Every February, I gear up to watch each and every major film nominated for an Academy Award. I fully trust these films will impress and entertain me because of the credibility bestowed by their nominations. They are, by the simple virtue of their selection, deemed to be the best. Everyone may not necessarily agree, but we come to know popular and successful actors, actresses, musicians and the like through these award-winning nominations and achievements.
The same can be said for business. How often do we find ourselves looking for credibility before we purchase something new? With websites such as Yelp and CitySearch, we constantly seek companies boasting four or five stars in ratings or with a “Best Of” award under their belts. In this type of environment, it is crucial for any business to gain recognition for its outstanding achievements and innovative services or products in order to distinguish themselves from competitors.
Therefore, business or industry awards must not be overlooked or forgotten, especially given the current economic climate where competition for new customers is fierce. Discovering appropriate awards for your company can be difficult, but using an outside source may help the process. Your PR partner may be able to suggest awards to pursue, or you can do research using online tools to find information about a variety of award programs.
Awards can contribute to successful public recognition in the following manner:
- Visibility. Awards can help garner a significant amount of visibility in a certain market or industry, and attract new customers, investors and donors by giving an organization an edge over its competitors.
- Validate. Awards speak volumes about a company’s products or services and substantiate their credibility. Even an award nomination can be helpful because it validates a company’s leadership in its given market and proves it is ahead of the curve.
- Testimony. Winning an award or even being nominated serves as testament to a company’s work ethic, dedication and unique specialty. New customers will likely consider a company or organization’s work over another if it has won an award. Furthermore, current customers may view the award as a good thing, reinforcing their loyalty and willingness to share information about a product or service.
- Reputation. An award can improve the perceived reputation of a company to the general public, new customers, donors, investors and the like. Recognition may transform a company’s reputation from “pretty good”, to excellent.
- Differentiate. An award sets a company apart from competitors and differentiates the quality of its achievements and services from others. An award helps a company stand out for excellence over and above many other agencies and suppliers in the same industry.
Given the contributions and impact awards can have on employees, customers and the company itself, it can be important to make submission for awards a critical part of any marketing or public-relations plan. For tips on how to write a successful award submission, take a look at our previous blog post.
How have awards impacted your business in the past? We would love to know what helped you succeed in winning a certain award.