Successful government contractors understand the importance of targeted market research within the vast amount of public procurement data available. Systematically identifying, selecting and analyzing this data is crucial to focusing an organization’s business development and sales process. Potomac Health Associates, Inc. (PHA) consultants have years of experience using multiple databases and other sources of federal market data to conduct this research quickly and efficiently.
Federal Market Research
PHA offers expertise and assistance to identify, analyze and research the information necessary to make informed and strategic sales decisions about federal business opportunities. We help our clients allocate sales, marketing and business development resources to achieve the best results.
Competitive Intelligence
Who’s buying what you’re selling?
Understanding who buys your goods and/or services is the starting point for market research. It is critical to know what departments, agencies and offices buy your services. The answer may surprise you. PHA knows how to use the right databases to quickly and comprehensively answer this question.
How much do they buy?
Understanding how much customers buy is necessary to prioritize targets for sales and business development. While the largest buyers of your services may be among the most attractive initially, decisions about who to target should be made using multiple criteria beyond sales volume alone. PHA can help you interpret the data to better understand what it means to you.
How do they buy it?
Agencies buy goods and services in various ways through different sales channels, or contract vehicles. You need to understand the difference between these channels and the approaches they take in order to make informed decisions about potential leads. Different approaches include, for example: GWACs; a GSA schedule; SAM; ID/IQ; open market; full and open; 100% set-aside; partial set-aside; sole source, etc. PHA has worked with all of these contract vehicles and approaches and will help you understand the differences and implications for your business.
Who is your competition?
Market intelligence about the competition is a key component of the bid/no-bid analysis for successful federal contractors. There is a substantial body of public information about the competition to be mined from multiple federal databases. PHA consultants will show you how to leverage those databases to gather intelligence that will enhance your competitive position. PHA consultants can prepare detailed analysis of the market competition to make highly informed and strategic decisions about many of the variables to consider, such as, which agencies to pursue, or which procurement you are best positioned to capture.
Identification of Future Opportunities
What are your customers expected to buy in the future?
Most federal agencies are required to publish annual acquisition forecasts of their buying requirements. This often gives the contracting community information about specific opportunities with enough lead time to prepare in advance for a specific contract. While the information varies from one agency to the next, these forecasts are invaluable tools to build a pipeline of future opportunities. For certain contracts, it is critical to identify contract opportunities well in advance of the proposal preparation process. PHA uses all relevant agency forecasts to help clients identify specific contract opportunities and develop a corresponding capture plan.
Let PHA Improve Your Competitive Position
Whether you conduct it independently or with the assistance of PHA, market research is an absolute must to ensure successful entry and growth in federal markets. PHA’s years of experience and market insights will help you:
- Do the research
- Understand your customer
- Understand your competition
Call us today at (703) 851-1780, or schedule online a free one-hour consultation to learn more and get started.