5 years shirt sponsor of FC Groningen

The last 5 years, Payt has been a sponsor of FC Groningen. From 2017 to 2019, we were the main sponsor of the club and afterwards 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 will 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 Began

There had been ongoing contacts between Payt employees and FC Groningen. I myself had invested savings in the players’ fund when Luis Suárez joined the club. Almost the entire team that founded Payt had already worked for companies located in the Euroborg. We were in the same entrance as the players’ lounge, and I placed a table tennis 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 at 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 had 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 go for 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 at De Kuip will stay with us forever.

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 a turnover of just under €700,000 a 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 turnover 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 turnover of €100,000 per month 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. Before the sponsorship, Payt regularly received questions about the reliability of the organisation. How big are you? Where are your servers located? How large is your support centre? And so on. That stopped immediately. Suddenly, we were seen as a serious player, here to stay.

But to fully realise the potential, a great deal had to be done. For Payt, the companies around Groningen were low-hanging fruit because many of them had ties to FC Groningen. Our main objective was therefore to make our existence known to the rest of the Netherlands. To turn brand awareness into new customers, we also had to explain what we do, why it’s interesting, and worth trying out—especially in key sectors.

Experiences

First, the low-hanging fruit. That turned out to be disappointing. Companies in Groningen had less need for our software than those in other provinces. But in most other parts of the Netherlands, we saw a surge in lead generation that required us to hire an inside sales representative to manage it all. Initially, it was mainly about scheduling meetings, but it quickly evolved into demonstrating the software, drafting and signing contracts, and finally implementing the product. In the sectors where we also focused on content marketing, our sponsorship significantly accelerated results. Without a plan to actually sit down with organisations, shirt sponsorship may create momentum, but it won’t pay off.

The skybox was a very useful addition for offering hospitality to clients and prospects. After five years of having this skybox, we know that everything during the match is relaxed and enjoyable. But the entire organisation beforehand must be well arranged. We underestimated that in the beginning. We’ve learned that it’s better to assign someone specifically to this task. Hosting 45 people nearly every week so they leave with a positive experience requires a lot of professionalism and commitment. But the results speak for themselves. Personal relationships are crucial for our prospects when choosing a software partner. In those five years with the skybox, many direct and personal connections have been established.

The result?

We took an enormous risk by entering into a sponsorship with FC Groningen. But after five years, our annual revenue became our monthly revenue. Additionally, we’ve built warm relationships with FC Groningen staff and, of course, the personal connections made in the skybox during matches. It’s been a joy to experience.

FC Groningen has been instrumental in building our brand awareness. Now we’re going deeper, focusing even more on telling our “Cashflow Formula” story. Cashflow is such a vital part of business operations that every organisation should consider our software. And we’re now going to roll out that message in places where our target audience can be found.