How Inbound Marketing Can Arm Defense Contractors For Diversification

Posted: 21st May 2013 by douglasburdett in Business Development, Inbound Marketing, Trends
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
0

With inbound marketing, defense contractors can cost-effectively attract the attention and interest of the right prospects in commercial markets, and nurture those relationships toward profitable contracts.

Defense Contractor Inbound Marketing

Photo: U.S. Navy

A few days ago I ran into a friend who is an executive at a defense contractor. We got to talking about the thin margins in some of his company’s shrinking Pentagon contracts. That’s when the subject of diversification came up.

His company has a few federal contracts beyond the Pentagon, but he’s been urging his management to diversify more into the commercial sector. His company has had some private sector contracts, but for the most part they were projects squeezed in between military contracts back when defense budgets were growing. My friend would like to see his company develop more commercial business.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Most Popular Defense Contractor Trade Show Swag

Posted: 14th May 2013 by douglasburdett in Business Development, Sales, Trade Show
Tags: , , , ,
2

In a comprehensive trade show study, the thing an exhibitor can provide attendees that has the highest correlation with purchase intent is new learning. Not tchotchkes.

Defense Contractor Trade Show Marketing

photo credit: tedeytan via photopin cc

If you’ve attended enough trade shows, you’ve seen them. They get bags with an exhibitor’s logo on the outside and then hit the trade show floor with one mission: to pick up as many promotional items as they can stuff in the bag(s). The effort they put into picking up exhibitor swag can resemble an episode of Supermarket Sweep.

Read the rest of this entry »

The 7 Secrets to Successful Blogging for Defense Contractors

Posted: 7th May 2013 by douglasburdett in Business Development, Content Development, Content Marketing, Marketing, Social Media
Tags: , , , , ,
0

With the right tactics, defense contractors can use blogging to increase awareness and preference, recruit top talent and expand their business development opportunities.

Defense Contractor Blogging Secrets

photo credit: RestrictedData via photopin cc

If you think back 15+ years, most companies had or were beginning to get their own websites. Now, all defense contractors have websites, but those on the cutting edge of business development are blogging. It’s similar to the mid 1990s with the advent of websites, except now it’s blogs that are becoming mainstream.

The reason for the adoption and growth of blogs is because they are the single most effective marketing tactic available today.

Read the rest of this entry »

Why Defense Contractors Can’t Afford Not to Have a Blog

Posted: 30th April 2013 by douglasburdett in Advertising, Business Development, Content Development, Marketing, Social Media
Tags: , , , , ,
1

Defense contractors who blog can profit from all the benefits it provides, including increased awareness and more effective business development.

In the movie Zero Dark Thirty, which dramatized the operation that found and killed Osama bin Laden, one of my favorite scenes was short and probably overlooked by many.

Defense Contractor Blogging

Photo: Columbia Pictures

In the scene, a CIA officer was asking the National Security Advisor for support to launch the risky operation to try and kill or capture bin Laden. The National Security Advisor was skeptical, reminding the CIA officer “…I was in the room when your old boss pitched WMD Iraq…at least there you guys brought photographs.”

The CIA officer responded, “You know, you’re right, I agree with everything you just said. What I meant was, a man in your position, how do you evaluate the risk of not doing something…“

Read the rest of this entry »

Defense Contractors: How to Properly Zero Your Website For Marketing

Posted: 23rd April 2013 by douglasburdett in Business Development, Digital, Marketing, Sales
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

Defense contractors who successfully arm their websites to attract visitors and develop business have a deep understanding of their buyers and the website experience they need – and, they set up their website pages properly.

defense contractor marketing

photo credit: SPC CHEESE via photopin cc

Zeroing your website (known to civilians as website optimization) has to do with getting the right people to your site, as well as what to do with them once they get there.

Read the rest of this entry »

The One Marketing & PR Book Defense Contractors Should Read

Posted: 17th April 2013 by douglasburdett in Content Development, Content Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Trends, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , ,
0

Amidst a rapidly changing defense industry, a growing number of defense contractors are successfully harnessing the current revolution in marketing. Here’s the field manual.

New Rules of Marketing & PR 4th Edition

With so much change happening now in the marketing world, I am often asked by friends, business executives and marketing professionals about how to keep up with the latest in marketing. This question gets asked with increasing frequency because so many of the traditional marketing tactics are waning in effectiveness. I always respond that if you only read one marketing book, read The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott.

Read the rest of this entry »

Why Smart Defense Contractors Are Investing in International Marketing

Posted: 9th April 2013 by douglasburdett in Business Development, Digital, Marketing, Sales, Trends
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
0

With declining domestic defense budgets and increased competition, the smart money is on defense contractors who are diversifying internationally into emerging markets.

Defense Industry Marketing

photo credit: MojoBaer via photopin cc

For defense contractors, this is a time of enormous upheaval and change.

  • Defense budgets are declining in the countries that have had the largest defense budgets.
  • Traditionally non-defense companies are earning an increasingly larger slice of defense budgets.
  • The nature of military procurement is evolving away from the program management model.

As a result, to survive, defense contractors have been diversifying…

  1. To other parts of the government.
  2. To commercial markets.
  3. Overseas.

Read the rest of this entry »

Why Content is the Marketing “Silver Bullet” for Defense Contractors

Posted: 2nd April 2013 by douglasburdett in Business Development, Content Development, Content Marketing, Marketing, Sales, Social Media
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
1

With content marketing, defense contractors can increase awareness and demand for their products and services in a way their prospective buyers actually like.

Defense Contractor Silver Marketing BulletAccording to Wikipedia, “‘silver bullet’ refers to any straightforward solution perceived to have extreme effectiveness.”

Most of the time, when the term “silver bullet” is used, it is prefaced by the words “there is no” [silver bullet]. But if a defense contractor were to deploy only one marketing tactic that would have the most impact, it would be content marketing.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Six Social Media Skills Successful Defense Industry Execs Need Now

Posted: 26th March 2013 by douglasburdett in Marketing, Social Media, Strategic Planning, Trends
Tags: , , , , , ,
5

Defense industry executives who harness the power of social media can build more agile and responsive organizations, a capability that will soon be a critical source of competitive advantage.

Defense Industry Social Media

photo credit: 96dpi via photopin cc

Social media has changed the world like the printing press did over 500 years ago. Just much faster.

Social media has touched nearly every aspect of the business world, including the defense industry. Many companies have responded by tapping into the potential of social media to transform and better run their businesses.

Read the rest of this entry »

Why Successful Defense Contractors are Warming Up to Marketing

Posted: 19th March 2013 by douglasburdett in Business Development, Marketing, Sales, Trends
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
2

A defense contractor’s ability to compete in commercial sectors is now vital, according to a Booz & Company whitepaper that outlines defense industry challenges and prescriptions.

Defense Contractors Warming Up to Marketing

photo credit: isafmedia via photopin cc

The global management consulting firm Booz & Company, summarizes the current and future situation for many defense contractors this way:

Today’s declining budgets and changing customer requirements, and the increasing success of nontraditional competitors such as Cisco, Eurocopter, and even Boeing Commercial Airplanes signal that the industry’s status quo is likely untenable. Some portions of the sector may become more stable by spanning defense and commercial applications…

The recipe for success in this type of environment can be distilled into a single imperative: manage the company as a business rather than as a collection of programs.

Read the rest of this entry »

Older Entries