The 2025 Excessive Development Examine, Authorities Contracting Version has arrived, and right this moment we’re excited to share a number of necessary findings with you. We launched this annual research {of professional} companies a decade in the past, although its roots return to 2008, after we started researching high-growth corporations, publishing our findings and writing books on the habits of one of the best performing corporations and the individuals who purchase their companies.
We collected the information for this yr’s research late in 2024—earlier than the US election and the turbulence that’s disrupting the federal authorities contracting market. Nevertheless, this research explores what methods and methods high-growth corporations use to realize a bonus over their rivals. These advertising and marketing fundamentals proceed to work, even in an unsure atmosphere. So long as there may be authorities demand for companies—and we see no indication that it’s going away—corporations that navigate {the marketplace} with talent will expertise larger success.
On the federal degree, and to a lesser diploma the state and native ranges, new expectations require new positioning and messaging. Some corporations might have to reconfigure their companies to handle the evolving wants of a authorities in transition. However the psychology of consumers hasn’t modified. On the similar time, how companies talk their new messages, and the array of methods, instruments and methods accessible to ship them, are the identical as ever. Some mixtures produce abnormal outcomes, whereas others ship distinctive ones. On this weblog submit, we’ll introduce you to some of the advertising and marketing methods and habits of the federal government contracting trade’s most extraordinary performers.
In regards to the Examine
126 authorities contracting corporations participated on this yr’s research. They signify $53.6 billion in mixed income and 140,000 workers. As you possibly can see within the chart under, the pattern included organizations of all sizes. We oversampled massive corporations to reasonable the distortions that small and notably micro companies can introduce to the information.
5 Advertising and marketing Habits of Excessive-Development Expertise & Software program Corporations
1. Excessive-Development Corporations Develop 3.5X Quicker and are 79% Extra Worthwhile
The high-growth group in our pattern grew revenues a median of 35.8% per yr, in comparison with simply 10.2% for the average-growth contingent. That’s 3.5 occasions sooner. Their revenue margins had been additionally distinctive, at 34%. The typical-growth group generated a really respectable 19% revenue margin, however the high-growth corporations outperformed them by 79%.
2. They Spend Greater than Twice as A lot on Advertising and marketing
How a lot do the quickest rising authorities contractors put money into advertising and marketing? A watch-popping 21%—two and a 3rd occasions greater than their slower-growing counterparts. Do you have to dedicate a fifth of your income to advertising and marketing? Not essentially. It is a median quantity, so half of the high-growth group spends much less and half much more.
What do these excessive flyers spend their advertising and marketing {dollars} on? They’re greater than twice as more likely to have achieved the best degree of digital maturity, in order that they make investments closely of their tech stack. They conduct quite a lot of analysis at common intervals. And so they outsource a greater diversity of specialised advertising and marketing abilities than their rivals. The additional cash they spend seems to provide dramatically higher outcomes.
3. They Have Realized Which Advertising and marketing Methods Work Finest
The determine under reveals the seven advertising and marketing methods used most frequently by high-growth authorities contractors. Networking—on-line and in individual—takes two of the highest three spots. Clearly, making private connections is a crucial ingredient in these corporations’ success. In second place are enterprise growth supplies, reminiscent of pitch decks, brochures and proposal templates. Making a terrific impression, and positioning your agency as a complicated participant, can transfer a agency from being a mere contender to a high favourite. Promoting on social media can also be a generally used technique to construct model consciousness.
Social media seems thrice on this record, together with selling thought management (reminiscent of white papers, articles, and government guides) on social platforms. If social media isn’t a significant a part of your advertising and marketing technique, you could need to start constructing that experience, or outsource it to an skilled company.
To seek out out which methods ship probably the most impression, and which give one of the best outcomes for the money and time invested, see the complete trade report.
4. 6 in 10 Excessive-Development Agency Leads are Digital
The excessive development cohort attracts 68% extra digital leads than their no-growth counterparts. In reality six in ten of their leads come from on-line sources. Digital leads can come from any on-line supply—the contact kind in your web site, content material advertising and marketing, social media, webinars, and digital promoting, to call just some. In case you obtain the lead in your pc or digital machine, it’s a digital lead.
How do you appeal to extra digital leads? That requires a multifront digital technique, beginning along with your web site. A weblog that includes a regular stream of high-quality instructional content material and optimized for website positioning drives new guests. Gated, high-value, long-format content material and a compelling provide technique convert guests into contacts. Then you definitely use e-mail, social media and different methods to share extra of your content material and encourage folks involved in your experience to return time and again. Ultimately, a few of these folks turn into loyal followers. And when they’re prepared to purchase companies your agency is robotically on the high of their record.
5. They Outsource a Extensive Vary of Abilities
The chart under lists the three abilities that the best-performing corporations outsource most often. Podcasts and conventional promoting are tied for first place. Producing a podcast requires group and specialised abilities, from audio manufacturing and modifying to visitor outreach, scheduling, and followup. Many corporations desire to outsource the extra technical abilities to consultants—saving numerous hours and producing a superior finish product. Conventional promoting, whether or not in print, radio or tv, additionally requires particular experience (reminiscent of media shopping for, top-shelf graphic design and advert copywriting) that almost all authorities contractors don’t have in-house. Search engine marketing is a operate vital to the efficiency of a agency’s web site. With the comparatively current introductions of zero-click search and generative AI search (reminiscent of ChatGPT), the sphere is evolving shortly. Excessive-growth corporations search for assist from exterior consultants who’re accustomed to the brand new website positioning panorama and know learn how to obtain outcomes.
The way to Study Extra
We hope you’ve discovered one thing new—an concept or two you possibly can put into apply at your agency. Excessive-growth corporations produce superior efficiency yr after yr for a purpose: they’ve found what works and what doesn’t. Now you can begin emulating them and construct a advertising and marketing program that works extra effectively, with much less guesswork.
These 5 insights, nevertheless, are only a starting. To be taught extra concerning the advertising and marketing habits of the quickest rising expertise and software program corporations, buy the complete trade report. The 54-page report goes into larger element on these and plenty of different sensible findings. It additionally consists of easy-to-understand concepts to place the information into apply at your group.
