Want to calculate sweet success in your sponsorship marketing? Treat your prospects like Valentine’s: put their needs FIRST, give them what they desire and make it memorable.

My travels to the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando let to global collaboration, including a guest blog in today’s Valentine’s Day edition of Golf Business Monitor. My new friend (thanks to Linked Golfers group), Hungarian Blogger Miklos Breitner of Golf Business Monitor, shared my expertise with his audience of golf club and association owners, managers and marketers. Our goal: share best practices on how to acquire new sponsors and retain existing ones

All ships rise with the tide: ollaborate with like-minded partners to grow reach, share success? #boomertips #sponsorship

Sports continue to dominate sponsorship spending. Yet IEG’s 2015 Sponsorship Spending Report1 suggests that sponsorship marketers have “reason to be optimistic but must be prepared to fight harder to maintain and grow revenue and return from partnerships.”

Winners in the sponsorship game must indeed put the audience at the heart of all efforts, and use digital tools to maximize impact.

So how do you bring unique experiences, quantify the opportunity and ensure measurable, repeatable success?

1) Understand THEIR “WHY” (the decision maker AND company’s pain or promise)

2) Identify what success looks like (awareness? trial? sales? retention?)

3) Offer innovative, turnkey solutions (easy implementation and reporting)

4) QUANITIFY the VALUE of the investment as it relates to THEIR NEEDS. For example, reverse engineer a sponsor’s investment to reflect MANY facets of their exposure to your coveted members.

• Leverage member data to specify how your demographics align with their sweet spot
• How many “touch points” will you deliver over the year via online and offline efforts, eg
  • Digital (PR, paid ads, social media, CRM/email)
  • Events, contests, educational opportunities
  • Newsletters, signage, print
  • Contests, cross-promotions

5) REPORT MEASURABLE, REPEATABLE SUCCESS in a format they can easily share with upper management or their board of directors

Case in point: the Women’s Golf Association of NJ used this “audience-focused” approach across online and offline to grow from 375 to 463 members last year while doubling engagement and participation rates. We attracted new relationships and substantial support from prominent organizations including the Barclays/PGA Tour, LPGA ShopRite Classic, USGA, PGA Tour Superstore and more.

Remember, every deal should demonstrate VALUE: Return on awareness, engagement, participation and satisfaction. Let this be the first step in your five-year renewal strategy. Think about “what’s in it for ALL” and have fun along the way.