Oh the agony and the elation of industry awards. If you think about it, for us corporate players, award programs can often be the mini Olympics in recognizing our business prowess.
It's more than just a trophy on your shelf; it's a testament to the hard work and dedication of you and your team, and sometimes it’s the outside recognition you need to get the internal recognition you should have!
A lot of effort can go into applying for an award, and sometimes it can feel like a very subjective process, especially when you know your work is stellar and you don’t come away with a win.
As someone who has participated as a judge in over eight award cycles for three different programs, I’ve seen my fair share of applications and I can attest that there is an art to submitting an application that really stands out.
The Value of Winning a CMA Industry Award
Before we dive into application processes and best practices, let’s first answer the question that many of us ask - is applying worth it? As someone who has won a few industry awards I would say, absolutely! In the Customer Marketing and Advocacy industry, even more so.
Internal Awareness: Winning an industry award brings significant internal awareness to your program. It highlights the value of your work and validates the efforts within your organization. This is especially important in larger companies where gaining visibility can be challenging. An award shines a spotlight on your team's achievements, making sure everyone knows the impact you're making. And that’s always helpful when budget season rolls around.
Personal Recognition: Receiving an award provides well-deserved recognition for your team. It elevates your profiles and acknowledges the dedication and hard work you put into your projects. It's not just about the award itself but the morale boost and the professional prestige that comes with it. Everyone likes a little LinkedIn bling, am I right?
Program Promotion: One benefit that I think is often overlooked is the impact that winning an industry award can have on promoting a customer advocacy program or community. Not only does winning foster a sense of community among existing members, it also positions your program as a leader in the industry, making it more attractive to potential clients and customers.
Advancing the Practice: With younger established practices, such as B2B customer advocacy, participating in and supporting award programs are a key way for the community to collectively build awareness around innovative strategies and big wins, helping establish the practice on a more global level.
Establishing an Application Creation Process
Many teams don’t have a set process for how to approach submitting for an industry award. This isn’t the case with the Trimble Customer Advocacy team, winner of both a CAP Award and Bammie in 2023. Kati Viscaino, Associate Manager of Customer Advocacy, shared their well-established process for applying for industry awards during her Talk Advocacy to Me appearance, and it’s a great outline to follow:
- Review Previous Submissions: Past submissions can provide a benchmark and a refresh on what has been successful in the past.
- Understand the Categories: This is key. Read the award categories carefully. Don’t hesitate to ask questions if you need clarification, as aligning your submission with the right category is crucial.
- Identify Relevant Examples: Look through your recent work portfolio to find examples or campaigns that fit the award category, and choose those that best showcase your achievements.
- Gather Metrics: Collect a mix of quantitative and qualitative metrics. Numbers provide solid evidence of success, while qualitative data adds depth to your story.
- Detail Each Component: Write detailed sections explaining each aspect of your work – the why, how, who benefited, and the outcomes. Be thorough and specific.
- Multiple Reviews and Views: Have several people review your application to ensure it aligns with the category description and is free of errors. Start with someone close to your program and then leverage some fresh eyes to ensure that your application directly speaks to your application category.
Making Your Application Stand Out
Once you understand the value of applying for a CMA industry award and have a process to follow, you can now think of how to really make that application pop. Judges are often looking through dozens of applications for any given category. Just like looking through job resumes can start to numb your mind to the detailed differences, award applications that sound and look similar can become hard to differentiate.
From someone who’s been in the judge’s seat, here are some tips for making sure your application has a chance at standing out.
Tell a Cohesive Tale: From start to finish, you want your application to tell a story. Sometimes I’ll receive applications chock full of stats but that fails to tell the reader a cohesive tale. Who are the characters? What was the obstacle? Who helped you get there? Where did you begin and where did you get to? Lots of proof points are great, but if they don’t support a clear storyline for the application category, they can actually muddy the water.
Wake Them Up: It’s more than likely that your application will not be the first one read. What do you need to say in your opening paragraph that is going to get that reader excited and wanting to hear more? It could be what seems like an insurmountable challenge. It could be an unbelievable outcome. It could be a bold statement on why you’ll be the next winner of this award. Whatever it is, make it interesting and deliver!
Supporting Materials: If you have the option, absolutely attach supporting materials! Additional materials can make or break an award submission. Text is helpful but the human brain has a propensity to remember images more. Whether it’s screenshots, a strategy deck or an infographic, adding supporting materials can bring your application to life.
Trimble’s Customer Advocacy team, for instance, included a complete video walkthrough of their 2023 CAP Award Application to hit on all the highpoints, making it easy for the judges to digest and a nice break from reading.
Customer Testimonials: If you’re in the customer engagement space, this should be a no-brainer. Incorporate customer testimonials and advocacy examples! Value is not just value to the organization - it’s also value delivered to your customers. Real-world examples of your impact are powerful!
Internal Stakeholder Input: Gather input from internal stakeholders throughout your organization about how your initiatives have had broad impact. Their perspectives can add valuable insights on how value should be communicated .
Invest Time: If you’re going to go through the effort of submitting for an award, why not go for gold? That means you’ll need to dedicate sufficient time to create a high-quality submission. Kati from Trimble estimates that she invests 10-15 hours per application, ensuring every detail is polished and compelling. Work ahead - when you identify an award you want to apply for, put the application deadline in your calendar and plan milestones leading up to that date.
Amplify Your Efforts
Per that last tip above, an excellent submission can take time and effort. But winning or even applying for an award can have lasting benefits that make it a worthwhile investment.
Here's how you can maximize your efforts:
Adjust for Other Awards: Use the content you've created to apply for other awards. No, it’s not cheating. Tailor it as needed, but the core of your submission can often be reused as long as the category you are submitting for strongly aligns to your previous application.
Repurpose Content: Remember those supporting materials you added? The material from your application can often be repurposed into great content, such as blogs, eBooks, or leadership presentations. It’s a ready-made portfolio summarizing your key initiatives for the year.
You ready to get started? Good. I hope I’ve got your wheels spinning and some ideas flowing. Now get going!
If you’re an advocacy-minded professional, you can start with the CAP Awards. We’ve got seven timely categories and seven sizzling judges (who have impacted this field). But applications close on August 16th, so take these tips and submit the damn best application of your career.
