Lisa Niemetscheck: Manager of FWE Experience, Forum for Women Entrepreneurs
Applying for an award is good for your business for two key reasons: the process of applying provides a valuable opportunity to evaluate your business, and you can win. This means reaping benefits that go way beyond the photo op.
Most awards require you to provide detailed information about your business. For awards related to success – most often defined in monetary terms – this means that you have to get cozy with your numbers: sales, cash flow, assets. Entrepreneurs might assume that business is healthy based on a steady flow of customers. But once they confront their numbers – either by themselves or with the help of an accountant – a new picture might emerge. This means you can be proactive about your business and catch potential problems before they get too serious. Plus, knowing key financial information of your business will help you make better decisions and prepare you for meetings with bankers and investors.
For community-related awards, the process will likely help you become a better tracker of your involvement. This is important data that will get you organized – for the award, for your bio, board applications and more.
Finally, winning an award is like having that coveted gold star sticker added to your name. It can open doors to lenders, investors, partners and new clients. Expect your inbox to be full and your phone to ring, especially for larger national awards. For local awards, winning gives you clout. Opportunities for speaking engagements, blogging and collaboration with other organizations are just a few of the additional rewards that you can leverage in the long term.
Still hesitating? Don't. Pull out your files and get started. You and your business have a lot to gain.
Steve Kim: President, Boilingpoint Group and president, B.C. chapter of the American Marketing Association
There is no question that winning an award for your business is a great tool to create publicity and awareness for a job well done. Recognition of your achievements can help to set your business apart from your competition. In most cases, it's also a cost-effective way to garner media attention and generate positive mindshare with your customers.
However, awards do much more beyond recognition. Having the right awards strategy and process can reap strong rewards for your overall business performance and brand culture.
By integrating awards into your overall strategy to support departmental programs, you set your business up to succeed. Not only do you then have the luxury of applying to relevant awards, but you also do so in a timely manner.
More importantly, the mere act of submitting an application enables you to capture your story and develop a recorded history, or an annual report if you will, of your work, with insight into achievements, lessons learned and metrics.
Further, you typically receive feedback from the judges that can be integrated into your strategy. The entire process helps create a road map for success that inspires your staff to strive for sustainable best practices in everything they do. This alone can help recruit and retain top talent.
So, as much as I love winning awards for our clients, the process of competition is the key reason to apply for awards. Recognition among your peers can be a terrific marketing tool, but creating a culture of sustainable excellence will also help your business and brand stand out from the crowd and provide long-term return.
Kari Yuers: President and CEO, Kryton International
I used to be skeptical about the benefits of awards for our company. When I think about it now, I am a big advocate of taking time to apply and participate. Good things can happen as a result – sometimes things that you didn't expect.
In 2003, I was asked to accept a nomination for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Our company was growing at such a quick pace, and we were so busy that I said that I don't have time for filling out the application; besides, I was just happy that we were finally having some good success.
I was fortunate that they would not take no for an answer, and I went on to be the winner in the business-to-business category. I was amazed at how this provided our Kryton staff with a real sense of ownership and pride. They were the reason for our success, so it was wonderful to know that this was important to them.
I was unaware of the many PR opportunities that surface after the awards. We had several articles and interviews, which helped create positive awareness for Kryton. Shortly after the awards, we had a visit from a prospective distribution partner for Australia. He'd seen that we won this award and said that these awards were well known and respected in Australia. Today he is a thriving part of our international distribution.
Kryton has been recognized as the best place to work in B.C., which has had huge benefits in attracting and keeping talented people. There are a variety of awards out there, and we have been fortunate to be winners in many areas from products and marketing to personal awards. Choose ones that you feel are a fit for you and your company, and you may be pleasantly surprised that it was more than worth the time to apply.
