How to create a winning award entry
Boost team morale and client confidence
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.
