There is no larger market in the world than the government market in the United States. The federal government alone is huge, representing almost 10% of the economy. When you add the other 86,000 governments in the U.S., it tallies to 25% of the gross domestic product.

As you can imagine, competition is fierce. For this article, I will tackle the IT arena in government. This does not infer that the same tactics will not work elsewhere. These tactics work across any product or service offering.

The vast majority of government IT contract dollars are driven through major contracts and the General Services AdministrationSchedule. About 25 major companies vie for the majority of the large government-wide contracts. Other companies bid as well, but the larger contracts ($1 billion and up) generally go to larger, more experienced players. But there are also many subcontractors on each of these contractual vehicles.

Getting the attention of key people in these companies and their counterparts in government is a constant barrier for smaller companies and manufacturers. How does a company differentiate itself in a market this crowded? It is important to keep in mind that it’s incumbent upon those wishing to become sub-contractors that they have to influence both the prime contractor and the appropriate audience inside of government. To get on the contract “”team”, the smaller company has to convince the government officials that the component they bring to the table is important, if not critical.

Leveling the playing field

One great thing about white papers is their ability to level the playing field: you do not have to be a Goliath to be a thought leader. Indeed, if Goliath claims too many areas of expertise, he is much less believable. Most of us in the “David” category are only going to claim one or two areas of expertise, and if we offer a good-to-great white paper, credibility can occur.

In the quarter-century I have been in this market white papers have played a quiet, but consistent role. While not sexy (ads can wins awards, trade shows can have long booth lines), white papers remain an effective way for the vendor to develop a position paper that deals with a specific problem. Further, it allows those truly interested in this problem area to identify themselves to the vendor.

Where do you place white papers so they’re easily found by the largest pool of qualified prospects?

In the government IT market, the best place is the trade publications that serve the market. Federal Computer Week (FCW) and Government Computer News (GCN) both have sections on their respective home pages (GCN has Marketplace and FCW has the Sponsor Showcase) where white papers are available on a variety of topics germane to the government. For example, network storage, identity management, automating the Federal Information Security Management Act are recent topics from both sites. There may be a cost to place the white papers in these sections, and there will be a pay-per-click fee as well. The fees on the pay-per-click may seem expensive, but compared to traditional lead generation methods, they are not. These leads are worth the cost.

Some companies have used email to attract key influencers, but the spam filters are very tight at all government web sites. If you want to use email, sponsor an e-newsletter which already has the readers you are looking for. Again, the best source for these is usually the publications. Each has multiple e-newsletters going out to more targeted audiences.

Case Example:

Juniper Networks faces stiff opposition in the form of their large competitor, Cisco Systems. Cisco is much larger and can out-spend Juniper by a factor of ten. Part of Juniper’s differentiation strategy is a series of white papers on topics of interest to the network managers who use the products each company offers. The white papers are offered under four generic headings: “Application Acceleration” (a good heading because it implies Juniper is faster), “Infrastructure,” “Security” and “Government.” Notice that government is separate. The white papers offered under this heading address the topic using government-friendly vernacular. This is intentional because all people in government think their needs are unique and different.

When you click on “Government,” there are currently seven white papers addressing the same basic topic you can find in the other categories, but with a definite government-twist. Juniper uses the acronyms from the respective government programs in the titles of the white papers so the target audience sees that Juniper “gets” the concept that government needs are different.

The use of white papers is a key part of Juniper’s strategy for differentiating itself from its competitors. Juniper’s growth over the past few years is proof that this strategy works.

Caveat: Resist the temptation to sell your company in the white paper. A good white paper has already positioned you as a leader in your category. A white paper with a strong sales message takes away that credibility.

About the Author: Mark Amtower is the founder of - www.FederalDirect.net and a leading business-to-government marketing tactician. His book, Government Marketing - Best Practices, is widely used in the government market.

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