Here’s a tough question – how do you stay relevant and in front of your customers in a market where those customers are nervous, banks aren’t lending, and budgets are tight?

Sign a major sports sponsorship deal. Sponsorship deals in Minnesota remain strong, and many businesses see sponsorship as a marketing lifeline to reach consumers when more overt, hard-sell strategies may turn them off. Here are the basics of how, and why:

Stay visible without the hard sell. If there’s one thing consumers hate during tough times, it’s advertisers trying harder to get them to part with their increasingly scarce dollars. Companies can run the very real risk of alienating customers with heavy-handed marketing. Just look at the 2008 holiday shopping season, when retailers slashed prices on overstocked inventories, marketed those deals with aggressive advertising, and still ended up having the worst retail quarter since 2002.

Sponsoring a lifestyle sports event or team can provide tremendous brand recognition through event signage and team apparel plus athlete media interviews and testimonials. And it does so as public entertainment. Consumers who attend the event or who are exposed to your brand through media coverage make no or little connection between the event, your brand and any kind of selling. Your company can stay in front of customers without alienating them and stay relevant to them without coercing them to spend.

Build relationships for the future. Unlike traditional advertising, sponsorship really is all about relationships. Even nominal investments in a program, event or professional athletic team, give your company the opportunity to build new business contacts, to network with other like-minded businesses, or to provide hospitality for clients at sporting events. Athletes from sponsored teams or celebrity representatives from sponsored events can make appearances at dealerships, stores, company events and private functions to help your company build better relationships with the business community and customers. Try getting that kind of mileage out of a double-page spread or 30-second TV spot.

Invest strategically to maximize return. Every dollar counts with any marketing program. If you’re sponsoring a pro athlete or team, a competent marketing manager should be looking to pair your sponsorship dollars and brand name with like-minded organizations that can add a positive halo to your brand or company. We work hard to create a platform for all our clients, so we will strategically match a green business with a health and wellness company, an all-natural pain relief brand with a product that enhances muscle repair after exercise.

Seek integrity. This sounds obvious, but in sports sponsorship it can be easy to mistake less-than-perfect ethical practices for simple enthusiasm. If your company is considering sponsorship of any kind, do your homework, research the opportunity and the managers’ track record. Consider their capabilities and investigate the other sports properties or events they manage. In professional sports there can be a lot of ends-justifying-means philosophies, but that’s never good enough for your company. Take the time to seek and secure the best and you will win every time.