Sponsors are absolutely vital to events. Some events wouldn’t be able to run without sponsors, and some could run but be at a much greater expense to the riders. Sadly, it seems riders aren't overly forth coming with their thanks to the sponsors of their classes which is a huge shame.
I have seen posts on Facebook talking about sponsorship and there have been a number of people that have sponsored events and classes in the past and have not received a single thank you from riders so have opted to not sponsor again! That is pretty sad. I can however understand where they are coming from. When you are a small business, sponsoring an event is not something that is taken lightly, then to not even get a single thank you from any rider in the class(es) that you sponsored? Why would you do it again.
So how should you thank your sponsors? There are a number of ways. You DON’T need to be a winner or prize getting to say thank you. You should be doing it regardless. Don’t forget, along with thanking the sponsor of your class(es), thank the naming rights sponsor of the show if there is one.
Email or Facebook or Instagram message is a good first port of call. A number of organising committees will send out a list of contact emails to riders after the show. Use it!! If they don’t, use Google to see if you can find contact details. Finding the sponsors Facebook or Instagram page is usually fairly easy if they have one. As is finding their website which should contain contact details or a contact form.
Personally, as a sponsor, I love getting photos with the email or message! If I receive one, I can share it to my Facebook and Instagram pages along with the thank you note. It is good advertising for me as it shows customers I support their sport.
Create a post on your Facebook or Instagram page and tag the sponsors. Do this as well as sending an email or Facebook or Instagram message. Facebook notifications are a pretty hit and miss sometimes and if you only post on your Facebook page the sponsor may miss it. Instagram seems much more reliable with regards to tagging notifications. If you message or email as well, they will see that if they don’t see the tag. Putting on your post 'thank you to all the sponsors', while a nice gesture, doesn't really cut it. We sponsor to advertise our businesses therefore you need to name your sponsors so anyone reading your post can see who they are which equals advertising for us.
Your Facebook post needs to be public otherwise the sponsor will not get a notification of your tag even then Facebook tagging notifications are very hit and miss. By posting on your Facebook or Instagram page, this provides further advertising for the sponsor as it will be seen by different people over and above the people that were at the event and saw the event promotional information.
Send a card with a photo. I have got a few of these in the past and they are neat! Not something you get often so always a nice surprise in the mail.
Some shows will have cards for you to write on that they then send on to the sponsors. Make the effort to write on these.
Going forward after the show and after you have sent your thank yous, if you purchase something from a sponsor or use their service in the future because of their sponsorship, make sure you let them know. It is fantastic to know a rider has decided to support your business because you have supported their sport.
I cannot impress on riders the importance of thanking sponsors. These are the people that are digging into their pockets to provide YOU with ribbons for your event, prize money for your event, paying for stewards for your event, paying for first aid for your event, and all the many, many other things that cost money that are needed in order to be able to run an event. If that money wasn’t forth coming from sponsors, you would need to pay for it with your entry fee. Do you have any idea how much that would make your entry fee? Those of you that have helped run shows will. Those that haven’t, you would likely be charged 4 or 5 times the amount you are now.
THANK YOUR SPONSORS
