Business awards are not only opportunities for you to win; they offer your business a whole lot more.
Over the next two blog posts I will outline six reasons why awards are good for your business, starting with credibility, publicity and marketing and increasing knowledge and skills.
1. Credibility
Being a finalist or winner of a business award improves your credibility with customers. It helps to reinforce and validate their willingness to do business with you.
The simple fact that awards are judged by an independent panel of experts gives the process credibility. This third party endorsement provides certainty to customers and suppliers.
Make sure you promote your achievement in the awards (be that a finalist or a winner). Ask to use the award logo and promote this through your email footer, blog, Facebook, Twitter, website or print it off and put it on your window.
2. Publicity and Marketing
Awards attract a lot of attention and are heavily promoted, often through partnership with media agencies. Your business can gain exposure from all that free publicity. Not only are you promoting to other businesses (business to business is big business!), being a finalist also extends your brand awareness in the public eye. This helps to raise your profile and stand out from your competitors. Remember to tie yourself to the awards and as mentioned use the award logo for extra credibility.
3. Increase Knowledge and Skills
How often do you sit down and really think about your business? Do you do annual business plans, marketing or communication plans? Do you take the time to think about your achievements (or setbacks) and what the results mean?
Completing an award nomination forces you to think beyond the day to day running of your business. You get an opportunity to think about your business from another point of view and therefore to learn more about your business.
Listen and talk with other businesses. What can you learn from their achievements, practices, implementation of new technology and ways to create better business processes?
In part 2 of Why you should enter business awards I will outline a further three reasons why awards are good for your business.
Originally published on the Australian Small Business Commissioner Blog – http://www.asbc.gov.au/blog/more-than-award-1