The Amtower B2G Market Report

The Amtower B2G Market Report
Volume 3, #27, July 14, 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)

In this issue…
1) Amtower Off-Center Observations
2) The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Crossing the Email Abyss
3) Events
4) One-Minute Marketing Clinic: GOVTOOL

AMTOWER OFF-CENTER OBSERVATIONS

This is a combined issue, coming out late this week, as there will be no issue next week. I will also skip the second week of August, returning for the second anniversary issue.

Item from Gloria Berthold of www.TargetGov.com regarding the unsolicited fax legislation: Mark, Thanks to the feedback received, there is a bill proposing the reinstatement of the "established business relationship" rule to business faxing. While junk faxes are a true bane, this at least will help by removing the current $11,000 fine for legitimate business communications between agencies, vendors and other appropriate parties. see: http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/comments/barton04_0623.pdf for details or U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy.

Item: Next week – Federal Channels at the McLean Hilton. Do not miss it! Contact information in the Events section below.

Item: On July 7, I interviewed Tom Hewitt (founder of Federal Sources) and Dan Young (formerly of Federal Data, Carlyle Group and others) about a variety of issues concerning the government market. For me this was fun as well as informative. For those who don’t know these gentlemen well, this is an opportunity to hear two of the most respected members of the contracting community share their thoughts openly. It is an audio program, and will be available free at www.prx.org soon. We will also have a CD available in a few weeks.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY: CROSSING THE EMAIL ABYSS

I attempt to clarify issues, providing enough information so intelligent decisions can be made. But there remain many marketers who refuse to be overburdened by facts, regardless of how well intentioned.

I received a forwarded email this past week from a client, who asked if I thought it represented a good offer. It was from a web service called AdGov.com. AdGov claims to have “a single focus – to provide specialized marketing services to companies seeking effective marketing techniques that drive bottom line performance.” Specialized marketing services apparently means spam, because this is the “service” they offer – the ability to send tens of thousands of emails to the Feds. There is no reference to how the email addresses were accumulated, or that any of the targeted ‘recipients” had asked for information from these people.

There is minor a glitch in this “service”: there is an abyss between “sending” emails and guaranteeing “delivery”, and it is a chasm that spammers like AdGov are either unaware of, or simply don’t care about. There are several assertions at the AdGov web site that beg the question: do they have a clue?

This is not an abyss spammers cross. The bottom of the abyss is littered with the remains of millions of unread messages, blocked and blacklisted ISPs, and the hope of those perpetually unburdened with facts.

Not that I have an opinion.

EVENTS

FEDERAL CHANNELS: Selling and Marketing to the Government
Date: July 19, 2004 Time: 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Location: Fairview Park Marriott, Falls Church, VA

The Federal Marketplace has undergone significant change in the past few years. Federal Channels 2004 will feature sessions on the most recent changes to the federal business environment and the best methods for using those changes to your advantage. This is a really good informational and networking event, with something for people of any skill level, novices and professionals alike. The FBC staff spends lots of time putting together a good program, and they always have great presenters. See full details at http://www.fbcinc.com/federalchannels/default.asp

ITS GOV: Technology Buying at Year End, August 25, Ronald Reagan Building
www.itsgov.com

Third Annual B2G CATALOG SUMMIT, Doubletree O’Hare (Chicago), November 11, 2004

ONE-MINUTE MARKETING CLINIC: GOVTOOL

Our friends at Federal Marketing Associates introduced GovTool about a year ago. This Excel-based tool offers several time-saving features when it comes to finding mailing or email lists, a concise list of associations for our industry, events, publications, and web resources. It is comprehensive, with good contact information for all listings I viewed, and it is easy to use.

You can buy the modules separately, but the current “GovTool Suite” price of $1,495 is a good deal. Along with the Carroll Federal Directories, this should be part of every government marketers library.

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

Thanks
Mark Amtower


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