8 Hacks On How To Boost Your Business via Winning Business Awards

One of the most powerful and targeted ways to showcase and boost your business is to win an award. This will fortify your brand with your clients, stakeholders and peers. Awards showcase your organization’s unique features, your team’s expertise and your business’s commitment to achieving fantastic outcomes. Here are eight hacks that have helped us win more than 30 awards. 

Hack 1: Choose The Right Business Award To Go For

There are many awards. Some are local, some state-based and some are national. Consider what your company is good at and your target market. Then select an award that matches your mission. Start with an award that is local and industry specific, a smaller scope means your business is more likely to be in the winner’s circle. Another great hack is to go for an inaugural award; there is likely less entrants, and therefore less competition. 

Hack 2: Choose The Best Award Category

Okay, the “Business of the Year” might be a tough ask first time out of the blocks. So if you focus on a category like innovation or sustainability might give your business a fighting chance. One key to winning or becoming a finalist is to select a category that might not be popular with other applicants. Think: big fish in a small pond.

Hack 3: Make the Calendar Date Work For You

During the middle of the calendar year is what’s known as “award season”. Many awards panels avoid the Christmas and New Year period to host their awards. Make this work in your favor. If you choose an award that has a closing date in January most applicants are likely to be on holiday so proportionally your submission will have more chance of winning.

Hack 4: Give It A Go!  

If you are not in it, you cannot win it. You might think, “I have no chance, why bother?” Give it a go! The first award submission will take effort. But the second and subsequent submissions will get easier.

Hack 5: Understand Every Judging Criterion

Read each criterion carefully. Make sure you know what the judges are really asking. Yes, it sounds easy, but a hack to winning a business ward is to actually answer the question the judges ask. If you do not understand some of the criteria contact the awards administrator or if you have their contact details, then contact the judge or judges and seek clarification. Another hack: if there is a word limit, don’t exceed it. Being about to tell your business story in a succinct way is a valuable asset.

Hack 6: Set Aside Enough Time To Submit The Award 

Opening up your WORD document to start writing your awards application at 9pm on the night before the deadline is making it hard on yourself. Give yourself a bit of time to draft the submission so you can put your business in its best possible light. Also some awards applications ask for referees. You need time to consider who to ask and give them some time to respond. Likewise, you might need to request some information from your external accountant and that takes time too.

Hack 7: Make The Most of the Awards Night Networking

The awards night is a chance to dress up and network with other small business owners. Running your own business can sometimes be lonely. So an awards night is a chance to revel in your (and other’s) success.
So enjoy it.

Hack 8: Okay, Yes Milk It For All It Is Worth

Today’s market is competitive and getting more so every second. Winning an award is a way for your business to stand out in the crowd. You don’t have to win the top gong to benefit, just being a finalist or highly commended even simply being nominated can be a winning story. When the media is full of bad news it is refreshing to offer your local editor a good news story! Be careful to comply with any media embargo – you don’t want to let the cat out of the bag too soon. While some awards committees offer you a template press release to announce your glory, if you don’t have that a good hack is to search the news section of search engines and see how previous awards winners have crafted their press releases. 


Summing up, the benefit of winning a business award doesn’t stop with a pretty photo of you holding a shiny trophy. Not only does winning an award provide newsworthy content for industry media, it also creates great content for your web site and social media platforms. Business awards boosts reputation and confidence. Winning awards enhances your business profile and creates great business development opportunities. So give is a go and use these hacks to boost your business.