As the awards season gathers to a close, Kevin Carr gives a few tips for those eyeing an entry next year.
• Make your best points first and back up your claims with evidence. It is amazing how many entries talk about a firm’s good intentions without actually including any facts. Not every firm can be a ‘leader in social media’ and every company ‘puts the customer at the heart of its proposition’. Saying it doesn’t really mean anything, the trick is to prove it.
• Be aware that your entries will be read and that judges may check out your claims. I have often sat in judging sessions where we have looked up a company’s website or social media account to see if the claims are genuine.
• Use statistics. “98.7% of customers rated our service as excellent according to XYZ independent research”. But it is disappointing how many entries for areas such as customer service rarely include any information on service standards or how their service is measured.
• “Ah, but others have got big marketing departments and I’m too busy.” Everyone is busy. You either want to win the award or you don’t. Regardless of whether you have two staff or 2000, take it seriously if you want to win. Big marketing departments don’t always help. Sometimes entries can be way too slick – a case of too much style over substance. Judges can often spot this and may favour the underdog.
• Don’t be put off if you entered before and didn’t win. Try, try, try again.
• Think about who is best placed to write and approve your entries. Managers and directors always want to win (and collect the trophies) but often leave the task of writing the entry to someone who might not be invited to the ceremony.
• Try not to promote ‘the average’. Sometimes entries make a big play about something that everyone should be doing every day as part of their normal job. ‘We trawl the market to find the very best solution.’ That’s your day job. Think about what else you have done to differentiate and add value.
• Think about what your business has done over the year (keep a list throughout the year if needs be) in fact why not start writing next year’s entry now? Just add a one line reminder about something you might want to include and update it as you go along.
• Think about any statistics you have or any customer feedback you received and any initiatives you may have launched. Remember to talk about the targets and outcomes, not just the idea.
• And most of all think about the customer – what has your business done that has helped the customer? Whether it is paying claims, providing advice or anything else, an entry that doesn’t mention the customer won’t impress any judges.
Not all entries are poor quality of course. Some are excellent, which is what makes judging fun. You see a company doing really well, you learn from it yourself, and you want to reward their efforts and encourage others.
Most of all – if you don’t win (or even if you do) why not ask the judges for feedback so you know where to improve (or what to do again next year).
It’s not about getting knocked down; it’s about how quickly you get back up.
Kevin Carr is chief executive of Protection Review and a regular Cover awards judge
