Studies bear this out. Three years after receiving an award, the sales of 120 award-winning companies outperformed comparison companies by an average of 17% according to a study by the British Quality Foundation and the European Foundation for Quality Management.
Other studies show that winning a business award can set you apart from competitors, boost your brand reputation, attract new customers and inspire your team.
Thinking that their businesses aren’t good enough to win any awards is what stops many business people from entering. They have missed the whole point of entering awards. Few businesses win the first time they enter. But that’s not why they enter. If they’re smart, they’ll use their participation in the awards process to benchmark themselves against best practice companies and organisations, identify their own strengths and weaknesses, learn from the best and make the changes they need to improve and innovate.
Then they will have the real potential to win in the future - and to reap the rewards of winning.
In this article, I’ll share some tips to help you navigate the path to winning business awards.
Below is the criteria for the Baldrige Business Excellence Award. As you can see, this award covers every aspect of business performance, and many other business awards use the same or a similar framework. To win these awards, you must be able to demonstrate that your whole business performs in a cohesive and powerful way—and that you have the results to show for it.
Other award programmes showcase particular categories of organisational excellence such as leadership, innovation, health and safety, customer experience, social responsibility, productivity and sustainability. It pays to start your awards participation in a category where you, your team or your business have strengths or points of difference, and build from there.
For example, I prepared the entry for one of my clients to a Business Leadership Award, which he won. Some years later, I worked with the same client to win all three awards he and his team entered for (Field Manager of the Year, Franchisee of the Year and Franchise of the Year) and ultimately he and his team walked away from the awards ceremony with an extra award—Supreme Franchise of the Year.
Not all business awards are created equal. Select awards that align with your industry, business size, and achievements. Research various award programmes to find the ones that best suit your business profile and objectives. Consider factors such as judging criteria, reputation of the awarding body, past winners and likely media exposure to make an informed decision.
Every awards programme has different judging criteria but most are based on quality and excellence models such as the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model and the Baldrige Excellence Framework. Understanding how these work and what the judges will be looking for is essential. It is worth attending any entry preparation workshops that the awards organisers. Better still, contract a professional with successful awards experience to help you.
For more details on awards criteria, see my article It's Business Awards Season! Are You Ready to Win?
The key is to stand out from the other entries and catch the judges' attention. This isn't as easy as it may sound because most award programmes have strict rules about how the entry must be set out, the number of words and/or pages, etc. Pay close attention to the entry criteria and use short sentences and bulletpoints that meet each requirement clearly and concisely. Break text up with subheadings, graphs, pull quotes and images. The Results section in the Baldridge model generally makes up 40% of your total score, so make sure you provide concrete examples, data-driven results, testimonials and references to substantiate your claims.
If you want to derive optimum benefit from entering a business award, it must be collective effort from everyone involved in or with your business. Encouraging your employees to share their insights and contributions helps to build engagement and satisfaction. Reaching out to satisfied customers for testimonials or endorsements can add credibility to your entry.
As the points above illustrate, entering for a business award is an achievement in itself and has value that more than justifies the time and effort it takes to enter. And if you win an award or receive recognition as a finalist, it is worth making the most of the opportunity to celebrate your achievements and share the news with your stakeholders, customers and the media. Utilise social media, press releases and your website to announce the accolade and leverage it as part of your marketing.
My name is Robin La Pere and I am No Ordinary Business and Franchise Consultant.
I have a proven track record in making it easy for clients to prepare winning entries into business and franchise awards across all industries and categories.
For the answers to any questions you may have about entering into any awards programme, don't hesitate to contact me to arrange a Free Initial Consultation.
