Absolutely…..actually, they are certainly way more useful than being good for “Absolutely nothing” (as the words to the famous Edwin Starr Motown song would say in relation to War, which I have re-appropriated for this article’s title). And yet, for something which has been a part of the marketing mix for decades, it stirs great debate within firms and in the wire consulting community as to what value they actually bring. I believe the right business awards, promoted well, are beneficial and professional services firms should absolutely include them as part of their annual marketing plans.
Why the negativity towards awards?
They absorb a lot of (non-productive) time.
Most awards take a great deal of time for marketing teams and fee-earners to complete. Collating the information and then presenting it in a concise format that accurately answers the questions can be very time-consuming – much like an RFP response, but one without a contract/revenue prize at the end.
They focus on your firm, more than your clients.
While you are unlikely to get awards without doing great client work, the award itself is a recognition for your great work and is aimed at promoting you rather than your clients, in most cases. So, for some, they are reluctant to spend time and effort on an activity they see as purely self-promotional.
Unclear if awards generate leads/new work.
It is hard to point to leads or enquiries being a result of winning awards or being nominated for them. This is particularly true for activities such as the legal directories e.g., Chambers and Legal 500 which rank lawyers and law firms across practice areas in different jurisdictions. Some will claim to have had work from this source, while others will say in decades, they have never seen it. So, for the time and effort put in compared to other strategic marketing campaigns, it can be hard to justify it from an ROI perspective.
Fear of failure
This is one that will resonate with many who are reading this article. It can be very scary to enter a competition to compare your firm, or even worse, yourself, against your peers and competitors. The fear of not winning and finding out your reputation is perhaps not as significant in the market as you hoped it was, can hold people, and firms, back from entering.
All the reasons above are very understandable and in some cases very legitimate reasons not to enter business awards. However, while I would not advocate entering every single business award out there, there are some very good and sound business reasons for entering, and hopefully winning awards.
BY BEN PAUL
