As a small to medium-sized business owner you may never have considered the idea of sponsorship as part of your marketing campaign in the local community. But sponsorship is not just for the large national and multinational corporations. Here are 6 points to consider when investigating sponsoring in your local community as part of your brand building strategies.
- Sponsorship doesn’t have to cost your business a fortune: conventional sponsorship targets usually include the local football team or cricket team, or local charity or cause. However, consider also the possibility of sponsoring one-off events such as an art exhibition, a recycling scheme, young entrepreneur competition or even a school project.
- Sponsorship is a win-win situation: the beneficiary receives funding, equipment, support, or other goods and services, while the business can benefit directly from increased exposure in the local community, better brand awareness, goodwill, prospect generation, and enhanced customer loyalty.
Consider how much effort some larger corporations invest in their corporate social responsibility programmes – and you’ll understand just how valuable being involved directly with your local community is, and how it can benefit your business. Bear in mind though that any return on investment generated by sponsorship may be indirect, and it should not simply be seen as a direct source of sales.
- Plenty of publicity: developing a sponsorship deal with another locally-based organisation or group brings with it great publicity for your business. It’s equivalent to doubling your efforts to build your brand and business standing in the community.
- Cost effective: sponsoring a local sports team, for example, may involve financing their sports kit and in return you will be able to use your business name and logo on the kit typically, or a large display banner at event locations, such as those supplied by http://www.rollerbannersuk.com. The publicity gained from such a deal will be far better in terms of your return on investment than a short-lived, high-profile direct marketing campaign which could easily cost ten times as much.
- Targeted audience: To find a good sponsorship fit, consider the type of business you run; your products or services and the profile of your typical customers. With these factors in mind, it is then a case of researching groups and organisations in your local community which you feel would be most complementary or appropriate for your business. Sponsorship can also be a great way to reach out to prospective customers in a demographic you’ve possibly never considered before.
- Be on point: from your perspective, the purpose of sponsorship should be defined before you approach a group or organisation about sponsoring them. Do you want to focus on brand building and brand awareness or showcasing your latest product? Why is this important? Depending on what you want to achieve for your business through sponsorship – you’ll be looking for opportunities to display your business logo – or display what your product(s) can do; two quite different scenarios.
When you’re ready, approach those groups or organisations you think might be interested and possibly share the same goals as you – and create that win-win scenario!
