Menu
White Paper Banner Image

8(a) Construction vs. IT Consulting Marketing Differences

Today I wanted to illustrate the difference between where an 8(a) Construction firm and an 8(a) where an 8(a) IT/Consulting firm should go looking for federal business. I pulled one of the most common Construction NAICS Code 236220 and I pulled three common IT/Consulting codes 541611, 541511, and 541512. There were 64 agencies that purchased from 8(a) firms Construction Services compared with the broader 133 agencies that purchased IT/Consulting Services.

In the federal construction market 70% of all contracting dollars are spent by the Department of the Army, Navy and Air Force. Therefore any marketing strategy for an 8(a) construction firm should focus on these three DoD agencies. Go looking at your nearby military installations.

For IT/Consulting the landscape is much different. 70% of the 8(a) IT/Consulting dollars are spent by 12 agencies. These are listed below and the department of the Army is still the dominant agency it represents fewer than 10% of Federal IT/Consulting spending compared to over 42% for 8(a) Construction. If any of you would like the complete lists send me an email reply to this email and I will be happy to do so.

This analysis more or less goes back to the old Will Sutton quote, “I Rob Banks Because That’s Where the Money Is.”

8(a) Construction

  NAICS Code:  236220  Commercial and Institutional Building Construction $2.8 Billion Total
# Agency

2013 8(a) Spending by Agency

1 DEPT OF THE ARMY

1,119,006,266

2 DEPT OF THE NAVY

555,397,873

3 DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE

273,683,607

4 GSA PUBLIC BUILDINGS SERVICE

196,922,309

5 VETERANS AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF

182,712,731

6 STATE, DEPARTMENT OF

63,308,150

7 NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

59,696,745

8 EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION

44,976,125

9 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

36,256,379

10 NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY

32,990,742

8(a) IT/Consutling

  NAICS Code:  541611, 541511, 541512 (these are the most popular consulting and IT codes $4.0 Billion Total
# Agency

2013 8(a) Spending by Agency

1 DEPT OF THE ARMY

388,491,649

2 CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES

326,630,370

3 DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE

213,687,196

4 STATE, DEPARTMENT OF

187,307,017

5 ENERGY, DEPARTMENT OF

135,590,869

6 VETERANS AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF

133,548,010

7 U.S. COAST GUARD

132,939,742

8 FEDERAL ACQUISITION SERVICE

127,517,186

9 DEPT OF THE NAVY

127,215,788

10 DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY (DISA)

124,516,769

11 DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY (DISA)

124,516,769

12 CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL

106,929,186