A sponsorship program is a great way to bring in additional revenue for your trade association. If done well, it’s a win for everyone. Companies get exposure to their target audiences. Your members become aware of products and services they might be interested in. And your association has more funding to provide high-value events and services.
So why aren’t sponsors lining up to throw their money at you? Well, there’s more to sponsorship than just offering logo space to your favorite companies. If you’ve tried asking companies to sponsor your association but keep getting ghosted, there’s still hope!
Sponsors are Businesses Too
To start with, sponsors don’t usually sponsor just for the sake of supporting a cause. They’re businesses with specific goals and bottom lines. Your best chance of partnering with them is to find out what their goals are and show them how your association can help achieve those goals.
For example, if a company wants sales, your goal should be to give them the best tools to help them get sales through your association. Rather than just selling a sponsorship, you’re providing a solution.
To find out how you can best match with a potential sponsor, start with some basic questions like:
- What are your business goals?
- Who is your target audience?
- How do you usually get new customers?
It’s also important to know what you bring to the table so you can emphasize the value you’re offering. Businesses have quite a bit to gain from sponsorships, including:
- Increased visibility for their brand.
- The opportunity to aim their sales efforts toward a specific demographic.
- An improved reputation for success and refinement.
- More sales leads.
- Dynamic content for social media.
In addition to all this, three big things they want when they partner with an association are audience, activation, and a return on their investment (ROI).
Audience
Businesses have a specific audience they’re trying to reach. What makes you a great candidate for their sponsorship is when your members are part of their target audience. Now, to determine if your association is a good match for a sponsor, you need to know your members. This means more than just their demographics. You need to know what they need, the problems they have, their goals, and why they’re a part of your association.
You’ll set yourself apart from your competition if you’re able to provide relevant audience data to your sponsors. To get this information, survey your members. To encourage survey participation, make sure they know it will be anonymous and how important the information will be for the organization. You can also provide an incentive for survey completion.
If you meet with a prospective sponsor and find out you don’t have their target audience, it’s not automatically a loss. Instead of selling a sponsorship package, ask if there’s anyone in their network who would be interested in your audience. That way you walk away from the meeting with referrals.
Activation
Activations are where the goals of the sponsor and the goals of the audience meet. They’re a kind of experiential marketing that let the audience see the sponsor’s value in a way that’s enjoyable. Activations are important because sponsors get the chance to stand out and make a lasting impression. More than just a logo on an event brochure, it gives them a chance to make your audience happy. Think about things like phone-charging stations that the sponsor provides at your event.
Getting creative with activation ideas will increase the value of your sponsorship.
ROI
Your sponsors have specific business goals, so you need to make sure they’re getting an ROI from their sponsorship. To do that, you need to ensure you have the right data:
- Your sponsorship valuation. If you haven’t already, figure out the market value of your assets and your brand.
- Your audience data. As discussed above, providing demographics along with needs and interests will let you offer a higher quality sponsorship opportunity.
- An ROI ratio. Businesses often have a specific ratio in mind that they’re trying to hit. If you include that with your valuation, you have room to negotiate.
- A fulfillment report. After you’ve delivered on a sponsorship opportunity, you need to show them the numbers. This report should include your valuation numbers and your actual deliverables. Now they can see the actual value and ROI of their sponsorship. If you over-delivered on the ROI, this is the perfect chance to ask them for continued sponsorship.
Win-win-win
At the end of the day, a good sponsorship meets the needs of the sponsor, your members, and your association. The key is knowing what those needs are and finding ways to meet them at the same time. Do that and provide solid proof that you can meet a sponsor’s goals, and you’ll have no trouble finding companies who want to stay – and support – your industry and association year after year.
