An overlooked tool in your marketing toolbox is likely to be industry awards or business awards marketing. Marketing consists of many techniques and channels, from advertising and direct response, to radio and trade shows. Entering an award and becoming a finalist, or possibly even a winner, can be a powerful addition to your marketing activities and usually has far higher credibility than other forms of PR.
This was driven home to me when I attended a judges’ meeting for the Westpac Business Excellence Awards a few years back. I was invited to be a judge for a number of categories. The meeting discussed the process that previous award winners had followed and the benefits they had received. Hearing about the positive spin-offs that had come from entering the awards was inspiring.
Entering corporate awards and contests, as a marketing strategy, is an area that is largely untapped by small businesses. With limited entries, your odds of winning improve. Even if you don’t win, a title nomination can bring many rewards.
With the Westpac awards, for example, comes the benefit of being able to use the awards logo on your marketing material and signage, once you have made the finalists’ list. This can be used in future years as well and the logo is becoming increasingly recognised as a symbol of an excellent business, which you can be confident dealing with. The same applies for many industry awards, such as Master Builders House of the Year.
Not only will it increase your credibility with prospective customers, it will help you attract the best talent to your business when you are in hiring mode. People like to work for winners.
If you have the opportunity to enter into a business award of some description, you should give it some serious consideration. The benefits of entering business awards, either industry-specific or more general in nature, are many and varied. Look at your local or industry awards coming up and seriously consider giving it a go. You have nothing to lose and possibly a great deal to gain.
Andy Burrows
Go to my website: The Trades Coach