How to Make Your Small Business Website More Accessible for Sales to the Federal Government

The potential for sales to the Federal Government could have a huge impact on a small business. This is particularly true for small disadvantaged businesses, minority owned, or women owned businesses which are all types of small businesses given special preference by the Federal Government.

 

However, if your small business does not have a website that is accessible and Federal Government “friendly”, then your company is not going to receive any government contracting or sales opportunities. In the current recessionary climate the federal government could be the lifeline by which your small business will continue to survive.

 

I will draw upon my experience working for a small business which had preferential status from the federal government, as well as in other roles where I have advised on marketing companies for federal government contracting opportunities. I will explain what the contracting officer is looking for in your web site and marketing approach. The website is a critical component to any potential federal government sales for your small business.

 

Web Site Design – a whole new way

In the past, the design of your website was not the “make or break” point for your small business, especially when dealing with the federal government, U.S. military, state government entity, or federal government contractor.  In those days, the relationships and the customer service your small business provided helped to close sales with those types of customers.

Then, about five years ago, small businesses were committing a section of their website to federal or state government contracting opportunities. The information usually pertained to listing NAICS codes and references to previous work done for other federal or military projects.

 

Now, as the internet has really defined and shaped how we do business, small businesses have learned that the federal government contracting opportunities are cultivated with a focused web presence. This could entail a whole separate web site for your small business to focus on federal, military, and state government contracting opportunities.

 

However, if you do not want to maintain a whole other website or your business has limited manpower and you need to focus your efforts on the projects themselves, an alternative approach does exist. In those cases, your business can simply add a whole new tab on your site from your landing page titled: Federal Government Customers or Federal/State Government Customers.

 

The Web Site Tab – what should it include?

The separate government customers tab on your web site should include the following: case studies, recent federal or state government project references, a section with your NAICS/DUNS/CAGE code numbers, and specific products or services directly relevant to federal government use.

 

In addition, if your company has a GSA Schedule contract, this should be strongly emphasized on the federal government web site tab. I recommend a separate text box with this information along the side of the page.

 

The case studies, white papers, or project reference testimonials should all have hyperlinks to the full documents as well as a summary paragraph in the federal government web site tab. These support documents should be highly relevant to government contracting work, if the case studies deal with smaller private business projects, then my advice is to not include them.

 

At the same time, if you have a white paper or case study which was commissioned by a large corporation or by a foreign government entity, those would be eligible to include for use in this tab because the federal government would most likely view those examples as having strong credibility.

 

Processing Orders via Credit Card – A “must” for federal government sales

 

A major component of the separate federal government sales tab for your small business is the capability to accept and process credit cards. The federal government does the great majority of their product or services purchasing through government issued credit or debit cards, either through American Express or MasterCard.

 

In my experience with federal government and state government contracting agents, the feedback I was given was that the most important aspect of the website was the references and the payment / ordering portal.

 

Your payment or ordering portal must be easy to use and streamlined in order to successfully attract government sales. If your small business or start up business is in tough financial shape and budgets are limited, you have two options to incorporate the credit card processing mechanism to your site.

 

The first option is to contact the bank where you have your business banking accounts open with, and inquire about whether they have a merchant services function to their banking operation. In the event they do provide this service, it is worth the 45 minutes or hour to meet with the appropriate person from that bank to discuss what types of merchant services they offer. Since they already do business with your company, they are usually very helpful in providing these services because it will ensure your mutual future success.

 

The second option would be to go very low cost and open a PayPal account in order to process these types of transactions. This internet based service is very easy to use and very reliable. It is a very secure service and has a great reputation so you could utilize this option in the short term, and then move into another merchant services arrangement once your cash position improves.

 

In the end, selling to the federal government, when executed correctly, can be a very lucrative pathway to grow your small business in troubled economic times. I also remind you that some federal or military sales opportunities involve contracts, and those types of sales will require your business to send in a capabilities statement. Please see my separate earlier blog post covering the capabilities statement for federal government contracting, and good luck to you and your business endeavors.

 

 

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