Advocacy—The Little Used Marketing Tool You don’t have to be a large corporation to benefit from the advocacy services of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
By Brian Gauler
Marketing managers usually don’t think of government agency services as “marketing tools.” Yet many of the services these agencies provide can be used as marketing tools, particularly by small firms.
Advocacy One agency that provides an excellent marketing tool is The Advocacy Center of the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Center’s advocacy service is available to all U.S. companies. As an advocate for U.S. companies, especially for smaller firms responding to project bids overseas, the Center goes to bat to represent your company in a positive way.
How it Works Their key situations for which you should consider requesting advocacy support from the Department of Commerce: 1. When you encounter competition for a contract from a foreign firm that is receiving assistance from its government to pressure you into a buying decision 2. When unfair treatment by foreign government decision-makers exists that prevents you from competing 3. When politicized procurement processes link contracts to concessions 4. When tenders are tied up in bureaucratic red tape
Methods of Advocacy When you think about advocacy, you might simply consider it to be a letter of support from a Commerce official prepared on letterhead. And a Letter of Advocacy can be an effective marketing tool for any U.S. firm.
What is amazing, however, is the amount of support the U.S. government is willing to offer to support your efforts, often with direct support by U.S. officials stationed at the numerous U.S. embassies around the world. (There are 151 U.S. Commercial Service offices in 85 countries.) It’s impressive to consider that you can solicit the help of a senior official in the Commerce or State Department located overseas to assist you with direct contact advocacy in the country in which they are located.
Advocacy can also include a visit to a key foreign official by a high-ranking U.S. government official, and even coordinated action by U.S. government agencies.
Marketing Tool Advocacy support can obviously be a “life saver” at times. More important, it can be a wonderful marketing tool that supports your efforts to respond to overseas requests for quotations (or sales to entities influenced by foreign governments).
Here are some helpful hints for making the most of advocacy as a marketing tool: 1. Provide all the information requested by The Advocacy Center. When completing the questionnaire, provide more than asked for, if possible. The more their officials know about your company, the better they can respond. 2. If you are requesting a Letter of Advocacy, help them prepare it. You know the situation better than anyone, and providing a draft letter makes their task that much easier. 3. Team with your local USEAC. It’s fine to go directly to The Advocacy Center, but if your trade specialist from the Kansas City or St. Louis office is involved, you may be able to benefit from a “team” effort. 4. Contact the state of Missouri’s Office of International Marketing. This agency also provides advocacy support and may be in a position to have someone from one of their overseas offices help.
Check It Out The more about advocacy services from the Department of Commerce, simply check out the Web site at www.ita.doc.gov. The home page has a direct link to The Advocacy Center, and there you will find detailed explanations of their services.
You will find information about Advocacy Center assistance, U.S. government guidelines, the Advocacy Questionnaire (which must be completed when asking for assistance), a staff directory and success stories.
In a nutshell, you’ll find that U.S. embassies overseas are playing an increasing role in supporting U.S. firms, especially with foreign transactions involving foreign governments.
Brian Gauler is Director of business development at Environmental Dynamics, Inc., in Columbia, Mo. He can be reached at (573) 474-9456 or by e-mailing .
