Fore a good time, make your golf outing sponsorship a hole-in-one

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Even as the economy rebounds from the recent downturn, businesses still need to use caution with outside spending and make every dollar count.

As such, it is important for companies to take full advantage of their sponsorship dollars. In the summer months, golf outings can offer a great opportunity to support a good cause while also generating awareness for your firm and providing an opportunity for networking. But if you decide to sponsor an outing, use the following tips to ensure you are getting the greatest value for your marketing dollars.

Clarify your goals and expectations for the outing in advance. Are there specific prospects or influential people you would like to meet? Do you have an upcoming event or seminar you would like to share with participants? Is this mainly an opportunity to get your firm in front of clients, referral sources and prospects?

Prior to the event, make sure your firm logo is included in all promotional materials. This could include the event website, social media pages, printed invitations or e-vites, on-site banners and posters, and any press releases or additional media communications. Make sure the event organizer has the appropriate file types and resolutions of your logo for the varied uses mentioned above.

Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate

When it comes to sponsorships, there are many opportunities for additional promotion and recognition that can be included that won’t make the event organizer incur any additional cost. Ask to put branded giveaways in the gift bags for golfers or, if the organizing group has a newsletter, offer to write an article for their next issue about the outing. Be creative.

Take photos on the course

A great way to ensure that you meet a majority of the attendees is to set up a photo station near one of the tee boxes on the course, where you can have someone from your firm take digital photos of each foursome and trade businesses cards and a pocketsize announcement with the webpage showing the downloadable photos. After the outing, you can brand the pictures and send them as a keepsake for participants. It also offers you an opportunity to follow up with any new contacts or prospects.

Mix up your foursomes

If you get a complimentary foursome as part of your sponsorship package, use it as an opportunity to invite top clients and prospects. Although it is always easier to make a foursome of colleagues from your firm, the extra time spent with a top client or prospect can be invaluable.

Leverage additional photos and video of the event

Throughout the day you can take pictures and video of the event. These extra pictures and video clips can be posted to your website, blog, social media sites and even included in press releases to media outlets.

Have fun

Wear your firm’s branded apparel and meet as many people as possible. Remember you are often creating the first impression of your firm.

Jenna Weber is a business development coordinator at SVA Professional Services. She is responsible for the creation and implementation of business development strategies and awareness campaigns that drive business growth.