The government contracting (GovCon) industry is more competitive than ever. Large GovCon firms and small businesses alike are competing for the $750 billion pool of federal contracts issued every year.  

Decision-makers are sourcing and assessing partners by searching Google, LinkedIn, and other websites to validate their expertise and evaluate their capabilities. As a result, GovCon firms must use marketing to reach federal stakeholders and build brand awareness before Requests for Proposal (RFPs) are ever issued.  

This type of approach builds brand awareness, creates trust among prospects, and can help firms land more government contracts and drive growth.

Performance-based marketing is the key to success. It’s not enough to market your firm and get in front of decision-makers; you also need to optimize your marketing campaigns for success. This allows you to focus on areas with the highest return on investment (ROI). 

For GovCon firms, this means measuring whether or not marketing campaigns are leading to more signed contracts. In following the path through your website or social channels, here are the most important KPIs for each stage of the marketing funnel: 

• Awareness: Website traffic, social media reach, and search engine rankings 

• Engagement: Time on site, click-through-rates, and bounce rates 

• Lead Generation: Marketing qualified leads, sales inquiries, RFPs, RFIs. These would be tagged as Key Events on your website. 

In addition, digital marketing is also key to retaining contracts. This is critical since, according to Harvard Business Review,  it costs between 5-25 times more to land a new contract than it costs to keep a current client.  

By using digital marketing to engage with current clients and increase customer satisfaction, you can maintain current revenue streams while actively going after new sources. The most important KPIs for customer retention are: 

• Customer satisfaction scores 

• Repeat contract wins 

• Customer referrals

An effective digital marketing strategy isn’t just a blueprint—it’s a dynamic system that builds customer relationships, navigates constant change and ultimately drives growth. Whether you’re scaling what works or overhauling what doesn’t, success starts with a strategy rooted in clarity, adaptability and measurable outcomes. Gartner

Awareness is the key goal for top-of-funnel marketing. When you create this type of content, you’re able to generate brand awareness and attract key decision-makers, and ensure your firm is easily discoverable. 

The fundamental part of this approach is search engine optimization (SEO), which ensures you’re one of the first results on search engines. There are two basic approaches to SEO: organic SEO and pay-per-click (PPC; a.k.a. SEM, Paid Search).  

PPC is a paid advertising campaign that allows you to target decision-makers using specific keyword search terms. While it’s pricey, it provides an immediate ROI—you can produce qualified marketing leads immediately. It is also a way to cover the terms your website might not be optimized for yet, but are part of your business strategy. 

With this tactic, you bid on specific keywords using Bing and Google Search. You only pay when a user clicks on your link and visits your website. 

Organic search, on the other hand, is how companies achieve 1st page Google rankings without paying for each click. This is a long-term strategy that requires producing SEO-optimized content, such as: 

• Blog Posts 

• Thought Leadership Articles 

• Static Website Content 

NOTE: It can take several months or years to achieve 1st page rankings. But it’s more cost-effective in the long term compared to PPC, if you have implemented a strong SEO strategy. 

While SEO is king in the world of brand awareness, social media sites like LinkedIn are also important. You can boost visibility by regularly posting company updates, sharing industry news, and engaging with followers.

Highlighting your firm’s past performance is key to turning awareness into engagement. That’s because it builds trust and credibility with prospects, and it keeps them on your website longer. 

Case studies and client success stories are the key to middle-of-funnel success. Detailed case studies help you explain how you’ve helped clients overcome challenges, implement solutions, and include the results you’ve achieved. This is tangible proof of your firm’s expertise.

Now that you’ve optimized your firm’s website, social media, and gated content for success. It’s time to turn visitors into leads. There’s one main way to accomplish this: strong calls-to-action (CTAs). 

CTAs are the key to transforming website visitors into leads. Middle-of-funnel content should include strong CTAs that provide value to decision-makers and spark curiosity by telling prospects how you’ll solve challenges.  

Once you’ve come up with a few options, A/B test to see which messaging resonates most with prospects and generates the most qualified sales leads. 

In addition, personalized email marketing campaigns are a great way to transform your email list into a lead generation machine. Segment each prospect by their:  

• Department or Function 

• Technical Knowledge 

• Workplace Goals 

• Role in the Decision-Making Process 

Once you’ve segmented customers, you can develop personalized messaging that resonates with that specific persona. Again, A/B testing is a vital part of this process. Test each email subject line, body text, and messaging to figure out what works best for your audience.

Digital marketing is the key to landing (and retaining) more government contracts. That’s because it creates brand awareness, builds engagement, and generates qualified leads that are ready to purchase. 

Follow our guide to performance-based digital marketing to build an effective marketing funnel that generates results. In addition, regularly measure KPIs and test different messaging strategies to optimize your campaign and maximize ROI.  

Want to generate more leads and land more government contracts with digital marketing? Set up a free consultation with AMG Defense Tech to learn how we help firms get tangible results and increase revenue with performance-based digital marketing.