VALUE BEYOND THE TROPHY – DON’T MISS OUT
You don’t win or lose with awards; there are just degrees of winning
By Dale Howarth, Business Speaker and Managing Partner at Jigsaw Sales & Marketing Consultants
Today, businesses of all shapes and sizes are facing the challenges of an increasingly competitive economy. Approached correctly, business awards are a very powerful sales tool to aid business development and help close business opportunities – but are an overlooked tool in the marketing mix for many. While some undertake conventional business development activity aimed at growing revenue in the shorter-term, many have discovered the value and benefits of awards. Benefits that can fast-track a business’s reputation and allow SME’s to compete with Corporate Companies.
Research conducted by the University of Leicester shows that award winning companies see improvements in financial performance after just a year of winning their first award. Three years after receiving an award, these companies typically outperform their non award winning competitors by an average of 17% in sales and increase the value of their businesses by 36%. Indications are that the more immediate boost to sales, through improved profile and credibility can be as much as 37% in the first year.
Whichever way you look at it, awards offer a real and significant advantage to those that make the effort. Yes, entering awards requires time and energy from any business, but the return on investment, both internally and externally is high.The Chamber Of Commerce’s annual awards are an excellent and local example of recognising businesses in front of their peers, clients and suppliers – adding value to reputation and building a company’s profile. Entering your business for one or more of the many award categories is something I would strongly recommend; and this is why.
Whether you win or lose, the whole approach to entering awards gives you the opportunity to take a step back from the business to assess your aims, achievements and what’s really good about your business which can then be consolidated for the award entry. Helping you to identify the aspects of your business that truly matter to you and importantly your customers; helping you to clarify your message and position your business.
One of the clearest benefits of winning an award can be the immediate boost to workplace morale, particularly if employees have been involved in the process. Employees enjoy working for successful companies. Winning, being nominated or shortlisted for an award gives the opportunity to recognise employees for their contribution to the business – which also delivers a welcomed edge in the recruitment market. Award winning Island companies that I have the pleasure of working with such as Lifeline, PC Consultants and BetaPak understand this and fully engage with their teams (plus customers and suppliers for that matter) from the very start – making awards such as The Chamber of Commerce annual awards a highly regarded business activity that reinforces their market leading positions.
The benefit to profile and reputation are significant. For existing customers, there’s the reassurance that they made a good choice in working with a business that has been recognised with an award. For prospective customers, awards set you apart from your competitors, and help to persuade potential buyers that you are a credible choice. The award event itself provides networking opportunities and any successes can be used to raise profile for those that take advantage of the PR and profile opportunities that surround awards.
Add the financial benefits to the other advantages award winners enjoy such as enhanced reputation, differentiation, free publicity, increased trust, a higher profile and better staff moral and the question is: Can you afford not to be adding awards to your marketing mix?
Full information on this year’s Isle Of Wight Chamber Of Commerce Business Awards Of Excellence is available here https://www.iwchamber.co.uk/chamber-awards
