Defense and government contracting is an incredibly competitive market. There are a limited number of federal and state contracts, and an endless number of companies targeting these lucrative projects. Each of these companies is fighting tooth and nail to secure a piece of the $750 billion federal pie (as well as the state and local markets).

It’s hard enough to land your first major contract. But, once you’ve signed a deal, you’ll need to protect these contracts over the long term. This is critical because a lost contract can equal millions or billions of dollars in lost revenue and potential layoffs.

At AMG Defense Tech, we’ve consistently found that brand marketing and thought leadership with customer relationship management are key investments to protect a contract. These strategies help you maintain success and build long-term credibility with government decision-makers and maintaining your proven leadership in the industry.

Protecting a government contract involves more than delivering the work on time and within budget. It also requires firms to build long-term relationships with decision-makers, showing that they deliver and have the capacity to grow and evolve to the needs of the agency and win that trust.

Trust is an important, but tenuous, concept. What does “trust” mean in the world of government contracting? It means acting with integrity, delivering on your commitments, and establishing a reputation as a strategic partner who can over-deliver.

It’s important to realize that this doesn’t mean every single client interaction needs to be perfect. It means supporting your client over the lifetime of the contract, providing regular updates, and anticipating their needs before they ask. It also means establishing and maintaining your credibility as an expert in your field.

One of the best ways to protect contracts and maintain credibility is through thought leadership. It builds ongoing trustworthiness and allows you to share valuable insights (and future project ideas!) with clients in a low-stakes approach.

When you produce high-quality thought leadership content, like blogs, white papers, webinars, and research reports, you demonstrate your expert viewpoint and ability to get the job done. You can share this content with current clients to provide added value, stay top of mind, and keep the lines of communication open.

We encourage our government contractors to take a two-fold approach to sharing thought leadership content. One, create a regular newsletter for current clients. Highlight thought leadership articles, major reports, webinars, and customer success stories to generate engagement.

Account executives can also email their point of contact with a personalized message and relevant content. This shows that you care about your client’s success and can add value beyond the scope of your current contract.

It’s also important to keep an open line of communication with your point of contact and key decision-makers. This is a crucial step that many competitors neglect—and it will give you a huge advantage when it comes time to renew your contract or bid for a new one.
You can build this regular rapport by sending consistent updates, checking in on project deliverables, and setting up stakeholder meetings. Regular communication keeps client stakeholders informed, engaged, and aligned.

This type of proactive communication places the decision-maker—a real person with unique goals and priorities—at the center of the relationship. GovConWire clearly explains:

“Post award contract management … builds relationships, prevents revenue leakage, [and] increases competitiveness.” govconwire.com

Make sure to personalize your updates for each stakeholder and point of contact. Take detailed notes on their pain points, individual interests, and roles during bidding and onboarding, and tailor your outreach to reinforce your role as a strategic, trustworthy partner.

The lesson is clear: winning government contracts isn’t enough. The nation’s most successful defense and government contractors prioritize company branding and customer relationship management to protect contracts and land more deals.

Government contractors can increase retention rates (and even land new clients) by producing and sharing high-quality thought leadership that provides extra value to clients. In addition, regular communication and client surveys will help solidify your position as a trusted, long-term partner.

At AMG Defense Tech, we help defense firms and government contractors protect contracts and develop a reputation as a strategic partner with brand marketing and customer relationship management. Meet with our team to see how you can improve client success rates and protect your biggest contracts from the competition.