The Public Sector Advantage: Tapping into Billions in Furniture Sales
One-third of the furniture market is hiding in plain sight and most manufacturers aren’t even looking at it.Public Sector is a term that encompasses Federal, State, Local, Education (SLED), and Cooperative purchasing, anyone spending public funds. As a self-proclaimed Public Sector Subject Matter Enthusiast, I believe there are a lot of aspects of this market that make it important for a manufacturer, especially a small business, to have a strategy for Public Sector.
The Public Sector isn’t just another vertical — it’s a massive, resilient market that buys year after year, regardless of economic conditions.
The federal government spends over $1.4 B per year on furniture while SLED accounts for 2-3 x’s that number. Recent numbers suggest that the furniture industry is a $15B industry. If that is accurate and the Fed/SLED market is $4-6B then it accounts for 1/3 of the total furniture sales!! If you are not playing in this market you have already decided you do not have a strategy for 1/3 of the market potential.
Although it may not look like it if you watch the news, the federal government continues to spend money on products like furniture even during times of a recession or pandemic. You need to push past the news and chaos to understand what is really happening, who is hiring, who has the money and where they are spending it.
Since Public Sector is a broad category, they literally buy everything we make in the furniture industry. There are offices, common areas, healthcare, classrooms, cafeterias, libraries, laboratories, etc.
Since public funds are being spent, there is a lot of available data to help you create your strategy including forecasts, budgets, contacts, and socio-economic goals. This makes it easier to identify your BD targets and do your research for your meetings.
You need to understand the role that contracts play in this world and determine if you need to hold contracts or can partner with someone who does. You need a contract strategy that meets your clients’ needs.
Certain aspects of Public Sector have socio-economic requirements. You need to know what they are, what your status is, and what your customers’ requirements are.
There may be registrations or databases you need to be registered in BEFORE you can even meet with some customers.
It is easy to identify the dealers who pursue this market as they may hold their own contracts and/or have sellers dedicated to Federal or Education specifically. However, especially on the Federal side, they may be dealers you and your reps do not even know.
Your direct and/or independent sales team may not understand how to position you to a Public Sector end user, so you want to have the marketing, resources and training available to make sure they are confident.
As with any vertical, there are differences you need to consider in marketing to Public Sector. Different rules for email campaigns as well as different marketing pieces needed for end user and dealer development.
Although it may not look like it if you watch the news, the federal government continues to spend money on products like furniture even during times of a recession or pandemic. You need to push past the news and chaos to understand what is really happening, who is hiring, who has the money and where they are spending it.
More Than Just Another Vertical
The Public Sector isn’t just another vertical — it’s a massive, resilient market that buys year after year, regardless of economic conditions. If you’re not intentionally pursuing it, you’re leaving billions in potential sales untapped. Start by understanding the contracts, requirements, and players in this space — and equip your sales and marketing teams to win. Your competitors are already in the game. The question is, will you be?
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