GBR Launches the GovBuyer’s Journey™
New proprietary framework maps the distinct stages of the public sector buying process, helping marketing and sales teams deliver the right insight, content and engagement at the right time
RESTON, Va. — January 15, 2024 — Government Business Results (GBR), a public sector go-to-market strategy, marketing and enablement firm, today announced the GBR GovBuyer’s Journey™, a proprietary framework that helps technology companies understand how government buyers move from emerging need to purchase — and align their marketing and sales activities to that journey.
Traditional B2B buyer journeys are often reduced to 3 familiar stages: awareness, consideration and decision. Government technology buying is different. Purchases unfold over long timeframes, involve multiple stakeholders and are shaped by procurement requirements, policy, budgets, standards and mission priorities.
The GovBuyer’s Journey™ gives public sector teams a practical map of that process.
Unlike traditional buyer journey models, the GBR framework begins with a Catalyst — an external event or change strong enough to disrupt the status quo and compel a government organization to act. Catalysts can include a new policy, mandate or standard, a cyberattack, an economic event or another development with a meaningful consequence for action or inaction.
From there, the GovBuyer moves through Initiative, Research, Assess and Decision, followed by Deploy, Renew and Upgrade/Cross-grade. The pre-purchase portion alone can extend across 12 to 18 months.
“Government buyers aren’t simply moving from awareness to consideration to decision,” said Juliana Slye, CEO and Chief Strategist of Government Business Results. “They’re trying to accomplish very specific jobs along the way. They’re figuring out whether they need to change, exploring technologies, building requirements, evaluating solutions, aligning stakeholders, proving value and preparing to procure. When marketers understand where the buyer actually is in that process, they can stop throwing content at the market and start helping the buyer move forward.”
The GovBuyer’s Journey™ maps the changing actions, questions and information needs of buyers throughout the purchase process. For example, a buyer early in the journey may be asking, What changed? Does it affect us? Do we need to act now? Later, that same buying team may need to understand technical requirements, integration, total cost of ownership, procurement vehicles and how to justify its recommendation to internal stakeholders.
The framework also accounts for the fact that government buying is a team sport. GBR identifies distinct GovBuyer archetypes, including line-of-business champions, IT decision-makers, executive approvers and solution influencers. Each enters the journey with different responsibilities, success measures, risks and information requirements.
That distinction has become increasingly important as government buyers conduct more of their education independently. GBR’s GovBuyer’s Journey™ is designed to help marketers determine what information buyers need, which content and engagement approaches will best deliver it and when those interactions should occur — while giving sellers better context for the point at which direct engagement adds value.
“Public sector marketers own more of the buying experience than they ever have before,” Slye said. “But more content isn’t the answer. Better timing is. The goal is to meet the GovBuyer where they are, with the insight they need to take the next step.”
Organizations can use the GovBuyer’s Journey™ to inform public sector go-to-market strategy, campaign planning, persona development, content strategy and sales enablement. Each journey is built around a specific buyer, public sector segment and use case rather than a generic government persona — creating a practical blueprint teams can use to plan and execute against a real market opportunity.
About Government Business Results
Government Business Results, LLC (GBR) is a public sector go-to-market consultancy that helps technology companies accelerate growth in the public sector market. GBR combines public sector strategy, marketing, content, sales enablement and experienced marketing talent to help companies understand their government buyers, sharpen their market position, build demand and turn opportunity into revenue. Working across federal, state and local government, education and adjacent public sector markets, GBR helps technology companies navigate the unique buying dynamics and accelerate growth of sustainable, scalable public sector businesses. Learn more at gotogbr.com.