How to create a winning award entry
There is nothing quite like winning an award to bring a
boost to your team and your business,
and having a string of accolades listed on your website can give
existing and potential clients added confidence in your credibility and
professionalism. Many of our clients have won new work because they have won a regional business award, a trade accolade or even a prestigious Queen's Award.
So there is no doubt that entering and winning awards should
be included as a vital role in your organisation’s PR planning, but sometimes
the actual process of finding the right awards to enter, and then completing
the entry, can become incredibly time consuming.
If you are serious about winning relevant awards to help
boost your business then it might help to work with a professional marketing
company such as the team at LCM – we work with many businesses to create
winning award entries. At the time of writing we have 100% success at getting clients onto the published shortlist, and very often they have gone on to win. Here are the steps you need to think about:
1.
Develop an annual awards plan
The first step is to carry out some research within your
industry, and if relevant your region, to find out which awards are around and might be relevant to your
business. You can then narrow those down to work out which are the most
appropriate and which you have the best chance of winning.
You also need to think about which award will bring you the
most benefit in terms of your PR and Marketing. Once you have carried out the
research, you need to move to mapping out the details about each award you have
chosen.
You need to know the deadline dates, submission
requirements, entry fees and how long it might take you to put the submission
together. That way you can map out all the important dates into your awards
plan.
2.
Manage and implement the awards plan
Once the plan has been created, the next step is to
implement it, which starts with carefully reading all of the entry requirements
for the awards. If there are any workshops or guidance provided by the awards
organisers, then it’s good to take advantage of these resources.
Once you have all the information, you need to start writing
the award entry and collecting all of the evidence or supporting material,
which should be presented in a professional manner and in line with all of the
entry requirements. You will also need to organise payment of the entry fee in
this stage if one applies.
3.
Planning attendance at the awards
Obviously a big part of the plan will be to attend the
awards ceremony as a great business networking opportunity, so the next stage
is to make sure you book a table and sufficient places for the awards event.
You might also need to organise transport to take your staff
to and from the venue potentially and if it’s a black tie event, all those
attending will need notice and time to prepare their outfits in time.
4.
Make the most of the PR opportunities
Once the award submission has been sent off the next phase
is to maximise the PR potential from it. If you are shortlisted then you can
make use of that to create a press announcement and upload the news onto your
website. Clearly if you win, you need to maximise press exposure as far as
possible.
You can send a press release to your local media, local
business news and to any relevant industry publications for the industry in
which you work. One of our cold storage industry clients won the South Coast Small Business of the Year in
2017, and one of its trade publications featured the win on its front cover. Local
radio and TV might be interested if it’s a particularly prestigious award, such
as The Queen’s Award (one of our clients won The Queen’s Award for Innovation
in April 2018).
As you can see, winning an award can have many advantages,
from giving your staff and business a boost, to making your company more
attractive to prospects, so it’s important to get it right. If you need any
help writing an award entry for your business then please do get in touch with
us here at LCM.
Call us on 01489 891870 or email lizz@lcm.co.uk and let's chat. We look forward to hearing from you.
