The World Loves Award Winners!

Gone are the days of competing on price in your “award” winning business. Overnight you have become the darling of the Beauty Therapy world, an icon in the reception area of your own business, flowers arrive from suppliers, clients write testimonials for your website, respect for you oozes from your friends and your parents proudly email their friends around the globe.

Credibility plays a huge role in business success. This award proves just that. It is the answer to your marketing dreams. No longer will your clients and new staff have to guess at your depth of experience - you have earned the title “Award Winner “ and now you are proud to announce that fact and display the trophy. 

This award says ‘you, as the business owner, had the vision to take advantage of the incredible opportunity to enter the award and you have the expertise and business ability to grow and succeed’.

Have you investigated the business awards that you are able to enter? They are many and varied. Examples to select from include:

• National awards for an enterprising business owner,
• NZ Association of Registered Beauty Therapists’ Bi-Annual Awards
• 2011 City business excellence awards
• Your local council/business association awards.

The winter of 2010 is a great time for you to commit to the award process. This is the time for a smart and confident business owner to show a willingness to get noticed and appreciated and grow their business

As an award winner I can confirm the reflective and introspective experience of entering an award will create the catalyst to boost the economic growth needed to grow your business.

Each business award “Face and Body” has won, accrued an average 14% increase in market share and the increase has built our clientele number to 11,000. These figures have been maintained every year for the last three years with an average rebooking rate of 88%.

Let me further quantify the commercial importance of awards. Boost Marketing Ltd in 2008 published the following key findings in their survey of 400 business decision makers:

• Awards do influence the buying decisions of over 80% of those surveyed, but more as consumers than business buyers.
• The research demonstrated that 49% of those surveyed agreed that award winning suppliers deliver superior service and superior products, and quality of product/service was the number one factor in selecting a supplier.
• Despite the economic climate, interest in awards is actually on the increase. This is because 76% of those responding believe that awards are important for generating business or improving the value of their brand.

Whilst planning your award entry you will be activating an innovative strategy that will grow your business exponentially and by entering you are challenging yourself to work on your business rather than in it.

Consolidate your direction by reflecting on your strengths and achievements to date, include the battles of surviving in a recession, outline your current results and your position in the market, and forecast your plans for the future.

This is the moment you show your true leadership qualities by recognizing the creative energies of those around you. Gather your team around you and ‘brain-storm’ together.  Include your reception staff, your beauty therapists, the accountant, your family/children, business colleagues and have them make lists, and discuss ideas. Assess your strengths and weaknesses and utilise the SWOT analysis techniques to formulate solutions so as to play to your strengths and uniqueness.

To hone your focus and dedication to the task consider the following benefits gained by entering a business award:

• You get to showcase your business as being successful.
• Being selected as a finalist is a dream title with huge marketing potential.
• The world loves a winner, as do your staff, clients, and family.
• Referrals and business growth escalate when you are a winner.
• You are able to demonstrate that yours is the “exceptional business” to your current and future staff, clientele and competitors. A definite competitive advantage.