Spring is in bloom and that means business professionals are aching to get out of the office and onto the golf links. It is no secret that business deals developed over the course of 18 holes are sometimes more lucrative than what can be worked out in the confines of an office. Corporate golf outings are a great way to build morale within a company, but more significantly, these events can facilitate long term business relationships with new and established clients.
Employees should keep in mind that there is a difference between golfing for leisure and golfing to increase business. Business golf is not an excuse for excessive drinking, but is instead an opportunity to deepen and extend company-client relations. Business should never be conducted in the first or last five holes of the round according to Sports Illustrated. However, those eight holes in the middle can sometimes make or break business deals. The way that a business team handles itself on the links can have a direct impact on how a company is viewed by a client.
Small businesses can best take advantage of golfing excursions by moving marketing strategies beyond the fairway and onto the equipment itself by adding corporate promotional giveaways to client-based golf outings. Making a company’s logo visible on products associated with a particular corporate event reveals organization, follow through and that a company has a clear plan. Consider customizing the following golf accessories with corporate logos or information to ensure that clients will remember their day on the green once the clubhouse dinner check has been paid.
Golf balls
The pockmarked white ball is synonymous with golf itself. What could be better than having clients drive balls with a company’s logo on them? Associating a company with the central object of the game itself subtly suggests that a company should be the object of a client’s attention.
Customized tees
A perfect accompaniment to golf balls, tees marked with a corporate logo is not only functional, but affordable to nearly any budget. Reputable companies dealing in corporate gifts also offer tee carrying pouches that can be embroidered with corporate logos.
Golf umbrellas
Much can change over the course of a six-hour round of business golf, including the weather. Umbrellas featuring a corporate logo can be some of the most useful business gifts clients receive. Golfing guests will be pleased with an umbrella on high UV index days or when caught in surprise rain showers. Chances are clients will carry an umbrella off the course and use it often, and that provides free advertising on any inclement weather day.
Golf multitools
Avid golfers know the distress of forgetting a divot repair tool or a ball marker. Outstanding companies specializing in promotional items offer 5 in 1 tools containing these two items as well as a knife, nail file and screwdriver that can be custom designed with a corporate logo. Clients are likely to use this item frequently on and off the course, and may associate the multi-functionality of the tool with a company’s ability to target multiple needs.
Note pads
Adorning small note pads with company contact information can be useful for keeping score and working out critical financial numbers on the green. Include email address and fax number so they may be easily located by the client.
Consider the ways that these corporate promotional products can be combined to make a memorable golf package for customers. Providing clients with everything they need to enjoy a game will show them that a company will fulfil and exceed expectations.