When it comes to race promotions, groups should be your best friend. Why? A psychologist would say that people are hardwired for social interaction. A marketer would tell you that word-of-mouth is the best advertisement out there. Yet you don’t have to be an expert to know that people are influenced by the company they keep. After all, how many times have you heard from a friend, “If you do it, I’ll do it”?
Whether you’re targeting teams for a fundraiser or relay race, or just looking to increase your race registrations, encouraging people to run together is a great way to grow your race! Remember Pay It Forward? One registrant turns into three, three turns into nine, and so on… Here’s how to make it happen:
Refer-a-Friend
This is the oldest trick in the race promotions book! Offer participants a future discount on registration or special swag if they refer a certain number of friends. Sure, you might lose some revenue on a registrant or two, but you’ll more than make up for it with the number of full-price friends they refer! You can use ChronoTrack Live to provide individuals with trackable coupon codes that they can share through email or social media.
Group Discounts
Encourage people to participate in your event together as teams by offering a discounted team rate. For example, if your event has a $50 registration fee, offer groups of 5 a team registration fee of $225 (ultimately giving each member a $5 discount on the fee). If you’re using ChronoTrack Live, you can set it up so either the captain pays for the entire team upfront OR the individuals can each pay their part at the time of registration.
Special Incentives
Sure, a discount on registration is a nice perk. But entice them further – create a benefit beyond money, something that will make it more fun for groups on race day. For example, if 25 people sign up for a team, you can provide that team with custom bibs, free of charge! You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, just throw on their team name or company logo. Or, offer a special group VIP package for a price. This could include anything from premiere parking to priority packet pick-up, special swag, shuttle service, or extra drink tickets at the post-race.
Target the Masses
You don’t have to rely on individuals to do race promotions for your event. Reach groups from the get-go! Send promotional materials and visit local schools, businesses, and running clubs. Talk to them about why your race would be good for their organization, whether it’s supporting the community, encouraging school spirit, or gaining extra exposure for a company.
Make It Easy
When it comes to group registration and fundraising, it can get a little confusing. Create simple how-to videos or infographics to take participants step-by-step through the process and offer fun yet helpful content like ‘how to choose a great team name’. For fundraising events, provide teams with the tools they need to succeed. This can include a cheat sheet of fundraising ideas, sample emails or social media posts, ‘Donate Now’ buttons and more.
Make it Easy for You, Too
Like we said, group registration and fundraising can get a little confusing – even for race directors! If you don’t already have reliable race registration software, consider checking out ChronoTrack Live. Our streamlined system puts all your data in one place and offers numerous options for team registration including different team types, multiple payment options, and team results reports.
Be sure to read our blog on the 5Ps of race promotion to get more marketing tips. We hope this blog has inspired you to never underestimate the power of numbers. And, for a little fun, find your own team name here! We’re going with the “Orange Butterfly Fighters”!
To learn more about ChronoTrack, contact us.
