Many of you will have been there before. You’ve been asked by the boss to put together an entry into your annual industry awards, and your first thoughts are:
“Thanks a lot! I just haven’t got time to do this …”
“They’re too complicated to enter.”
“What’s the benefit to my team?”
“It’s more hassle than it’s worth.”
“We won’t win anyway (it’s always the same companies that win every year).”
These are all totally understandable thoughts, especially given the uncertain business climate at the moment. However, if we all took that stance, then there simply wouldn’t be any awards.
Competition has never been tougher, budgets are being squeezed like never before, and it’s getting increasingly difficult to genuinely differentiate and stand out in the crowded marketplace.
All of which makes entering awards such as the 2019 NBF Bed Industry Awards more relevant than ever. They can provide you, your team and your company with a range of benefits including improved brand awareness, greater credibility and increased morale. You can share your success with your employees, your suppliers and your customers – maximising the value of your award.
We know from recent research that consumers are influenced in the buying process if they know that a product or brand has won a relevant award. Just consider the power of a Which? or Good Housekeeping award – while not quite as competitive as so-called ‘Industry Oscars’, they do demonstrate how much reassurance such endorsements offer consumers.
If you win, there are so many things you can do with the good news, such as adding the logos to your website, email signatures, letterheads and vehicle livery. Whichever social media channels you use, it’s the perfect opportunity to blow your own trumpet – and a gift of a PR opportunity (but note that, like most things in life, you get out what you put in – there’s no point entering awards if you’re not going to shout it from the rafters if you win or make the shortlist).
Awards offer a rare opportunity to be directly compared to the competition and can give you great insight into how you shape up. If you win, great. If you don’t, you’ll learn a lot from the process (especially if the judges offer their feedback), be able to improve from the experience, and stand a better chance next time.
To celebrate 10 years of the NBF Bed Show (taking place at Telford International Centre on 17th and 18th September), we have given the awards a makeover, with six new categories for businesses to enter. So, this year there are three new awards for manufacturers/suppliers: Bed of the Year; Accessory Product or Component of the Year; and Innovation of the Year.
For retailers there are also three new categories to enter: Independent Bed Retailer of the Year; National Retailer of the Year; and Pure Online Retailer of the Year.
To encourage small businesses that don’t have dedicated marketing or PR teams, we’ve made the process of entering the awards as simple as possible – further details of the awards, along with downloadable entry forms, are available here.
Simon Williams is the marketing manager of the National Bed Federation (NBF), the recognised trade association representing UK manufacturers of beds and their suppliers. Founded in 1912, the federation’s members today account for some 75% of the UK’s total bedding turnover.
