Building up a winning partnership is part and parcel of cricket – both on and off the pitch. Northamptonshire County Cricket Club’s 1878 Business Club, named after the year the club was founded, approaches its mission with a similar aim as the club itself, to bring success for the county and to the wider community.
Engagement and connectivity between member businesses comes through exclusive networking events held at both the club’s venue and off-site throughout the year.
With more than 70 local businesses and organisations on board, the 1878 Business Club brings together people with a wide range of specialisms and interests to meet, relax and enjoy the informal networking events, providing a platform to forge and build relationships that last.
Members are invited to attend a minimum of six 1878 Business Club events across the calendar year, as well as accessing a host of other benefits and events that enable them to showcase their services across the local business community.
Daniel Vernon, Chief Operating Officer at Northamptonshire County Cricket Club, said: “We founded the business club just over three years ago with a view to creating a platform that supported our efforts to increase partner engagement with the club, but also provide a platform for our partners to engage with each other. With so many of our partner portfolio providing B2B services, we felt it was an important thing for us to be doing.
“Cricket is a very social spectator sport. It’s not like football or rugby when you tend to focus on the match and socialise before or after – cricket allows for conversation. Some people avidly watch every ball that’s bowled, others dip in and out, but it’s a great way to spend a day relaxing and networking.
“Partnerships and hospitality have long been associated with sport, and it works better if there’s already a relationship there. When 1878 Business Club members come along to a match, they are often in a room with people they already know and feel comfortable with. This helps to create a great environment for them and their guests or clients to be a part of.”
The 1878 Business Club offers a first step into sports partnerships and formulates the basis for all partnerships with Northamptonshire County Cricket Club. Beyond the array of networking events, members also receive a taste into some branding at the venue and for one T20 fixture of their choice, have access to corporate hospitality, allowing them to entertain colleagues, clients or guests to an evening of cricket.
A major aspect of the 1878 Business Club is to facilitate a space for all club members to network with one another, in a relaxed and informal environment. Many members will have services of mutual benefit to other people in the room, but sales is not always the forefront for every attendee. Growth and nurturing of relationships, enabling business to happen in a very natural way, is of utmost importance to the club, both in terms of the atmosphere and environment of the events but also in the community feel of how it tries to do business.
Daniel added: “I have been delighted with the significant interest in the 1878 Business Club over the past couple of years, not only have we seen a large increase in our portfolio of partners and members, but it has created a new business community feel for Northamptonshire, which is something we are incredibly proud of.
“The 1878 Business Club is mentioned in the same breath as many of the other business networking groups across the county, which is testament to what we have been able to create and how strong the vehicle of professional sports and sports partnerships can be.
“As a club we have worked hard ourselves to use more local suppliers and services wherever we can because we want to support the local business community. The Northamptonshire business community is very close knit and there are some excellent people and businesses in the county who take great pride in being able to support local and support one another. To be a part of that and to provide a platform that encourages the growth of that is special.
“I believe our members are looking for the same thing as us, these are businesses that are working with clients all over the country, but it’s still important to them to find clients or suppliers within the county, to support the local economy.
“And at a time when businesses are increasingly looking at return on investment on anything they spend, being part of a business club that offers informal meetings and facilitates engagement with other local businesses can help to give that additional value for money they are looking for.”
To find out more about the 1878 Business Club and opportunities within sports partnerships and hospitality, email Daniel.vernon@nccc.co.uk or Georgia.hill@nccc.co.uk or visit their website.
