisions such as small business set-asides. - Set-aside Certifications
Set-aside contracts must be given to small businesses registered with SAM—most to businesses with socio-economic certification.
Conduct Research to Identify Contracting Opportunities
- Use SAM to find active contract opportunities. All agencies must publish upcoming contracting opportunities, so explore agency forecasts using NAICS codes.
- Federal government tools like SAM Databank and USA Spending.gov will show which agencies and departments are buying your products and services.
- Determine if your company qualifies as a small business and is eligible for set-aside contracts. Size standards depend on the industry and can vary widely. These can be golden opportunities.
According to the SBA, for federal fiscal year 2025, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) automatically designates every federal government purchase between $10,000 and $250,000 for small businesses, provided at least two companies can offer the product or service at a fair and reasonable price.
Here are some set-asides and special interest groups you may be eligible for:
- Small Business
- Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB)
- Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB)
- Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB)
- Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Small Businesses
And don’t forget to research your competition!
Government Marketing Best Practices
One of the biggest challenges facing your government contracting company is crafting the right messaging to define your brand, differentiate your business, appeal to your various target personas, and communicate your value proposition. Getting your messaging on point is critical and will be disseminated internally, used during your government contracting website design and development, and reflected in your sales and marketing materials and proposals.
Create Clear and Succinct Messaging
Federal buyers want to know:
- You understand their problem
- How your solution solves their problem
- How your solution is different and better than your competitors
- Your solution will eliminate or minimize risk
Download the 6 Messaging Must-Haves To Close More Deals.
Your government marketing strategy content plan should include messaging that explains to your target audience who you are, what you do, and why you do it. It should differentiate you from the competition by aligning your solutions to the agency’s problems.
Your messaging is at the core of your brand. Messaging consistency builds brand trust. Inconsistent messaging can create confusion and doubt.
Ensure the messaging used in your correspondence — proposals, marketing emails, social selling, pitch decks — is the same as on your website pages, blog articles, white papers, and educational materials. Verbal conversations should reiterate your brand message.
Partnering with a B2G marketing agency can help you craft your messaging and address these concerns clearly and succinctly. This is your opportunity to explain how your solution is the ideal solution and how it fits in with the agency’s mission.
Considering working with a government marketing agency to conduct a messaging strategy workshop? Reach out to speak with one of our messaging experts.
User-Friendly Website Design
Your B2G marketing strategy needs to include a review of your digital footprint. Your digital presence could be the difference between winning or losing a contract.
82% of Federal decision-makers rated corporate websites as their top-rated sources for research.
You can do it yourself or hire a government marketing agency to conduct an in-depth analysis of your website — evaluating navigation and page design to ensure a logical layout and easy access to information.
To ensure user-friendliness and a positive user experience (UX), a government marketing agency will also check for consistency across all your devices — desktop, mobile, and tablets and test your website’s load time.
Make sure you have a government-specific page with easy access to your codes, capabilities, contract vehicles, and points of contact.
Decision-makers are busy and under pressure. They have tight schedules to deliver research and will quickly jump to the next website (your competitor) if they can’t find the information they need quickly.
Google ranks websites based on UX and has adopted a mobile-first policy — ranking them by their mobile version rather than their desktop version. They also check for security concerns — such as malware and SSL certificates. If you fail either of these, it could trigger a warning to appear on your website. Not what you want your GovCon visitors to see.
Learn how your website design is unlocking (or blocking) your growth
AI & Search Discoverability (SEO/AEO/GEO)
Being easy to find is no longer just about ranking on Google. Federal buyers, teaming partners, and prospective hires are increasingly turning to AI-powered search and answer tools, like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews, as part of their research process. Traditional Search Engine Optimization (SEO) still matters, but two new disciplines matter as well:
- Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) – structuring your content so AI tools can pull clear, accurate answers from it
- Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) – optimizing your content so generative AI tools are more likely to reference and cite your company when summarizing a topic.
A government-specific page with codes, capabilities, and points of contact doesn’t just help human visitors; it gives AI tools well-organized, factual content to draw from when a federal buyer asks an AI tool a question about vendors in your space. For a deeper look at the difference between these two disciplines, see AEO vs GEO: What Content and Digital Marketers Need to Know.
Build Brand Trust and Credibility
As we stated before, government buyers buy from people and companies they know, like, and trust. Their goal when choosing a vendor is to recommend a partner who will help them support their agency’s mission, meet deadlines, and minimize risk.
You help build credibility and mitigate risk concerns by highlighting your past successes with other agencies and clients. A government marketing agency can help craft validation content such as case studies, white papers, and capability statements.
Hiring a government marketing agency that specializes in B2G marketing strategies can help establish you as a subject matter expert in your field. They can help you create thought-leadership content and develop white papers and case studies you can use for your website, pitch decks, and social selling opportunities on LinkedIn to set you apart from the competition.
According to the Market Connections 2023 ‘Marketing to the Public Sector (M4PS) Report’, case studies are one of the 3 most important forms of marketing content during all three key stages of the Federal buying process—early research, determining solutions and specifications, and choosing vendors.
Don’t forget to include relevant certifications and accreditations on your website.
Well-organized, factual content like this is exactly what AEO and GEO reward: clear, citable information is easier for both federal buyers and AI tools to trust and reference.
Scaling for Success
We are all passionate about what we do and want to succeed at it. Selling to the federal government can be a challenge if you don’t have past performance experience. To increase your chances of winning
- Register and certify your business with the right entities
- Select the best NAICS codes and PSCs for your business
- Use the tools the government provides to look for opportunities
- Create outstanding messaging and apply it to all communications
- Develop a marketing strategy including a 12-month plan
- Improve the messaging, design, navigation, and UX on your website
- Optimize your content for search engines and AI tools alike (SEO/AEO/GEO)
- Develop content government decision-makers and influencers are looking for
- Create a strategy for social selling
Scaling companies with a growth imperative generally consider working with a government marketing agency that specializes in B2G marketing. Their expertise in B2G brand awareness, brand messaging, and brand trust is invaluable for getting in front of the right audience, supporting business development, and helping you grow your business.
Government Marketing with Ocean 5 Strategies
Ocean 5 specializes in government marketing. We offer branding, messaging, and marketing workshops for growth-focused strategies to help companies grow and scale. For help with your B2G marketing strategy, messaging, website design and development, content, and other marketing tactics tied together with a cohesive strategy, contact the experts at Ocean 5 Strategies today.
