What to look for when choosing a reputable business awards to enter
By Katie Barnes | 08 December 2020 | Expert Advice, Feature
Winning an award is an excellent marketing opportunity. It boosts morale, raises the profile of your business and highlights and recognises your expertise.
When contemplating entering an award, you firstly need to consider whether you want to increase your recognition locally or nationally. These both have genuine and mock awards, so to uphold the reputation of your business, it is vital to choose what you enter wisely.
Katie Barnes winning Nail Stylist of the Year at the Scratch Stars Awards 2019
There are a lot of business and industry accolades all over the world, but some of them are considered a cut above the rest because of several factors like credibility and the level of professionalism. These kind of awards hold credibility and are well-regarded and sought after by both amateurs, professionals and industry leaders. Think of The Oscars for the Nail Industry!
On the flip side, there are many unscrupulous companies who offer sham ‘vanity awards’ and prey on small businesses trying to make their businesses stand out in their industry.
An award should not be easy to obtain. A true award is a recognition of expertise; it should be worked for and judged by an expert judging panel.
There will usually be several stages to achieve this award. You must consider whether the awards have been created to recognise and reward the best in the industry or to profit from those keen to hold a trophy. If something seems too easy, then it is usually too good to be true.
It is important to find out the judging process. A reputable company will happily share the timeframe and process of this including providing the credentials of the judges prior to release of the competition. Research whether the finalists are chosen from nominations or are judged by an expert panel of industry experts.
Katie Barnes at the Scratch Stars Awards 2018
As revealed, there are a few awards out there which are not reputable, and not worth the space on your awards shelf, despite great sounding names and the appeal of a shiny trophy. Here are some warning signs:
- The awards contact you out of the blue to say you have been shortlisted for an award that you never entered. There’s so much out there on social media, that with a little bit of snooping a marketer for these companies can suss you out and get the right terminology to attract you.
- Either unlimited winners, or numerous categories and subcategories, suggesting everyone who enters is a winner.
- They make up countless categories for your business to fit into and subsequently win.
- You have to pay to receive a trophy or use the logo.
- They insist there is no charge for the awards, but then push for payment to be included in the winners brochure & marketing.
- You are automatically entered into categories that your business does not even fit into. An example of this, is when an awards company contacted a nail technician and nominated her for ‘Massage Therapist of the Year’. She wasn’t qualified in massage so she declined the nomination, informing them that she was not qualified. They acknowledged and ignored this important factor. She went on to win. An unqualified massage therapist winning Massage Therapist of the Year!
- Those that are selected on votes, not merit. Awards that are chosen by the highest votes are in essence a popularity contest don’t provide a true reflection on skill.
- Many of these unreputable companies run the same scheme under multiple variants of a common name in multiple cities, targeting businesses in hundreds of categories but are the same operation.
- No awards dinner or event.
- Awards are won by those who purchase the most tickets for the awards event.
These are just a few of the tell-tale signs for these vanity awards. It is important to do your research on the award provider. A quick Google or social media search will usually highlight anything of concern.
Be smart about which awards you enter. There are many to choose from so be sure to pick the business or industry awards that you have the best chance of winning based on your strengths rather than ones that have simply seem the easiest.
While having an award to your name is gratifying, working for it and truly earning it through recognition of skill is much more rewarding and powerful.
Love Katie B x