Marketing

A Guide To B2G Marketing

Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Consumer (B2C) are familiar marketing models. However, there’s also a third, lesser-known strategy called B2G marketing.

In this blog, we explain what B2G is and provide some tips on how you can adopt a B2G marketing strategy.

What is B2G Marketing?

B2G is an acronym for Business to Government. To put it simply, B2G is where private sector businesses market and sell their solutions/services to public sector organisations. These public sector organisations can include local authorities, government departments, healthcare, education, law enforcement, housing associations and more.

Some B2G relationships are known to be huge government agreements. For example, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recently awarded IBM a 6-month contract for cloud services worth up to £2.13m. A recent report by Tussell also found that the civil engineering firm Amey was paid £1.5bn in public sector revenue from 2020 to 2021.

However, not all B2G relationships are on this scale. They can be as simple as providing consultancy services to a local authority or selling educational technology to a school.

The UK government spends around £300 billion per year on public sector procurement. With this number increasing annually, there are opportunities for start-ups, SMEs or large enterprises. There has been an upsurge in the number of B2B and B2C companies looking to work with the public sector. So the perfect time to start developing B2G relationships is now.

Doing business with the public sector can seem daunting due to the complex procurement process. However, if you are unfamiliar with this process, you can read our expert guide explaining everything you need to know about selling to the government.

How do you get in front of public sector decision-makers?

There are a variety of channels and techniques that you can recruit to get in front of public sector decision-makers and budget holders. Here are some tips that can help.

Your Website

Your website will arguably be your primary marketing tool. A user-friendly and visually appealing website articulating your services/products will help build trust and increase brand awareness.

However, having a fancy website means nothing if there is no traffic from your target audience. A cost-effective method is to develop an effective Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) strategy. Try researching keywords and key phrases that will attract public sector leaders to your website. You can then deploy these keywords throughout your website so that it will rank higher on search engines.

Not only can keywords be included on dedicated landing pages, but you can also develop content pieces around these keywords. We explain more about the importance of content marketing further down, be sure to read on.

Overall your website should act as a primary hub for your brand and service/product offering. Build engaging landing pages, use captivating content and include relevant call-to-actions and data capture opportunities.

Social Media Channels

Social media marketing is a fantastic tool for B2C marketing, so how does it work for B2G marketing? An important thing to remember is that decision-makers and leaders in the public sector will still have an online presence. Social media is best used to enhance your online presence and spread brand awareness.

A great platform to reach the public sector is LinkedIn. This is because it is business and employment-oriented. On LinkedIn, you can directly target your chosen audience through InMail to message other users on the platform without having to connect with them first.

Instead of just posting organic content, you can run paid social media adverts. There are different ways of doing this through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. For example, you can host display adverts for everyone that has visited your website in the last 30 days for remarketing purposes. A great way to target public sector decision-makers is by running adverts based on their job function and company.

Content Marketing & Thought Leadership

In 1996 Bill Gates coined the phrase "content is king". That is still the case decades later because companies that successfully build online audiences tend to have content of the highest standard.

Offering valuable wisdom can demonstrate your expertise whilst boosting brand credibility. Sharing insightful content with your audience will help solve their challenges in exchange for engagement and information.

You can create content in various formats such as blogs, e-books, webinars, podcasts, videos and infographics. Ensure that the most valuable content you produce is gated behind a form to guarantee an exchange of information on both sides. When creating content for B2G marketing, you must understand the challenges of your audience and demonstrate how you can solve them. Providing real-life examples of your work with the public sector will help reinforce credibility and trust.

It is also important to remember that you can share your content offline, which brings us to our next tip.

Take Part in Specialist Events

Taking part in public sector focussed events is an innovative way for you to participate and lead key discussion topics. If executed successfully you can become a public sector thought leader and advisor.

A simple way to do this is by selecting hot topics and sharing insights alongside influential speakers and industry leaders. You can potentially reach and attract an entirely new audience who may not have heard of your company. There are several key events which have been a staple within the public sector calendar for over a decade:

Exhibiting at public sector events is also a fantastic way to position your brand in front of your target audience. You can meet face-to-face with prospects, generate awareness, capture leads, launch new products/services and demonstrate your solutions. It is challenging to get face-to-face time with the public sector which is why joining these events is critical.

How GovNet Can Help

For over 25 years, we have organised award-winning exhibitions and conferences that attract leading organisations from the public sector. We can provide you with the platform to meet face to face with key industry figures and decision makers from Central Government, Local Authorities, the Education Sector, the NHS, Housing Associations and the wider public sector.

Taking part in our events will offer you a unique platform to position your brand alongside key departments and organisations within the public sector. We are proud to work closely with the Department for Education, NHS Digital, Crown Commercial Service, the Government Commercial Function, and more.

By partnering with us, we can help you:

  • Grow your database of contacts

  • Secure pre-booked 1-1 meetings with the public sector

  • Enhance your digital visibility

  • Connect with key industry figures

  • Launch your latest products

  • Become a public sector thought leader

Whether you want to network with qualified leaders in your target market, expand into a new market, strengthen existing relationships or scope out your competition, our team will help locate the perfect fit for you. Simply request a meeting with us to learn more!