Being nominated for awards helps to raise the profile of businesses

We are getting deep into awards season and, as a chamber, we are big advocates of showcasing company’s successes.

Entering awards may, to some, seem like a poor use of time – especially as the economic recovery is underway and companies are looking to use every moment to grow their business.

But by simply being nominated for an award – be it regional or national – it helps to raise the profile of your business, add credibility and, therefore, can be part of a wider marketing push to help win new clients.

To that end, we held an eye-opening event at the chamber last week which brought together a range of civic and business leaders from not only this region but from around the country too.

From Lord Lieutenants and Cabinet officials to manufacturers and construction companies, it was an eclectic mix of figures that we rarely see in the same room.

The topic? The Honours List and the Queen’s Award for Enterprise. And the point? To get more individuals and companies from Coventry and Warwickshire nominated for those awards because, according to the figures, we don’t punch our weight compared to other regions when it comes to receiving these awards.

We received fascinating insights on how to nominate and the types of businesses and individuals who tend to get honoured.

As well as hearing from officials, there were also presentations from Coventry and Warwickshire companies Alumet, Rhead Group and Jaguar Land Rover.

They spoke about the way they went about entering the award and what winning meant to them.

Dean Walton, of Alumet, said the Queen’s Award had helped the company ‘survive the recession’ while Adrian Cadman, of JLR, said even for a firm of its size it had added ‘kudos’ especially when dealing in markets such as China.

Of all the awards, the Queen’s Award is certainly seen as the one to win especially, but not exclusively, for those companies who are trading overseas because of that increased credibility that the Royal seal of approval brings.

So, as a chamber, we would urge companies across this area to look seriously at nominating themselves for an award because not only will it benefit them individually, it will reflect well on the region too.

We are currently working with Coventry City Council, Warwickshire County Council and the regional Lieutenancies to stage another event in July which will offer a master-class on how businesses can nominate themselves for a Queen’s Award for Enterprise.

So we really want to hear from companies across this patch, who may be thinking about entering or might be now they have read this!

It would be great if, together, we could really increase the number of nominations across Coventry and Warwickshire and, hopefully, produce a few more winners too.

For more information on the event in July, drop me an email at [email protected]