Earlier this month, we attended a fantastic session put on by the Doncaster Chamber of Commerce all about how to write winning award entries. We’ve written award entries for our clients in the past, but it’s always good to have a refresh and be able to hear from awards organisations directly about what makes a winning award entry, and what the judges specifically look for.
Obviously, the judging criteria is different depending on whose awards you enter, but we certainly came away with all sorts of useful tips and advice that we can now put into play. One of the key messages that stuck out was not to underestimate the time you should put aside as a business to complete a great award entry. The Chamber suggested two days in total to get everything up to scratch. It’s certainly not something that can be rushed! If you simply don’t have the time or resources to do this in your organisation, that’s where Fenti comes in! We can help and write your award entry for you. It is worth noting that time would still be required from your end to get all the core information together though, then the full copywriting and polishing comes down to us!
There are many reasons why a business should enter awards. We know some people may see it as a vanity measure, and may prefer to push out their client testimonials into the marketplace instead. However, there’s so much mileage you can get from being shortlisted, and winning an award.
The opportunities you get to build your brand and credibility with an award win is limitless; if you get that far you really can maximise a win to its full potential and ensure your business continues to stand out from the crowd. You can leverage the win in the local press and get some really great PR, include the news in e-mails or e-shots out to your clients or prospective clients, shout about it on your social media channels, include the awards crest on your marketing literature…the list goes on.
There are also the networking opportunities that arise from being at the awards ceremony itself. Often the awards are judged by other successful business people or key industry professionals, which may give the opportunity for you to forge new working relationships together. And let’s not forget the many other pro-active businesses who will also be at the awards ceremony that could become clients, suppliers or partners to your business.
Awards also help boost staff morale and really help to recognise the hard work the team have put in. It’s a well-known fact that if staff morale is high there is better team cohesion, improved motivation and productivity and lower staff turnover. Plus, there’s the opportunity to use the award win to attract new talent to your business; if you’re an award-winning organisation, who wouldn’t want to join your dynamic team?
If you’d like to find out how we could help you with your award entry, just drop us a call on 0114 218 0626 and ask for me, Mark, and we’ll get a date in the diary to discuss helping to elevate your business. Alternatively send me an email at mark.shipley@fenti.co.uk and I’ll give you a call.
