Marketers are always testing and perfecting ways to raise the brand’s profile, increase awareness, win and retain clients and build team cohesion and business awards should be an integral part of this as they provide numerous benefits. But why is entering awards a good use of your marketing budget?

The possibility of winning is not the only reason to enter. The entry process itself provides an excellent opportunity to assess where the business currently is and evaluate achievements against to your market peers. It is also important to review how macro and micro business environment challenges have been addressed and overcome.

Denise O’Leary is a multi-award winner herself and author of WINNER How to Win Business Awards. Denise believes awards offer a key way to redefine your business marketing direction, repurpose your goals for the year and bring tangible benefits including increased brand exposure. But don’t think there are easy shortcuts – each award entry needs to be treated as a bespoke marketing campaign in its own right to really maximise it’s benefits.

The benefits of being a finalist and of course ultimately winning business awards are immense. Winning an award can also generate competitive advantage, leverage trust in your business and boost your team morale. These are all valuable elements to motivate your team and attract dynamic new staff, as well as reinforcing your clients decision to work with you.

Here are some of the top reasons why you need to harness the power of business awards:

Awards boost credibility

An award win or shortlisting has great power in enhancing the credibility of both the business and products in the eyes of clients. This independent validation provides a ‘badge of approval’ which evidences the quality of the products or the services delivered. Awards reinforce the idea that social proof is one of the most influential factors in a consumer’s decision-making process.

Entering, being a finalist, and ultimately winning clearly demonstrate your prowess in your sector and provide that highly desired independent proof that is so powerful. You can secure excellent future facing credibility by seeking the external assessment and judgement provide by awards.

Awards enhance team morale

Attracting and retaining the best talent within the business is essential to remaining competitive. Winning an award and celebrating the success enhances team morale, particularly through the shared emotional connection of the success. Staff can take pride in saying they work for an award winning business and may also be able to attend the award event celebrations as well; further boosting the shared connections. Sharing and internalising the success will build more future winning behaviours and motivate the team.

Awards deliver commercial benefit

Winning can deliver tangible and measurable commercial benefit. This can enable price and market share increases, as well as the perceived value in your marketplace of the product or service that you deliver also increasing. Most consumers when faced with a choice between an award winning company or one with no awards will naturally choose the award winner, even if they know little else about the organisation due to the external validation. An award win acts enhance the buying decision because it demonstrates the business quality and makes you stand out among the competition.

Awards provide great PR

An award gives you the edge against your competition and validates your work. From getting shortlisted to ultimately winning, the PR opportunities will enhance your reputation, contribute to new opportunities and connections and whilst also providing some news to shout about with both existing clients and the media. Awards and the associated ceremonies also provide a great networking opportunity to meet others in your sector, those from other industries and the press.

• Denise O’Leary is a professional bid writer who has helped clients win opportunities valued at more than £3.5bn. In her new book, ‘WINNER – How To Win Business Awards’, she shares her proven award-winning process, explaining how to find awards to enter, what evidence to gather and techniques for maximum entry standout.