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Retailer of the Year, Best Actor, Most Effective Marketing Campaign – human society has a ‘thing’ for peer recognition. Few days pass without someone, somewhere getting a trophy.
Awards for business don’t have the same public allure as Hollywood ceremonies, so they tend to pass unnoticed, even by those in the industry. Yet, there are thousands out there for every conceivable act. Should these prize events be etched in every company calendar? More to the point, are awards worth competing for?
Instant Recognition
Due to the potential cost of business awards, both in terms of time and expense, the concept is a regular topic of conversation online. The potential gains include credibility, increased growth and profit, and the opportunity to set new benchmarks for success.
A key word here is ‘instant’. Winning an award might mean a glamorous ceremony where a business’s name is held aloft in lights. The victor gets to gloat in the presence of their rivals, while their achievements are read out. Those people interested in networking suddenly find a reason to get in touch. There’s no need to run an expensive marketing campaign to catch the eye of viewers at primetime, or something that slowly chips away at shoppers’ minds for years, until they can only imagine one store for their purchases. Awards bring instant recognition.
However, consulting firm Rostone Operations stresses that awards “aren’t just a PR exercise”. Success needs to be grounded in a longer-term plan. They’re a tool, in other words, not a solution. To look closer, we need a quick lesson in human behaviour.
Social Proof
Let’s talk about something called ‘social proof’. A phenomenon common to humans, social proof describes the way in which people look to others for examples of how to behave. It has a definition in marketing, where it’s closely associated with bandwagoning, i.e. jumping on the most popular thing.
The content agency Optimizely defines social proof as “evidence” that somebody has found value in a product. Think of the rankings and ratings of the most popular items on a store like Argos or Amazon. It makes sense for a customer to go for something that has already proven its worth to others.
This kind of ‘peer review’ is common in many different parts of society. Going a bit niche, the hardware store Screwfix lets DIYers sort its radiator valves by top sellers and average star rating. Gaming operator Jackpot City also lists its top 10 slots in the UK. These include three games from one of the biggest casino franchises, Pragmatic Play’s Big Bass series.
Social proof helps guide customer decision-making – but how does it slot into the topic of awards? It’s much the same idea. A customer service prize, for example, provides tangible evidence that a business is more than just its marketing materials. It’s been ‘sorted’ to the top of a list of its rivals.
To answer the original question, social proof deems business awards worth the effort. Of course, not every award is equal. Be wary of campaigns with excess fees, like a payment to claim the accolade, and those without defined brackets. If it looks like a pot to put money into, where everybody gets a prize, that’s probably all it is.
