5-year shirt sponsor of FC Groningen

For the past 5 years, Payt has been a sponsor of FC Groningen. From 2017 to 2019, we were the main sponsor of the club and then a proud shirt sponsor. But all things come to an end. After this season, we will stop sponsoring the club. It has been a wonderful adventure in which we have learned a lot. In this article, I explain how we as a team viewed the initial decision and what lessons we encountered along the way.

In the ball pit with Luis Suárez and our children in Andorra, Spain

How It Started

There had been ongoing contacts between employees of Payt and FC Groningen. I myself had invested savings in the players’ fund when Louis Suárez joined the club. Almost the entire team that founded Payt already worked for companies located in the Euroborg. We were in the same entrance as the players’ lounge, and I placed a ping pong table in the hallway outside their door. There was a lot of interaction. In 2015, then-director Hans Nijland inquired if we were interested in having our name on the back of the shirt for the semi-final of the KNVB Cup. And possibly the final in De Kuip, including a skybox for 20 people. We thought defeating Excelsior at home should be doable. Hans wanted €40,000 for it, to be paid upfront, with the risk on us whether the final was reached or not. It was the first year that the cup winner went directly into the group stage of the Europa League. Hans indicated that nearly one and a half million euros would come in if FC Groningen won the cup. Payt was heading for a loss of nearly half a million euros and a turnover of only €300,000 over 2015. So we decided to do it, under the motto “no risk, no success.” We negotiated that if FC Groningen won the cup, Payt would get the full sponsorship amount back. After all, it was no longer as important for FC Groningen at that point, but it was for us. The joy when we celebrated the victory in De Kuip will always stay with us.

At the end of 2016, FC Groningen was looking for a new main sponsor for the next season. It hadn’t occurred to us to do this, of course. Payt had since grown into a small company with just under €700,000 in turnover for the year. Growth was going well, but to spend 1.5 million euros a year on football sponsorship and associated costs? We did it and have no regrets. We were the main sponsor for two years and were on the back of the shirt as a shirt sponsor for three years.

Our Motivation to Become a Shirt Sponsor

Of course, the total package of our sponsorship was more extensive than just the shirt. We were also on all the shirts of all the youth teams, had boards and flags around the stadium and training facilities. We added LED boarding and had a skybox with a capacity of 45 people.

Payt provides software to improve cash flow for companies by getting invoices paid faster and more easily for its clients. With a team of 40 people, we work on the best possible software that should be accessible to all companies. For multinationals, SMEs, and also for freelancers. The costs Payt incurs are largely fixed costs, mainly salaries and rent for software, hardware, and office space. Extra revenue is therefore much more valuable than when the gross margin on a product is, for example, 30%. To recoup 3 million euros, we wanted to achieve an additional €100,000 in monthly revenue after two years, through the sponsorship. Then we would earn back the investment within five years. That seemed to us a smart and achievable goal.

We won’t soon forget experiencing the cheering moments together in a full skybox.

Serious Player

What we noticed after we started sponsoring FC Groningen is worth sharing for others considering something similar. Payt frequently received questions about the reliability of the organization before the sponsorship. How big are you? Where are the servers you use located? How large is your support center? And so on. That was immediately resolved. Suddenly, we were seen as a serious player in the market here to stay.

But to fully realize the potential, a lot had to be done. For Payt, the companies around Groningen were low-hanging fruit because many organizations also had connections with FC Groningen. Our main goal was to make the Netherlands aware of our existence. To turn brand awareness into new customers, we also had to explain in key industries what we do, why it was interesting to know, and worth trying.

Experiences

First, the low-hanging fruit. That turned out to be quite disappointing. Companies in Groningen seemed to have less need for our software than companies in other provinces. But in most other parts of the Netherlands, lead generation emerged, necessitating the hiring of an inside sales employee to manage everything smoothly. Initially, it was mainly about scheduling appointments, but this quickly expanded to demonstrating the software, drafting and getting contracts signed, and finally implementing them. The industries where we also did substantive marketing accelerated mainly due to our sponsorship. Without a plan to get a seat at the table with organizations, shirt sponsorship may create momentum, but it is not capitalized on.

The skybox was a very useful addition to also offer hospitality to customers and prospects. After having this skybox for five years, we know that everything is pleasantly relaxed during the match. But the entire organization prior to each match must be well arranged. We underestimated this at the beginning. We learned that it’s better to assign someone to this. Hosting 45 people practically every week so they leave with a positive experience requires a lot of professionalism and effort. But the result is worth it. Personal relationships are also important for our prospects when choosing a software provider. Many short lines and personal contacts have developed in those 5 years of the skybox.

The Result?

We took a tremendous risk by entering into a sponsorship with FC Groningen. But after 5 years of sponsorship, our annual revenue has become monthly revenue. Additionally, we have maintained very warm relationships with the contacts from FC Groningen employees and, of course, the personal contacts in the skybox during the matches. It was a pleasure to experience.

FC Groningen has greatly helped us with our brand awareness. Now we are going to delve deeper and focus even more on telling our “Cashflow Formula.” Cashflow is such an important part of business operations that every organization should consider our software. And we are now going to roll out that message in places where our target audience is located.