What Market Connections does

Market Connections is a custom primary market research firm founded in 1995 that specializes in B2G and B2B research for government contractors, federal agencies, and technology companies. The company operates as a portfolio platform of GovExec (Government Executive Media Group, LLC), positioning it within a larger media and intelligence platform serving public-sector decision makers. Its core value proposition is reaching "hard-to-reach" audiences — Defense and Intelligence personnel, senior government decision makers across IT, telecom, healthcare, and education, technology executives, commercial real estate professionals, and international policy makers — who typically do not participate in conventional market research due to clearance, time, or regulatory constraints.

The firm's offerings span custom primary research services (surveys, focus groups, in-depth interviews) and syndicated research products. Custom engagements include brand research, customer satisfaction studies, competitive profiling, thought leadership research, concept/communications testing, market segmentation, M&A research, and new product testing. Syndicated products include the annual Federal Media & Marketing Study, the Federal Information Technology (FIT) Studies series (Buyer Journey, Personas), the Content Marketing Review, and the Marketing for the Public Sector Study. The company's proprietary Government Insight Panel provides direct access to government decision makers, supplemented by a global network of trusted partners for international and difficult-to-engage audiences.

Market Connections generates revenue through two primary channels: project-based professional services engagements with enterprise clients and recurring/transactional sales of published reports through an e-commerce marketplace. Visible price points include $495 for the full Federal IT Personas bundle and $349 for segment-specific Defense/Civilian bundles. The go-to-market motion is sales-led, leveraging content marketing, email newsletters, industry events (including the GAIN conference), webinars, and PR/earned media distributed through GovExec's media properties (InformationWeek, Defense One, Government Matters, Federal News Network). The customer base skews toward enterprise technology vendors and government contractors including AWS, Microsoft, Google, Cisco, Lockheed Martin, Booz Allen Hamilton, SolarWinds, NetApp, and Unisys. The firm is privately held, employs 11–50 people, and is headquartered in Washington, DC.

Name

Market Connections

Legal name

Market Connections, Inc.

Website

https://marketconnectionsinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Market Connections is a custom primary market research firm specializing in B2G and B2B research for government contractors, federal agencies, and technology vendors, with proprietary expertise in reaching hard-to-reach audiences such as defense, intelligence, and senior government decision makers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

B2B / Industrial Market Research (MPAAALAA)

Keywords

• Primary market research
• Federal market intelligence
• Government decision makers
• Custom research services
• Audience recruitment

Headquarters

HQ city

Fairfax

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Custom Market Research Services: Market Connections provides custom primary market research services including surveys, focus groups, and in-depth interviews tailored to client needs. These are likely project-based engagements with government contractors, federal agencies, and commercial companies.
2. Published Research Reports and Studies: The company sells published research reports through their marketplace, including the Federal Media & Marketing Study, Content Marketing Review, Federal IT Buyer Journey studies, and sector-specific reports. These studies are sold as downloadable reports, presentations, and bundled packages.
3. Email Updates and Newsletter Subscriptions: Monthly email updates delivering insights, reports, and research findings to subscribers, likely part of a freemium or low-cost subscription model for market intelligence.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Market Connections is a custom primary market research firm that helps B2B and B2G customers reach hard-to-reach audiences such as Defense and Intelligence, Commercial Real Estate, International Policy Makers, and Government Decision Makers in IT, telecom, healthcare, education, and real estate. The firm conducts surveys, focus groups, and in-depth interviews, and sells syndicated annual studies including the Federal Media & Marketing Study and Federal IT Buyer Journey series, alongside custom brand, customer satisfaction, capture, and thought leadership research engagements.

Product overview

Market Connections is a custom primary market research firm specializing in technology and the public sector, particularly the federal market. The company offers a portfolio of research services including brand research, customer satisfaction, competitive profiling, market segmentation, and thought leadership studies. Their research products include the annual Federal Media & Marketing Study, Federal Information Technology (FIT) Studies series, Content Marketing Review, and Marketing for the Public Sector Study. They maintain a Government Insight Panel for gathering insights from federal decision-makers and provide GovExec Intelligence as their primary research platform. The firm conducts surveys, focus groups, and in-depth interviews to help B2B and B2G customers reach executive and high-level decision makers who are difficult to access through traditional research methods.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Primary Market Research
• Federal Media & Marketing Study
• Federal Information Technology (FIT) Studies
• Content Marketing Review: Reaching the Public Sector
• Marketing for the Public Sector Study
• GovExec Buyer Reports
• Brand Research
• Customer Satisfaction & Contract Evaluation
• Thought Leadership Research
• New Pursuit & Capture Research
• Competitive Profiling
• Market Opportunity Assessment
• Hard to Reach Audiences Research
• Government Insight Panel

Quantifiable outcome

• 96% of winning contractors use research to understand the federal marketplace
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers22 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• GovExecflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMarket Connections is a portfolio platform of GovExec, a media and intelligence company providing information and insights to public-sector and industry leaders. This relationship provides Market Connections with brand credibility, distribution channels through GovExec's media platform, and access to government decision-maker audiences through the Government Insight Panel.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ICF International: Global consulting and digital services firm with substantial federal research, survey, and communications practice. Comparable as a research services provider to federal agencies and government contractors, though operates across a much broader portfolio of advisory, implementation, and analytics services.
• Westat: Employee-owned professional services corporation providing survey research, statistical analysis, and program evaluation for federal agencies. Comparable because it conducts large-scale primary research on behalf of government and contractor clients with similar methodologies (surveys, focus groups, qualitative interviews).
• Bloomberg Government: Subscription intelligence platform providing federal contracting, legislative, and policy data to government contractors and policy professionals. Comparable as a B2G intelligence provider serving the same buyer base with overlapping use cases in federal market analysis and contractor decision support.
• NORC at the University of Chicago: Independent research institution conducting survey, policy, and program evaluation research for federal agencies. Comparable in primary research methodology (surveys, qualitative methods) and federal client base, though with a broader academic and policy orientation.
• Kantar Public: Global public sector research and consulting practice within Kantar, delivering policy, communications, and evaluation research to government and public-sector clients. Comparable in methodology (custom surveys, qualitative research) and public-sector orientation, though larger and more internationally focused.
• Ipsos Public Affairs: Large global market research firm with a dedicated public affairs and government research practice. Comparable because it offers custom survey, focus group, and opinion research targeting government audiences and B2B technology clients, though at much larger scale and broader scope than Market Connections.

Emerging players

• Govini: Federal market intelligence and data analytics platform serving government contractors with contract, spend, and competitor data. Comparable as a B2G intelligence provider targeting the same government contractor buyer, though differentiated by a SaaS/data platform model versus Market Connections' custom primary research.
• GovWin (Deltek): Government contracting intelligence platform providing opportunity tracking, capture management, and market analysis to government contractors. Comparable as a B2G intelligence provider serving government contractor BD teams, differentiated by data-led platform model versus Market Connections' primary research approach.

Direct peers

• Federal Sources: Government marketing intelligence firm (also part of the GovExec portfolio historically) providing research, events, and advertising opportunities in the federal market. Directly comparable in service mix — federal market research, marketing intelligence, and audience access for government contractors.
• Government Business Council: Sister organization within the GovExec portfolio that conducts research and thought-leadership programs with senior federal executives. Directly comparable because it sells custom research, syndicated studies, and decision-maker panel access to the same government contractor client base as Market Connections.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mkt_connections
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/market-connections-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Market Connections