Vicki, thanks for your helpful reply. Larry - you may also be interested in this article about Getting Started in State and Local Government Contracting.

Hi, I think I may have just the answer you are looking for.  I've owned a full service marketing firm for over 25 years and last year I looked into just the question you are asking.  The result is that I secured a $100,000 contract with the San Diego International Airport to do 'Outreach,' helping to recruit small, local contractors to bid on construction for the airport's expansion.  Basically, they call it Outreach, you and I call it marketing.   There were 2 other contracts I bid on, but did not win.  One was for PR and marketing materials, and the other was for training contractors in how to do business with the airport.   Now that I'm working in this area, I can see that there are many other opportunities.  The City of San Diego, county, school districts, Water District, all have either federal or state money flowing through to bid opportunities and all need outreach and marketing materials, including website assistance.   I can't say this is all a slam dunk.  The learning curve is steep.  Because of that, many companies like yours don't consider it as an option, so the competition isn't bad.  Just know this, winning a bid carries a lot of prestige, so if you win one, your private enterprise business will benefit.   If you would lilke some help, email me at vicki@marketing-impressions or call me at 858-505-8046 and I can tell you more.

Yes, marketing services are used by the Federal government and State governments as well. As a Federal contractor myself, I have seen and participated in various marketing activities advanced by the Feds. Some of them have been under the auspices of 'education and outreach.' I had a contract with the Center for Disease Control to assist them in doing outreach in the area of HIV/AIDS. I have also done marketing outreach for HRSA and ACF. More often than not, marketing is part of another requirement involving other activities so it is wise to look at subcontracting opportunities as well. You might want to go to FBO.gov and do a search for all solicitations in your area which is 541613 -- Marketing Consulting Services or 541910 -- Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling. This will give you a great handle on all solicitations issued by the Feds in your area. Good luck, Jos A. Rivera, JD Rivera, Sierra & Company, Inc. Management Consultants jrivera@riverasierra.com I'm an experienced marketing consultant. However, I have been focusing on providing services to the commercial sector. I am interested in providing my marketing and market research services to the Federal and State governments but I do not know if these entities have a need for such services. Can someone explain to me where I might begin to offer my services to the government? Is there even a need in this sector? Thank you. Larry Kirsch

Vicki, Thanks so much for the information. I will call you to discuss. Larry Kirsch

Thank you. I will check into this as well. Larry Kirsch

Jos, This is terrific information. Thank you so much. Larry Kirsch

After you do the research I suggested, you may wish to post your results so we can brainstorm some more.

Yes, the Federal government buys a lot of marketing services. As one other commenter noted, check out FBO.gov to search for opportunities. Be on the look out for any notices that mention' Simplified Acquisition' as those opportunities are reserved for small businesses and are easier to respond to than traditional RFP's. Also, consider obtaining a GSA Schedule 541 contract (Advertising and Integrated Marketing Services), which many of my clients thrive under. In FY 2010, $403,100,624 was funneled through Schedule 541 (source:turbogsa.com/resources/gsa-schedules-sales/) Good luck an dlet me know if you ahve any other questions. Robert Kelly TurboGSA robert@turbogsa.com ---This post was edited to remove a commercial link. Read our discussion policies for more Community best practices.