Roll out the red carpet, the awards season has arrived!
The sheer number of business awards there are to enter is a sign of how popular entering awards has become over the years. At this time of year, we are discussing with our clients the many different awards they may like to be entered into, whether it is regional business awards, industry specific awards or major national awards such as National Business Awards and the Queen’s Awards.
As popular as they have become, some companies tend to shy away from entering them, believing it’s just too time consuming. However, winning an industry award or even just being shortlisted can add to the credibility of your organisation, create networking opportunities and raise the businesses’ profile.
There are so many awards, for example, 100 industry awards within the construction sector alone, so choosing the right awards to enter is important. Here are five reasons why simply entering an award could be beneficial for your business:
Increase employee engagement- Business awards provide one of the best opportunities to recognise the hard work of everyone involved in the organisation and if successful, winning an accolade can really boost employee morale and motivation. Achieving awards can help in attracting future talent to your business.
Raise a business’s profile- Award events provide a great opportunity for your business and its employees to network and build positive relationships with other businesses and industry leaders. Being shortlisted for an award, let alone winning one, can be an excellent endorsement tool and establishes you as a force within the industry, differentiating your business from competitors.
Increased credibility- Without a doubt, being able to call yourself an ‘award winning company’ gives a great endorsement to your business. Many companies choose to add this to their letterhead, to the website, to include the award trophy or certificate in their reception, as a clear sign to customers that they are a credible, high quality company.
Positive media Coverage- Award events are usually covered in the trade or regional business press, so this is a great way to increase media coverage, if you are shortlisted or win. National awards are regularly covered in local and regional business press and trade awards usually have a media partner, one of the main trade magazines, which helps those who enter to increase their awareness in key publications and build relationships with the main titles.
They aid with benchmarking of success- Applying for a business award and going through the judging process can help you to view your business from a different perspective. The application process can enable you to gauge whether your work and your ability to articulate your work is as successful as you believe it to be. The criteria for the award can be seen as a benchmark of what experts within your industry believe that businesses should be achieving. Completing the application for any award can help you to identify what your business has already achieved but also the areas in which it may need to improve.
So, if you’re interested in entering an industry award please contact our PR team. For more info visit www.dragonflypr.co.uk or call us on 01709 300130 or email: hello@dragonflypr.co.uk.