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Thinking about hiring a sweepstakes management company for the first time?
As a digital marketer, maybe you want to increase your followers.
Or perhaps you want to increase your leads for your email database.
Either way, the world of sweepstakes, contests, and promotions is riddled with legal regulations—regulations you don’t want to fall on the wrong side of.
This article is about choosing an expert, cost-effective sweepstakes management company for the first time.
You will learn what to look for in a sweepstakes management company so you can feel confident that your sweepstakes strategies are legally compliant and easy to implement.
#1: What’s the benefit of hiring a sweepstakes management company over an attorney?
Both have specialty knowledge and legal expertise in federal and state lottery laws and will ensure your sweepstakes or contests are legally compliant, but there are two advantages to working with a sweepstakes management company.
1. Sweepstakes management companies should offer insurance that shield you, your company, and your partners from loss, cost, or expense resulting from any suit or claim that arises as a result of your sweepstakes or contest.
Check to make sure that your sweepstakes management company carries Errors & Omissions insurance and will indemnify your company.
In addition, your sweepstakes management company should carry cyber security insurance that will cover any losses or expenses due to a security breach of any consumer data they may collect on your behalf.
2. The second advantage to working with a sweepstakes management company is the wide range of services they offer beyond legal services.
For instance, many companies offer:
- Ideation strategies
- Legal compliance
- Execution
- Web development and entry data hosting
- Prize procurement and fulfillment
- Winner selection and verification
- IRS reporting
In summary, attorneys only help with legal compliance; sweepstakes management companies offer legal compliance plus other services.
#2: Can you help my company collect and manage our sweepstakes entries?
One of the many reasons why companies offer sweepstakes is to generate new leads.
One of the more popular ways to do this is to promote an online sweepstakes.
A second reason to offer sweepstakes is to increase the number of social media followers and gain user-generated content.
And the way to do this is by running a sweepstakes on a social media platform.
But sometimes your in-house web team doesn’t have time to develop it.
Or your corporate policy requires a third party to securely collect those leads, which in legal terminology is called PII (personally identifiable information).
Here are two critical capabilities to look for in your administrator:
- Make sure your sweepstakes management company can develop and host online sweepstakes and contests when you need them to.
- See if your sweepstakes management company or sweepstakes administrator can collect UGC (user-generated content) and entrant data on most social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.
#3: How can I tell if a sweepstakes management company is a good fit for my firm?
When it comes to picking a sweepstakes management company, you’ll have plenty of choices.
The question is: how do you accurately narrow down your choice to the company that will be a solid fit for you?
One way to pick the best company for you is by seeing if these three factors are present:
1. Responsiveness: Is the company responsive in meeting your initial communications? Do they provide quick answers to your questions? Do they follow up quickly?
You’ll know early on in your discussions whether or not the company is going to be responsive to your needs and help you meet your deadlines.
2. Directness: Some companies start with one person handling the sale, then they hand you off to someone else. You’ll find yourself explaining your needs and goals all over again. It’s best to have one contact from the start of the discovery call to the end of your promotion.
That way, this main contact will know the ins and outs of your project and your business, which brings consistency to the relationship. In essence, this main point of contact can become an expert in your business.
3. Agency experience: Hiring a sweepstakes management company is not only about legal compliance. It’s also about hiring a company that has employees who have advertising agency or marketing experience. Employees who have agency experience will understand your marketing objectives and will help keep your creative spark alive.
#4: Once I’ve selected my top choices, what’s the next step?
The next step to ensure a good fit takes place during your discovery call. The key concept to take away from the call is this: is the company helping you think “big picture”?
For instance:
- Are they asking what your objectives and goals are? (What you have planned may fail.)
- Are they giving legal feedback?
- Are they educating you on sweepstakes basics (IRS reporting, which states have registration and bond requirements, when is an alternate form of entry needed, etc.)?
- Are they consulting you on your prize strategies?
- Are they giving you options on the different types of sweepstakes? (In-store? Online? Social media?)
If you feel they’re a good fit, get their proposal in writing.
What happens if two companies are comparable in costs? How do I know which one to choose?
Ask the company what makes them different, or what their uniqueness is. Ensure their answers align with your expectations, needs, and goals.
Get a sense for how confident they feel in their work and processes.
Look for world-class customer service, quick turnarounds, current ideas, and fair pricing.
Ask their customers how easy they are to work with and how responsive they are.
Summary
When it comes to choosing an expert, cost-effective sweepstakes management company for the first time, you’ll have several choices at your fingertips. The key takeaway is to look for a company that you can feel confident will help you:
- Keep your strategies legally compliant
- Implement your ideas in an easy manner
- Think “big picture”
- Streamline the working process with one main point of contact
- Develop and host online sweepstakes and contests when you need them to
- Collect UGC (user-generated content) and entrant data on most social media platforms
Schedule your free sweepstakes (or contest) consultation
Looking for feedback on your next sweepstakes idea?
Not sure if your idea will drive sales or leads for your brand?
Whether you’re thinking about running a sweepstakes for the first time or you’re looking to gain the latest marketing insights from our experts, we’ll review your sweepstakes idea to ensure it fits your goal.
This assessment is perfect for savvy marketing leaders, digital marketers, agency executives, and corporate attorneys.
Here’s some insight on what you’ll walk away with:
- A free 30-minute consultation on your sweepstakes (or contest) idea
- Recommendations and a plan for how to best execute your idea
- Awareness about which of our services are right for your idea (based on our capabilities and services)
- Help with legal administration, digital development, hosting, and prize fulfillment
- A timeline that will get your promotion launched as quickly as possible
How do you access your consultation?
Contact us to schedule a time for your free consultation.
What happens after you submit the form? Just fill out the form so we know a little bit about you and your idea. Then, one of our experts will email you to schedule a time for your free, no-obligation consultation. After your consultation, US Sweepstakes & Fulfillment Company will email you a proposal, a sweepstakes plan and a scope of work that your manager and legal team will feel confident in implementing.
