Startups have limited time and limited resources. But that’s hardly news - entrepreneurs surely feel that invigorating, though no doubt also exhausting, “startup grind” every day. So how can emerging technology companies make sure those limited time and resources go a long way? Read on.
What sets successful startups apart from less successful ones is the buzz they manage to build. Acquiring new users through Google Ads gets costly. That’s why entrepreneurs turn to organic press coverage or social media buzz. That said, many startups forget about a critical piece of the puzzle that can go a long way towards building more buzz and with a little practice is not all that impossible to get: business awards.
Why are business awards such an effective tool for startups?
Awards are cost efficient: With fees ranging from $150 to $600, business awards are a cost efficient way to build brand recognition for emerging technology companies and much cheaper than paying for advertising or costly PR agency fees.
Award entries can be prepared in-house: Typically requiring written submissions, award entries can be prepared and submitted by in-house teams - or even entrepreneurs themselves - with some practice, requiring little in terms of additional resources, such as PR agency fees.
Awards mean stunning trophies: Those beautifully designed awards will look great in the company’s lobby, founder’s office or conference room, and the winner logos will enhance any print or sales materials.
Awards bring external validation: Most importantly - business awards carry the same objective, external validation that top-tier articles do and thus, mean that much more to prospective investors, customers and employees than any advertising ever could.
Yet, many startups think business awards are not for them. They think that they can’t possibly win against better-funded, more mature startups or Fortune 500 companies. They couldn’t be more wrong. Numerous awards programs offer subcategories by company size, revenue or maturity levels, where startups compete against other similar companies. And even if they do not – having judged numerous awards programs, I know that a scrappy startup innovating a lot with a limited budget can definitely win against a staid, well-funded company that’s misallocating its resources without much innovation to show for it. The only way to ensure your startup doesn’t win is… not to enter any awards at all.
Here are some reasons to break out of that mold and win some business awards this year, plus some benefits, both short-term and long-lasting, this could bring to startups:
1) Ramp up product sales: Everyone knows the mantra “sell, sell, sell”. It’s hard to sell a new product, however, without any objective acknowledgement of its benefits. Enter press articles, reviews, customer testimonials – and business awards. Remember how it feels comparing a few products on a shelf and being drawn to the one that has all these award logos and seals of approval? That’s how customers will feel about your startup’s award-winning product.
Top product awards programs include PC Magazine’s Editor’s Choice, Laptop Magazine’s 5 Stars or Government Computer News’ Reviewer’s Choice. These publication-driven programs include numerous rounds of testing, yet are absolutely worth the effort, especially for any packaged products.
Apps can take their pick of numerous awards programs nowadays, as most of them offer the coveted app categories these days. This includes various awards programs judged by impressive juries, including web awards such as [Webby Awards](http://www.webbyawards.com/"), design programs such as [Communicator Awards](https://www.communicatorawards.com/), [Hermes Creative Awards](http://www.hermesawards.com/), [Horizon Interactive Awards](https://www.horizoninteractiveawards.com/), or [MarCom Awards](http://marcomawards.com/) or general business awards such as [American Business Awards]( http://www.stevieawards.com/pubs/awards/403_2179_21308.cfm), [Best in Biz Awards](http://www.bestinbizawards.com/product-categories) or [Golden Bridge Awards](http://www.goldenbridgeawards.com/categories/).
For other products and services, including enterprise solutions, have a look at the numerous product innovation, product features and product lines categories offered in the general business awards mentioned above.
Product categories are the most numerous in any awards programs – and for good reason. Objective validation from third-party sources can directly boost product’s sales, leads and brand recognition, and help business development and sales teams at emerging technology companies sell more, more easily.
2) Recognize the talent and hard work on board: Some startups land massive funding from VCs, others don’t. Particularly for the latter, rewarding their star employees, so that they remain engaged and feel appreciated, becomes a creative exercise. Business awards are a relatively affordable way to show appreciation – and many founders will be surprised how excited their employees will be about winning. This doesn’t just go for individual executives and contributors – winning awards for teams is a tremendous morale builder and should not be underestimated as a great motivator for all employees. Even well-funded startups can use some awards to boost morale, as all employees thrive on praise, and that praise matters that much more when it comes from objective, outside sources.
Most business awards programs offer categories for creative, business development, finance, HR, marketing, PR, sales, customer service and support, as well as technology teams – just look under department or team categories in [American Business Awards]( http://www.stevieawards.com/aba), [Best in Biz Awards](http://www.bestinbizawards.com/team-categories) or [Golden Bridge Awards](http://www.goldenbridgeawards.com/categories/).
3) Recruit the top talent with ease: Job candidates nowadays extend their research beyond the official company “about” page. For many of them, Glassdoor is the first stop. [Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work]( http://www.glassdoor.com/Best-Places-to-Work-LST_KQ0,19.htm) awards, selected through employee reviews, are notoriously difficult to get, as companies have to cross a certain threshold of employees and amass a high number of employee reviews to be eligible and a look at last year’s winner reveals the lowest-ranked winner still scored an impressive 3.5 out of 5 stars in their employees’ opinions. That said, as long as a startup’s Glassdoor page doesn’t tell a completely different story, the company doesn’t need to win on Glassdoor to attract high-quality hires.
In every major city, local business journals organize their own Best Places to Work contests, usually managed by Best Companies Group. One such example is [Los Angeles Business Journal’s Best Places to Work](http://www.bestplacestoworkla.com/) – such awards programs usually involve a two-step process, starting with an employer questionnaire on HR and best practices, and rounding off with independently administered, online employee surveys. Another, this time national, organization that administers in-depth employee satisfaction surveys is [Great Place to Work Institute](http://www.greatplacetowork.com/) – they support the Fortune 100 Best Companies list, among others.
Yet another option to receive recognition as a friendly employer is to apply in the Best Place to Work category in other business awards programs, which will typically not require employee surveys. Most programs offer such categories, including [Best in Biz Awards](http://www.bestinbizawards.com/company-categories), which is unique in that it is judged by a panel of independent members of the press and industry analysts. Finally, another option is to submit the HR team or HR executives for relevant HR categories; these can often be less popular and thus easier to score recognition in.
4) Start building a brand and recognition for the startup: This is really the main reason for business awards. Short of landing that ubiquitous New York Times or Fortune article, business awards will establish and expand an emerging company’s reputation. “Fastest-Growing Company of the Year”, “Startup of the Year”, “Entrepreneur of the Year” – these awards will not only make it easier to work with partners and press, they might also help attract additional investors and funding. They also build up in a kind of snowball effect – start with little, younger, less recognized and thus easier to win programs and move on to progressively higher-profile, higher-tied, better known awards. What’s irresistible to judges in awards programs? You guessed it: compelling entries that mention previous awards wins. All you have to do is start.
Look out for future posts for more tips on how to write winning award entries, how to choose the most appropriate award programs and categories for maximum business effectiveness, how to best utilize those wins once you have them, and how to build an award-winning entry machine with a true snowball effect over time.