Why winning an award could help your business

Entering awards is often something many businesses feel they ‘should’ do, but beyond a shiny trophy and a moment in the spotlight, do they actually help your business?

Journalist and PR consultant Ellen Manning, creator of the award-winning blog Eat with Ellen and one of the organisers behind the Foodie Awards for Coventry and Warwickshire, explains how winning an award really can help your business.

Business awards come in all shapes and sizes - from global recognition to locally organised programmes designed to promote a region’s businesses or a specific sector. Either way, you’ll hear lots of people tell you, you should enter them. After all, you get a nice trophy or certificate and a bit of time in the spotlight - not to mention a swanky awards ceremony too.

But beyond a night of glitz and glamour and an ornament to either put in a display cabinet or gather some dust, what do awards do for your business? Given the amount of time and effort you might put into entering some awards, it’s important to ask whether you’ll get some real value out of those awards and the answer in most cases, is yes.

In fact, there is a whole raft of reasons for why and how awards can help your business. Using the Foodie Awards as an example, here are just some of the ways that an award really can add value to your business.

AWARDS GET YOU NOTICED

Growing your business is often about standing out from the crowd and the recognition from winning an award goes beyond that particular moment in time. Awards programmes like the Foodie Awards are about shouting about entrants, finalists and winners - and not just on one day.

For many similar awards programmes, the whole process can be used by you to raise awareness of what you do. From being nominated or entering, to becoming a finalist and even winning, the extent of the awareness you can get in some ways can go as far as you take it.

Winning an award is likely to get you some great PR, as well as recognition from your peers and competitors, not to mention all the potential customers who want to buy your product. Increased awareness might also get you noticed by suppliers, vendors, and investors - all of whom could help you grow your business and take that next step.

AWARDS ARE A SIGN OF EXCELLENCE

We like to think we’re buying the best, but if everyone’s saying they’re the best, who do customers believe? The great thing about awards programmes is they mean that your product or business is deemed the best by credible judges who know their stuff. Take the Foodie Awards - its judging panel includes some of the most esteemed and experienced names in the region’s food and drink scene, from Michelin-starred chef Glynn Purnell to chef/restaurateur Andreas Antona, Aubrey Allen MD Russell Allen and more. When experts in your field decide you deserve recognition, everyone else tends to sit up and listen.

AWARDS OFTEN PROVIDE PRACTICAL HELP

Many awards programmes include practical help for finalists and winners, with prizes often including ‘money-can’t-buy’ assistance, advice and experiences. For example, the Foodie Awards’ Express to Success Award, sponsored by digital wholesale supply platform Comesto, offers a whole host of benefits to the winner. They include a promotional article in Comesto’s magazine, a free tune-up and advice session form a top local social marketing expert, free storage of products, a place on the Comesto website and a chance to take part in live tasting events and promotional videos. An invaluable prize for a small business or start-up.

AWARDS DON’T JUST HELP THE BUSINESS OR THE BOSS

Winning an award is always great for a founder or owner, but they also help everyone who makes a business what it is. Awards entries give you the opportunity to recognise your staff and supporters. Take the Foodie Awards Best Chef/Cook category - the perfect opportunity for a manager or owner to shout about a key member of their team. When it comes to building and encouraging a team, something as simple as entering an award or nominating a member of your team can lift everyone’s spirits when they need it most.

AWARDS ELEVATE EVERYONE

They say a rising tide lifts all boats and that’s the same for awards. Shouting about individual businesses doesn’t just help each of those one by one, but adds to the improvement of a sector or area. Awards such as the Foodie Awards don’t just showcase winners and finalists, but create a picture of a thriving sector and region to rival any other in the country - raising its profile on a national stage.

AWARDS ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION

While awards recognise individual businesses, they also encourage collaboration. From businesses discovering each other and working together, to being put in the same room as experts and organisations that can help and champion them, they provide an invaluable networking opportunity. In the Foodie Awards, entrants and finalists are put in front of restaurateurs, industry experts, and organisations such as Coventry and Warwickshire LEP, which is sponsoring the Newcomer Award, allowing them to maximise those connections and opportunities.

If you want to discover more about Eat with Ellen, you can get in touch here: www.eatwithellen.com