IT and telecoms industry awards are annual events and – right now, yes, right now – we’re at the start of the 2023 calendar. This year there’ll be literally dozens on offer, and a fair proportion are free to enter. Winning them is worth its weight in gold. They feed column-inches that keep on coming. And they boost morale. Constantly raising the bar above competitors, they offer a better chance of hiring and retaining people eager to work with well-respected organisations.

Time is of the essence

According to US magazine, business.com, award-winning small businesses see a 63 percent increase in income and 39 percent sales growth, while for large companies those figures are 48 percent and 37 percent respectively. The difference is simply the size of the pool they’re fishing in. So, plan to take the right path and the results will pour in.

This month, for example, you can take your pick of Comms Business Awards, Excellence in Customer Service Awards, UK National Contact Centre Awards, and Technology Reseller Awards, to name but a few. Submission dates for those cover 24th February through 17th March. For further guidance, on our website there’s a curated list, chosen to suit our IT and telecoms customers.

So, please be quick. For each award entry there’s lots to do, far more than meets the eye. And we’d hate to think you might not be ready for opportunities that might present themselves. Furthermore, we noticed in 2022 that the competition’s getting tougher, which is why it’s worth starting to invest the time and effort today.

You’ll not only do remarkable things for your company’s reputation, but you’ll also attract the attention of senior management. After all, who doesn’t love attending an annual awards ceremony and stepping up to the rostrum to snatch the prize in front of one’s peers?

Reasons our customers win

Here are the top six reasons our clients choose GoRefCo LLP to help produce winning award submissions:

• Know what judges want – we’re great storytellers and understand how to make memorable entries.
• Focus firmly on target markets – all our customers are in IT and telecoms, which means we always know how to hit the hot buttons.
• Cut the fluff, make every word count – most competitions have strict word limits so don’t waste precious chances.
• Ask the right questions – we know how to do that. It’s a critical skill we’ve honed and developed over many years in the business.
• Hunt down hard facts – winning submissions always feature solid proof points and we’re adept at winkling them out.
• Strike the balance between substance and style – judges see lots of entries and they favour the ones with exciting writing.

Stay up with the times

Winning an award usually means doing three things better than the also-rans. First, you’ve got to be in it to win it, as the old saying goes, so get moving. Then, to take your place on the shortlist you’ve got to produce a convincing fact-filled award submission. By the way things have reverted to normal this season and in-person pitches and face-to-face site visits for shortlisted candidates are popular again.

Also, award bodies are encouraging multimedia entries, which make the judging process more varied and allow your personality to shine through. So, the third rule is if you’re a fun company, show it. Think about using captivating video soundbites to sway the judges.

Naturally, written entries are still welcome. But judges aren’t huge fans of attachments. So, keep most of your entry in the body copy, make it easy to read, and don’t feel you have to answer each proof point in order.

Get help with the hard work

Of course, doing the copywriting right is only half the game and, unless you’ve got your eye on the ball, you might miss opportunities others don’t. So read the entry documentation carefully and don’t make errors of omission.

GoRefCo offers the following additional services:

• For free sign-up to our award entry service email connect@gorefco.com.
• We keep a watch on things on your behalf and provide submission date alerts.
• For a curated list of IT and telecoms industry awards in 2023, click here.
• We match awards to our customers’ businesses and keep track of them.
• We add compelling case study evidence.
• Running customer reference and awards programmes in tandem we help plan ahead.

Furthermore, when it comes to production of award-submission PPT decks, and other multimedia content, we’ll help your people do their homework and brush up on facts and figures to give them the maximum chance of winning.

Sharing winning secrets

Yes, the competition has definitely got tougher, but we’ve raised our game for 2023. That’s why, for the first time, we’ll share the internal GoRefCo award entry guide to customers who sign up to our service. They’ll be welcome to share it with their award production team (if they have one) or, indeed, compare it with what other agencies do (or don’t do).

Secondly, we’ve provided a separate blog on how and why one needs to link winning awards with customer reference programmes, click here. As Sir Michael Caine might have said, “Not a lot of people know that.”

Finally, the proof of the pudding. In 2020, GoRefCo produced 14 client entries. Nine were shortlisted and three won big. In 2021, 19 were shortlisted, of which 11 were winners. In 2022, 10 cases out of 21 were shortlisted with six won or highly commended. In 2023, we’ll improve significantly on those achievements.

Understanding your products and technologies and showing how they deliver quantified business benefits is what we do. So, let’s help celebrate your achievements and get you some hard-won recognition this year. Contact us to join our winning band