Business Challenge

In today’s era of Social Media Stars and attention to athletics sponsorship has taken on an entirely new angle.  No longer is the act of sponsoring an event or even a popular individual left for “the big guys” it can be embraced by businesses of every size.  In Episode 98 we mentioned one of the ways to build a local brand was to sponsor local events.  That led to the deeper question of really taking that to the maximum as a system.

The challenge that we are tackling today is:

“How do I get the most (exposure, leads, interest) from sponsoring a local event? ”

Listen in and read on to find out more:

Key Items

1. Multi-Channel Exposure – Many local events and charities are used to running their sponsorship in a certain way.  They offer something like “Please donate $500 and we will put an ad up for you.”.  While this is nice, there are certainly more ways to support the organization that they would likely be willing to offer if you made the suggestion.  Ask if your sponsorship can include exposure on their Facebook page, handouts, website, and even email newsletter.  Many organizations have these channels of communications, they just haven’t thought to offer them as part of the sponsorship package.  Have your assets (images, videos, etc.) ready to offer so you can make it easy for them to accept.  For bonus points, give them your domain with tracking parameters (Google Analytics – UTM) to help you track the success of the different channels.


2. Offer to Bring in Related Businesses - There are many businesses that are related to aren’t in competition with each other but complement each other.  Think of Real Estate and Insurance or a car dealership and car wash.  Local events are often having to chase down sponsors from people they know, but if you can bring in related businesses that you have affiliations/relationships with you can not only help the organization you can bring in businesses that will likely refer you even more business.


3. Multi-Year Discount. – Especially for events with a good track record of attendance and a strong alignment with your brand ideals then locking up a multi-year deal can be extremely beneficial.  Committing to a multi-year deal can not only get you an additional discount it can even get you more premium advertising.  Many events have levels of sponsorship (i.e. Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum) and committing to a multi-year period can get you an uplevel (or two sponsorship for the same price you are paying today.


4. Can You Provide an Item of Value?- We mentioned “small give aways” as a way to build your local brand in Episode 98.  You can use these items of value in conjunction with local events or you might even create something that helps the local event.  For example if there is an annual 10k that you want to support, think about branding your own water bottles for the aid station.   Don’t worry about trying to sponsor all of the water as that could be a budget buster, but offer to sponsor a specific aid station with your own branded bottle of water (even without a ton of research you can get these for a very effective cost).

Sponsors

• Perry Marshall – As the co-author of the Ultimate Guide to Google Adwords, creator of the Adwords Bootcamp and one who has developed ninja level marketing programs you are sure to find a marketing strategies and tactics that will help your business get to the next level.


• Email Autoresponders – Staying connected with existing customers and prospects can be a challenge when you are relying on only your own activity.  Implementing an email autoresponder sequence will help you to engage prospects over time until they are ready to do business with you and keep existing customers thrilled that you are staying in touch.  Find out more about the solutions that can help your business today.

Want Your Challenge Featured?

With each challenge we tackle, we look to not only solve the problem we look to shed light on new opportunities for our listeners.  We invite you listen to a couple of the business owners who shared their challenges and to submit your own today!