Some firms don’t enter business awards, but they probably should. It can be a cheap way to promote your company. Granted, not everyone likes entering competitions; they can appear to be a bit of a hassle, they can be time consuming, but if you win, they can help open doors and give your business a bit of extra credibility. Sometimes it’s nice to get an external pat on the back too. The actual process of writing an application form is good discipline as it also forces you to examine and reflect on what your business does well and why (and in what areas it may need improvement.)

So how can you boost your chances of competition success? We’re not promising a magic formula, but we sat down with a couple of people who’ve judged a lot of awards to find out what it is they look for. Richard Buckley from Business Eye Magazine has some specific pointers that you can listen to in our interview, and also crucially what not to do.

We’re also speaking to Crawford Ewing, from Ewing’s fish mongers in Belfast about how to take advantage of the opportunities that winning an award can bring to you. Ewing’s have won a number of Great Taste Awards, and that has brought them a flurry of new customers. 

You do though, have to be smart about exploiting the opportunity that winning an award may bring. Promotion is something that a lots of SMEs are not necessarily great at doing. You may think there’s a lot of expense involved in building your business profile, but that’s not necessarily the case. You don’t have to be on the books of a PR firm. Did you know you can pay someone to write a one off press release and distribute it for you? We caught up with copy writer Claire Savage to hear how her business model works and how to create marketing material that can get you noticed online.

Start-up: Ohh Social

In our elevator pitch this week, we have Ohh Social. They’ve developed a smart phone app offering buy-one-get-one-free incentives across four main sectors; Wine & Dine, Kids Activities, Leisure & Attractions and Health & Beauty. Listen in to see if you’re tempted.