Small businesses are always looking for effective ways to reach their target audiences. Sponsorship is often overlooked as a means to this end. Small business sponsorship can provide an excellent, cost-effective way to engage prospects and build your brand at the same time.
What is Small Business Sponsorship?
Small business sponsorship opportunities differ for every business. You can find excellent small business sponsorship opportunities anywhere from professional development conferences and trade shows to your local Parks and Recreation Department.
For a small business that provides services within its own community, a sports, school or recreational sponsorship may provide ideal contact. For example, an orthodontist may sponsor a local recreation department’s youth soccer program. This type of small business sponsorship puts the doctor’s name in plain view of the community members he (or she) serves.
This kind of small business sponsorship puts the doctor’s name and logo in places like the players’ jerseys (which go home to Mom and Dad), registration materials, printed sports programs, and playing field advertisements. In short, this kind of small business sponsorship provides a lot of lasting (and repeat) impressions on the target community.
Small business sponsorship can also be effective for businesses that provide products and services to other businesses, rather than to individual consumers. These small business sponsorship opportunities may come in the form of trade shows, professional development seminars, charity golf outings or raffle drawings, and other business-oriented functions.
For a relatively small investment on your part, these kinds of small business sponsorship opportunities may put you in direct contact with decision-makers in the businesses and industries you want to do business with. Professional development sponsorships usually give you advertising in the conference program, and prime booth space at trade shows or exhibitions that may be going on in conjunction with the conference.
Exhibitions and trade shows offer another type of opportunity to promote your business. Promotional products with your business name and logo on them deliver the chance to make impressions upon conference or trade show attendees and the people they encounter. For trade shows, consider giving away tote bags with your logo on it. Trade show attendees tend to accumulate a lot of printed material and other giveaways. If they carry them in your tote bag – and tote bags tend to be inexpensive – your business can gain an additional “win.”
If you would like more information about how you can put a small business sponsorship plan to work for you, please contact our Creative Director, Dave Ramsell or give Dave a call at (330) 243-0651 to set up a consultation.
Photo Credit: mrsmas, via FreeImages.com
