Establishing credibility and a good reputation for your company is much easier if you can secure third-party validation via an awards program. However, it seems like there is an award recognizing and honoring anything you can think of these days, making it hard to sift through a vast number of options and determine which awards are credible to buyers and are truly meaningful recognition.
While developing award submissions honoring your company’s products, services, innovations, and people is undoubtedly valuable, it is crucial to carefully vet opportunities before investing time and money. Many awards programs lack credibility and come with a high price tag, making it essential to ask the right questions to decide which programs are right for you.
To help you vet an awards program, consider asking the following questions:
- Is this award credible?
Is this award credible? Before pursuing a submission, evaluate whether the submission fee justifies the effort required. Eliminate programs that charge high fees and offer trophies to everyone who pays. Also, consider whether notable companies in your industry, including competitors, have won in the past. This helps determine the integrity of an awards program. Finally, identify any information in the submission that you may not be willing to disclose, such as revenue.
- Is the audience the right fit?
Before pursuing a submission, make sure you understand whether the audience will help you meet your business objectives. If the program has a target audience that is not aligned with what you are trying to achieve, it is best to pass. For example, if you are a cybersecurity company hoping to gain third-party validation for your product, prioritize programs that cater to an audience of CISOs and IT professionals—not programs that recognize the best places to work in your area.
- What is the reach?
The last step in the vetting process is to understand who will see and care about your award win. That means knowing if the winner will be promoted on social media platforms, across websites, through newsletters, etc., and the potential cost of this promotion. If there is a publication associated with the award program that plans to publish the winners, make sure you know what the monthly viewership or readership is, as well as social media followers and past engagements. A program with low viewership and little to no plans for promotion is often not worth the attention.
Vetting an awards program may seem daunting, but asking these questions upfront will help save valuable time and ensure you prioritize the most relevant opportunities to gain third-party validation and achieve your business goals.