The sun is shining, trees are blooming, and the Oberon is flowing — golf season is finally here. It’s time to dust off those clubs and practice your swing (and we’ll pretend to not hear all the swearing).
A round of golf isn’t just great for unwinding after a long workweek or catching up with your buddies — it’s great for business. When corporate golf outings are well-organized, they have the potential to generate loads of business for a company.
Golf events put a significant spotlight on brands. People — and most importantly, potential clients — have the opportunity to engage with their community while fundraising for a good cause, with your brand as the lucky backdrop. Golf outings let the community engage with your company in a memorable, meaningful way.
Here are five ways that corporate golf outings can benefit your business.
1. They Do Good for Your Community
Golf and nonprofits go hand in hand. Golf outings raise nearly $4 billion for charities every year — to say golf outings are popular fundraisers would be an understatement. Golfing is an outdoor sport that brings people together in a fun, laid-back way. It’s an excellent mechanism to give back to your community and raise awareness for an important cause.
Golf outings help generate funds for those in need and often bring out many first-time golfers. This helps support local businesses and families that also give back to their community. It's a win-win.
2. They Make You Stand Out from Your Competitors
Driving change for your community and having a positive social impact instantly gives you an edge. People like to see businesses doing good things. And they’ll typically spend their money with a brand that gives back versus a competitor that doesn’t give to charity. In fact, 81% of millennials say they would support brands with corporate citizenship.
Your corporate social responsibility (CSR) should be strategic, authentic, and multifaceted. A corporate golf outing that benefits a nonprofit or good cause is an excellent addition to your CSR portfolio. The event provides many philanthropic opportunities, of course, and it gives you great brand awareness.
You can either find an existing event to sponsor or host your own. By hosting your own golf outing, you can be strategic in selecting your nonprofit beneficiaries. A golfing fundraiser will help you foster long-term brand loyalty for your business, all while helping others along the way.
3. They Help You Foster Relationships
Four hours out on a golf course is a long time — it’s no secret a lot of business deals are made out on the green. Although it may seem daunting, these hours of face time with vendors, clients, prospects, and colleagues are priceless.
Golf outings allow you to network and advance business relationships, so it's essential to be mindful when assigning teams. For example, it might be a great idea to pair a board member from your organization with an executive from a corporate sponsor business to help boost your relationship.
4. They Let You Engage with Your Community
Suppose one of your company goals is to increase community outreach and engagement. In that case, a golf outing is a surefire way to hit it. As we already know, golfing brings people from all walks of life together.
When considering hosting a golf outing, make sure you nail down who you’d like to attend and what kind of turnout you’d like to achieve. Are there certain community members you’d like to attend? Potentially the mayor or a few school administrators? You’ll want to solidify a guest and sponsor list that will attract community members. The same thing goes for attending golf outings — make sure it makes sense for you and your business.
5. They Help You Empower Your Employees
Let’s not forget about the heart of your company — your employees are the backbone of your business. It can be challenging to attract and retain top talent in today's competitive job market.
Participating and hosting golf outings can help increase your employee retention rate. A Fortune study showed that people who believe their organizations give back to the community are 13 times more likely to look forward to coming to work compared to employees who do not perceive their employers to be generous toward their community.
Giving back to your community can give you greater employee retention, higher levels of brand ambassadorship, and enthusiastic employees.
Don’t miss out on this year’s golf season — there’s still time to get your brand’s message in front of the right people. Not sure where to start? Drop us a line. Our putting might be lackluster, but marketing brands is our hole-in-one. Get in touch with Michelle to gear up for your next outing: michelle@ohhellobranding.com.
Let us take the weight off your shoulders and help your business grow this summer. Check out our promotional products here. And hire us here.
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