If you haven’t entered your business for an award before you may be asking yourself ‘Is it really worth the effort to enter?’

Here are ten reasons why it is worth the investment in time to write an entry for your business, or one of your people, and what you should expect in return for your efforts if you become a finalist, or indeed a winner!

1. Free marketing: Just being nominated for an award gives you the opportunity to use this for PR and publicity purposes. Making the shortlist can improve your brand awareness. The promotion which follows is all free!
2. Stronger position against your competitors: Who are your audience more likely to use if you’re THE award-winning business in your sector?
3. More sales = more customers: Winning or being nominated for awards is a strong indicator of trust-worthiness among prospective customers. Businesses who regularly enter and win awards report increased sales and income against businesses who don’t.
4. Significantly enhances customer retention and loyalty: Demonstrate to your customers that your business is at the top of its game, reinforcing their reasons for using you in the first place. This builds brand loyalty – customers are always keen to stick with businesses who are perceived to be doing well.
5. Increased credibility: An award win or short-listing nomination can act as a third-party endorsement for your business. A win can give a real stamp of authority and credibility within your industry sector and is a sign of quality for potential customers.
6. Valuable exposure: An awards ceremony is a good opportunity to put your business in front of a number of influential and noteworthy people who may be key players within your industry, sector or region.
7. Bench marking: Thinking about how you compare to and standout from the competition will help you think about doing things better and identify areas of improvement. This could be more valuable than the prize itself.
8. Level the playing field: Business awards offer big opportunities for smaller firms to go head-to-head against major blue chip companies. What value would it bring to your business seeing your company logo lined up against some of the UK’s most well-known brands?
9. Employee motivation: Awards are a fantastic way to recognise the hard work of your employees and help boost staff morale. Knowing they have contributed to the recognition winning an award brings is a great motivator to continue to perform for your company.
10. Attract talent: Winning an award validates your hiring stature among new recruits. By pitching yourself as the best, you can attract the talent you need to push your business forward. Who doesn’t want to work for an award-winning company?

Our final thought is that the exercise of writing the entry is valuable in itself as it also highlights internally what you have achieved as a business if you don’t have a strategic plan.

To find out more information about the list of categories and submit your entry, visit www.glosbusinessawards.co.uk