Awards - what are the benefits?
Many of you will be thinking, "are entering awards worth the effort?"
Cynics would say that the chances of winning an award are directly correlated to the number of seats booked at the dinner. In our case that just isn't true, as the independent judges don't know any details on bookings and indeed the bookings mainly take place after the awards have been judged.
- The process itself (it's not the winning, it's the taking part)
- The exposure and follow up opportunities
- The credibility and boost to morale
The process of entering can be useful in getting your business to assess how it is doing. Summarising an important initiative or activity into a few succinct words to put before the panel can be very useful in honing your message or refining your approach.
The exposure that follows entering can be significant. Featuring in BOSS Today magazine, BOSS E-News, the trade journals, on a variety of industry websites and countless social media sites will all have a very positive effect on your company's image. People like to deal with industry leaders and when used the right way, the PR from entering should help you to generate new business.
Credibility is enhanced by entering and even more so by winning. There are plenty of follow-up opportunities to publicise and promote your credibility through participating in the awards. Some awards are of course better than others and we're proud that the BOSS Awards have retained a sense of significance while many others have come and gone over the years.
And what about team morale? It gives a great message to your staff that you feel that you are of winning calibre. And the joy that is expressed at the event by the winners (admittedly sometimes fuelled by a drink or ten) shows what it means to win. And the highly commended and shortlisted companies get to celebrate too, as even if they didn't win, the accolades for those getting through to the final are worth the effort.
So if you haven't entered yet - we encourage you to give it a go - you've got nothing to lose and (fingers crossed) a lot to gain. Good luck!