The Amtower B2G Market Report

The Amtower B2G Market Report
Volume 3, #16, April 19, 2004

(Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.FederalDirect.net and if you like this, please pass this along to your colleagues. To unsubscribe, email me at amtower@erols.com). Past issues available at http://www.federaldirect.net/newsletterarchives.html)

1) In Memoriam
2) Amtower Off-Center Observations
3) The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Retention
4) Last Call! Government Marketing Best Practices Spring 2004 Road Show

IN MEMORIAM April 19, 1995

Where were you when the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City was bombed by domestic terrorists April 19, 1995, at 9:03 AM Central Daylight time?

My wife was still a Federal employee, my daughter was two, and I was in my home office when the news came on the radio, shortly after 10:00 AM Eastern time.

Federal agencies housed in the Murrah Building included the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Secret Service; the Department of Housing and Urban Development; the Social Security Administration; the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps recruitment offices; the Veterans Administration; the General Accounting Office; the Department of Health and Human Services; the Department of Defense; the U.S. Customs Service; the Department of Agriculture; the Department of Transportation; and, the General Services Administration. An office of the Federal Employees Credit Union and the "America's Kids" Child Care Development Center were also housed in the building. There were other non-government offices as well.

168 people were killed, including 15 children. The memorial logo, up at FederalDirect.net 24/7/365 is a teddy bear. It is beside a couple other logos that are also up 24/7/365: The USO logo/link, the POW/MIA logo/link, HeroMiles logo/link and the 9/11 logo.

The original Oklahoma City memorial logo (perpetually up at FederalDirect.net) has a teddy bear in the middle. When was the last time you or your company showed your clients you cared?

Amtower Off-Center Observations

Item: In the April 5, 2004, Federal Computer Week, there is an article on the Bethesda AFCEA chapter and its support of the Children’s Inn at NIH. An excellent example of showing how you care.

Item: The Road show has officially started, with a kick-off seminar for 30 at the Tower Club in Vienna, Virginia. There was good participation by the attenders, and the overall feedback (see below) has been great. This week I will be in San Jose and San Antonio, and next week, Denver and Chicago. If you want me in your town this fall, drop me a line. I will see what I can do. I also do Best Practices as an in-house session.

Item: There has been lots of talk about Richard Clarke’s book, so I read it. My initial thought: Had more of us read Benjamin Netanyahu’s book “Fighting Terrorism: How the West Can Win” (published in 1986, Mr Netanyahu updated the book in 1996 with a new title, new stuff, including stuff on Osama and company) we probably wouldn’t be where we are. What is that they are all saying in the 9/11 hearing – something about 20/20 hindsight? Had we been listening to some of our allies….

Not that I have an opinion.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY: RETENTION

MA recent email from Brian Alexander from Raymond James, triggered these thoughts. Brian announced the quarterly results for CDW (above all forecasts), and there was a brief mention of “account manager turnover exceeded our expectations”. As we all know, there is a fair amount of employee turnover in the government market.

First let me say that I was surprised at the turnover at CDW. It is a well-run company, with a high retention rate, especially in the sales area. This is extremely important in the government market, where relationships at all levels are critical to maintaining and growing accounts. Government buyers have been known to switch vendors when account managers migrate.

I have consulted with companies where most senior management positions are filled from the outside. What message does this send to the next tier or two below? We hope you, like where you are, because it is as high as you are going here. I have consulted in firms where employee feedback is neither sought nor considered. These are companies where lip service is paid to “opportunity” and “open door” policies, but the reality is quite different.

I have also consulted in places where growth is organic, where mentoring and hiring from within are commonplace. As a rule, overall corporate growth is better at these places and employees are happier. “The Cycle of Leadership” by Noel Tichy and Nancy Cardwell documents the General Electric approach under Jack Welch for this type of company. There are lessons for companies of any size here, so please do not assume that you have to have 100,000 employees for this to work.

The retention issue is one that was brought to my attention about ten or twelve years ago. I went to Federal Data Corporation’s headquarters in Bethesda to have lunch with Dan Young. I made a remark about the receptionist, and it came up that across the company retention at Federal Data was eleven years. Even as a mid-size company, I immediately understood why they were a major player and Dan was (and is) one of the most respected executives in our market.
I find working with companies that have employee stability and that mentor and hire from within is much easier for me. These are companies that are going to be more flexible and open to trying new approaches. When I look for new clients, generally I seek stable culture (mentor and hire from within), open internal communications, and current or potential growth in the government market.

Growth in this market is incremental. If your company has a culture of bringing in outsiders, as opposed to mentoring from within, your odds of winnings are greatly reduced. There are not enough Dan Young’s in our market today.

LAST CALL! GOVERNMENT MARKETING BEST PRACTICES SPRING 2004 ROAD SHOW

If you like this newsletter, you will love this seminar.

Comments on April 14, 2004 session:

- Thanks, Mark. A very well spent morning. I really appreciated your frank and no-BS point of view. In 15 years around the federal business, I haven’t been to any meetings that had more strong tactical info.
Craig Denning, vdat.com

- Great session! Really valuable information today. Let’s keep in touch.

- We certainly enjoyed this morning's seminar.

The government marketing man in black is going on the road again, five cities in April, and more this fall.
We provide more use-able information in three hours than you get from most multi-day events. No platitudes, but the Amtower attitude, with real information in what works in government marketing – and what does not work. Registrations are coming in and seating is limited at each venue - register today!

Government Marketing Best Practices (version 4.1) will be visiting
Vienna, Virginia, April 14
San Jose April 20
San Antonio April 21
Denver April 28
Chicago April 29

This 3-hour seminar covers proven tactics that work in the government marketplace.

best web site characteristics for attracting Feds
eight tips for successful Federal direct mail and email
tried & true methods for event identification, selection and marketing
identifying, creating and exploiting press opportunities
the role of special interest groups and how to find the best one for your niche
and more - with lots of new examples, and audience interaction.

Once again, this will include new material (version 4.1). Our 2004 sponsors are DM News, the Federal Business Council, Federal Computer Week, Government Security News, Carroll Publishing and the Public Sector Institute. If you have suggestions for city selection for the fall, 2004 Road Show, email me!

Over 700 professionals have attended Government Marketing Best Practices since the first session in March, 2002. Register today and find out why!

Information is available at http://www.federaldirect.net/bestpractices2004.html

ONE MINUTE MARKETING CLINIC: E-COMMUNICATIONS

If you have noticed a better written Amtower B2G Market Report over the past several months, it is because I have three proof readers now, not just one. My in-laws, Mary Ellen’s parents, also read the newsletter before it goes out, thereby making me look a little better, correction by correction.

Market Access sends out LONG emails (sometimes 8 or 9 pages). Then they put in really silly things like having to call an 800 number to get the web address. Hell, boys, you just gave me 8 pages of stuff, what else could there be?

Advantage Consulting also send LONG emails, but at least they include their web address.

Here is a tip, people: 3 pages per email – max. Anything more probably will not be read. Then take them to the web site via a link in the email. Hint to Market Access: if you do not put the web address in the email, fewer people will show up. You have just added an unnecessary step.

In Best Practices I offer more useful information in three hours than most marketing programs give you in a day.

If these long newsletters are an indicator, I think the word-per-idea (WPI) ratio at the events may be a little long for my taste. Though the events may present valuable information, there is a time consideration. Why say in three hours what you can say in a day, or even two days? The wider the WPI ratio, the more likely we have a situation where intellectual flatulence is masquerading as thought. We all know people who like to hear themselves talk. At least I limit it to three hours.

Get someone to proof the newsletter, folks.

**

As always, your comments, questions and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks
Mark Amtower

The Amtower B2G Market Report is published and copyrighted by Amtower & Company. It combines our former newsletters into a single, bi-weekly newsletter for companies targeting the government marketplace. Contact us at Amtower & Company, PO Box 339, Ashton, MD 20861-0339 (301-924-0058). This material is copyrighted and may not be duplicated, reprinted or otherwise replicated without written permission of the publisher. EMAIL subscriptions are free by request: sign up at www.FederalDirect.net.


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