How to apply for awards

Business awards are invaluable to business owners. They bring heightened morale, excitement, and even a sense of competition that spurs businesses to drive on, work hard and progress immensely. Above all else, though, small business awards in the UK provide publicity and act as a gateway through which a business’s future clients and customers and their industry will become aware of them. In short, entering awards is yet another way a small business puts itself on the map.  

But as always, there are many awards to choose from, and the application process of each is no small task. No, it can take a chunk out of a business worker’s day and a great deal of work. But if a business follows a few simple steps, the frequently asked question of how to apply for awards becomes an easier one to answer. Using this strategy, the process of applying for business awards becomes a little more manageable and a little more rewarding. <img src=" data-wp-preserve="%3Cscript%20charset%3D%22utf-8%22%20type%3D%22text%2Fjavascript%22%20src%3D%22%2F%2Fjs-eu1.hsforms.net%2Fforms%2Fshell.js%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E" data-mce-placeholder="1"> }); "> 

First of all, preparation is needed. A business must apply to London business awards strategically. As stated previously, many awards are coming up, and this fact applies to the latter half of 2021 and throughout 2022. Should a business owner apply to every single one of the awards on the list? Not at all. Instead, a business owner should work smart instead of hard and plan their attack. Doing this involves researching each award and determining the most relevant awards the businesses are most likely to win.  

An award is won because a business owner has carefully picked which awards to apply for, knowing that the particular awarding bodies they have appealed to are the most likely to give that award to them. In this spirit, an entrepreneur will find that the business awards that SME companies apply to are subject to that business’s highest skill.  

For instance, if a business excels because they have an innovative product, then the business owner will apply for awards that are looking for product innovation. Contrarily, the recognition that focuses on customer service will attract businesses with excellence in this area. Ultimately a business owner must bear in mind that applying for awards is a lengthy process and so must not waste time applying to every award on the list because doing so wastes resources, energy and time. Instead, they should pick the most relevant ones when considering an application. 

When preparing to apply for an award, the second port of call for a business is to analyse their competitors. A business owner who has done sufficient market research will know who their prime competitors are and how they are presenting themselves. Carrying out a competitor analysis helps position the business strategically, boosting the chances of winning.  

Thirdly, when applying for awards, a business must tailor each application to the specific recognition and follow the criteria that the awarding body lays out to a tee. In the simplest terms, this means that it is not productive or progressive for a business to copy and paste their application again and again to different awards. Doing so might seem like a way to save time, but it overlooks criteria that are important to the awarding body, negating the purpose of applying.  

A business owner must show affinity with the qualities that the award is looking for. Further to this point, the application must adhere to the rules set out by the awarding body, which might be enough for a business owner to swing the criteria to their advantage. A business owner must not presume anything when entering awards and must abide by the guidelines. For instance, if the awarding body has set a deadline, there is no debating with it. The application must be completed beforehand. If it is handed in even a minute late, this could mean that all that effort becomes null and void.  

However, just because it is important not to repeat applications does not mean that it is irrelevant for a business to tell their story on their application. Awarding bodies will be interested in this; the hardships, the struggles, and how the company overcame them. While this may sound cliche, the winning ticket is that each business has a different story, and the uniqueness of this integrated into the application will make it stand out. An entrepreneur must always bear in mind the sheer volume of applications that the reviewers go through. 

Furthermore, suppose a business owner chooses to look into national awards rather than local business awards such as Bromley business awards. In that case, this path can provide even more exposure due to being nationally recognised, which is something for a small business owner to consider. Conversely, the recognition that a business can gain from local awards is smaller but provides local credit, and these things all add up to progression, development and business growth.