Entries have closed for the Express & Star Business Awards 2012. Finalists featured in-paper on March 13 and the winners will be announced at a glittering awards ceremony on Thursday, March 22.
Awards such as these can be built into any company’s marketing strategy and should be viewed as a fantastic opportunity to make your business stand out from that of your competitors. Do not push the awards to one side and think of them as another job to be tagged on at the end of the working day – they should be at the heart of your plans to build your business profile and present your brand at a premier event on the region’s calendar.
Think about giving the responsibility for taking part in the competition to someone who is not the obvious choice. Putting together a coherent and informative entry can be useful training for an individual to develop skills in research, co-ordination and presentation. There is no need for huge financial detail, the judges are more concerned with understanding what makes your company tick and hearing about what makes it an outstanding organisation.
Putting together an entry also means that those at the forefront of the business get the chance to acknowledge the contribution of everyone in the team. Most success is down to team work.
All finalists get free publicity within the Express & Star, making it a highly cost-effective campaign as there is no entry fee, and the entire staff will appreciate their workplace being put in the spotlight in such a positive way. That feel-good factor is a special feeling and success is, of course, most attractive to customers and suppliers, enhancing the business reputation of your organisation.
Despite these challenging times, there are many, many local businesses who have withstood the pressure of recent years and indeed, are making strides forward. They have embraced change, sold their vision to the workforce and adopted innovation and courage as their key words.
The business community can learn best practice from our finalists as these shrewd operators combine to make a strong line-up of companies that are exceptional organisations. Is there any reason why your company would not want to join this prestigious list?