Category: How To

7 Reasons Why Business Awards Are Important and How to Find the Right Ones

Businesses should apply for awards because credible recognition can strengthen brand credibility, generate PR opportunities, support marketing and sales, differentiate a company from competitors, and provide independent validation of business achievements.

But not all business awards are equal, and winning an award does not automatically make a company more successful. The value of recognition depends on the organization presenting the award, the judging process, the relevance of the category and the audience that recognizes it.

Research does suggest that certain types of business awards can be associated with meaningful business outcomes. Studies have found relationships between awards and measures including sales growth, return on equity, return on assets, customer perceptions and firm value. The findings vary by award type and industry, making award selection an important part of the process.

For PR and marketing teams, the question is not simply whether a business should enter awards. It is why business awards matter, which opportunities are worth pursuing and how recognition can be used after an award is won.

1. Awards provide third-party credibility

One of the primary reasons businesses apply for awards is to gain third-party credibility through external recognition.

Companies regularly make claims about innovation, quality, customer service, growth and industry leadership. Recognition from an independent organization provides an external signal that can validate and strengthen those claims.

For businesses, this can make an award a useful credibility asset across PR, marketing, sales and brand communications.

2. Awards can create new PR opportunities

Business awards can provide a legitimate news angle for companies that need new ways to generate media attention.

A win can support a press release, media pitch, executive interview, company announcement or customer story. Recognition can also give journalists a reason to revisit a company that may not otherwise have a timely news hook.

For PR teams, the value is that the recognition is based on an existing achievement. An award can turn that achievement into a broader story rather than requiring a company to manufacture a news angle.

3. Awards provide reusable marketing assets

The value of an award does not end when the winner is announced.

Recognition can be incorporated into websites, social media, email campaigns, sales presentations, proposals, customer communications, recruiting materials and other marketing channels.

Research into third-party trust signals provides evidence for the broader principle behind this approach. One study analyzed 288,169 shopping transactions across 493 online retailers and found that third-party trust seals could increase the likelihood of purchase completion, particularly for smaller retailers and newer shoppers. 

4. Awards can differentiate a business from competitors

In competitive markets, companies often make similar claims about quality, expertise, innovation and results. An award can give a business a specific, independently recognized achievement that helps it stand out from competitors.

Research suggests this recognition can have measurable business value. A peer-reviewed study of industrial awards found that operational awards were associated with higher return on equity during the growth stage, while new product awards were associated with business growth. As products matured, supplier and product awards were also associated with return on equity. 

5. Awards can strengthen customer perceptions

Third-party recognition can provide customers with another signal when evaluating competing businesses.

This can be particularly relevant when customers cannot easily assess the quality of a product or service before making a purchase. An award from a respected industry organization, publication or professional association can provide additional evidence of expertise or performance.

6. Awards can support recruiting and employer branding

Business awards can also have value beyond customers and prospects.

Recognition can provide evidence of company achievements for careers pages, job postings, recruiting campaigns and internal communications. For growing companies, external recognition can help communicate the organization’s progress and reputation to prospective employees.

The strongest recruiting value is likely to come from awards that reflect attributes employees actually care about, such as workplace culture, innovation, leadership or employee experience.

7. Awards can provide competitive intelligence

The process of researching awards can reveal what an industry considers noteworthy.

Award categories, judging criteria and previous winners can show which competitors are receiving recognition and which types of achievements are being rewarded. This information can help PR and marketing teams identify trends, competitive strengths and potential gaps in their own positioning.

Previous winners can therefore provide useful context. They show not only which companies are being recognized, but also the achievements and characteristics that helped them stand out.

How to Find the Right Business Awards

Once the value of awards is established, the next challenge is identifying opportunities that are credible and relevant.

Five factors are particularly important:

Relevance: The award should align with the company’s industry, business model, function or achievement.

Credibility: The organization presenting the award, judging process and previous winners should be evaluated.

Audience: Recognition is more valuable when the award is known by customers, prospects, employees, partners or other relevant audiences.

Cost: Entry fees and application resources should be weighed against the potential value of the recognition. Free business awards and programs with no entry fee can also provide worthwhile opportunities.

Timing: Deadlines should allow sufficient time to gather evidence, develop the application and obtain supporting materials.

The challenge is that this information is often distributed across industry associations, publications, professional organizations, events and individual award websites. Researching business awards can therefore become a significant administrative task.

However, Featured’s Find Awards helps consolidate that research by allowing PR professionals, marketers and business owners to describe the recognition they are looking for in plain language. The tool searches a database of 4,596 awards and recognition opportunities and provides information including award names, sponsors, deadlines, entry costs, locations, industries, eligibility and previous winners.

Teams can also create workflows based on their criteria and receive new award opportunities by email or Slack on a daily, weekly, monthly or custom cadence.

The objective is not to enter the greatest possible number of awards. It is to identify the awards that are credible, relevant and aligned with the company’s business and PR goals.

The Bottom Line

Business awards can serve several functions beyond recognition. They can provide third-party credibility, create PR opportunities, strengthen marketing and sales materials, differentiate a company, support customer trust, contribute to employer branding and provide insight into competitive positioning.

The available research suggests that some types of awards are associated with stronger financial and market outcomes, but those findings vary by award type and should not be interpreted as proof that winning an award causes business growth.

For that reason, an effective awards strategy starts with selectivity. The most valuable recognition is not necessarily the most prestigious-sounding award. It is the recognition that is credible, relevant to the business, and meaningful to the audience the company wants to reach.

7 HARO Pitch Tips From Sources

Millions of sources have used Help a Reporter Out (HARO) to get a daily email – sent three times a day – with journalist queries they can respond to.

Sourcing for stories is a constant challenge for journalists, and HARO helps by delivering their queries directly to potential sources. If you can offer relevant expertise – or know someone who can – you can reply directly to the journalist to support their story.

Every source has a go-to tip for using HARO effectively. So, to surface the best advice and help others share their expertise more successfully, we did what any good journalist would do: we put out a HARO asking sources to share their top tips.

Here’s what some sources shared about what makes a HARO pitch stand out.

Set up keyword alerts

Finding the right opportunity is half the battle when using Help a Reporter Out. With so many queries coming in, not all will be the right fit – and sorting through them can take time. 

While HARO does not offer built-in keyword alerts, Featured.com does. As the parent company of HARO, Featured lets you set up your keyword alerts for free to help you spot the right media opportunities. 

Cory Nott, who operates a coaching business with his wife, took it a step further by creating a custom email filter to surface relevant HARO queries. By filtering specific keywords, he’s able to stay on top of opportunities and land media coverage – including a feature on Kiplinger. 

Call to action: Set up keyword alerts on Featured.com

Quickly provide clear and valuable information

Melissa Rolston is the Chief Strategy Officer at Paramount Landscaping, a landscaping company in Ontario, Canada. Paramount monitors HARO queries daily and selectively responds to ones that align closely with their expertise — whether that’s in landscape construction, property maintenance, or leadership in the green industry.

This selective approach has helped Paramount land multiple placements through HARO, including mentions in respected outlets like PRB and MSN. Melissa’s best tip? 

“If you can quickly provide clear, valuable information – without trying to turn it into a promotional pitch, you’ll stand out,” said Rolston. “Reporters are looking for trustworthy sources they can quote easily — the more you focus on making their job easier, the better your chances of being featured.”

Call to action: Before sending a pitch, run it through an AI tool like ChatGPT to improve clarity and remove promotional language. 

Lead with your credentials

Hazel Navarro is a licensed psychotherapist and independent clinical social worker (LICSW) in private practice at Human Heart Connection. She began answering HARO queries in 2022. Despite having over 20 years of experience, each media feature – including placements in Verywell Mind, PS, and others – helped boost her “street cred” among fellow therapists. 

Hazel’s top tip? Include a brief line or two about your credentials before diving into the pitch. 

Journalists want to see your qualifications – and verify them quickly. If you’ve got the credentials, lead with them.

Here’s an example:

“My name is Hazel Navarro.  I’m a bilingual/bicultural, licensed psychotherapist in private practice specializing in working with leaders and high achievers.”

Word of caution: Never misrepresent your credentials. Doing so will result in a permanent ban from HARO.

Be succinct 

It’s not uncommon for a journalist to receive dozens – or even hundreds – of pitches from a single HARO query. For journalists on deadline, sorting through responses can be time consuming, especially when a pitch may not directly address the original journalist request.

That’s why Bruce A. Hurwitz, Ph.D., President and CEO of Hurwitz Strategic Staffing, recommends responding quickly and succinctly to the journalist’s question. His approach has earned him placements in over 750 articles across 500 publications in more than 30 countries over the past 10 years using HARO. 

Call to action: HARO exists to save both journalists and sources time. The more concise and relevant your pitch, the more helpful it is to a journalist on deadline.

Consider including a press page link

Mindy Solkin has trained thousands of people to run marathons. A HARO contributor since 2017, Coach Mindy knows that—just like running—you don’t go the distance by weighing a journalist down with extra baggage. 

That’s why she recommends including a link to a press page in your email signature. While some journalists may avoid widely quoted sources, others find it helpful to review a source’s credibility and media experience. For Coach Mindy, placements in outlets like Total Shape and The Healthy show how sharing past media coverage can help a pitch go the distance. 

Call to action: Add a link to your press page in your email signature to give journalists a quick way to verify your credibility and media experience.

Make sure your pitch directly answers the journalist’s question

HARO has a thumbs up/down feature at the end of every pitch email, asking journalists: “Was this pitch responsive to your request?” If a journalist clicks “thumbs down,” the source receives feedback explaining that their response missed the mark.

The truth is, some pitches simply don’t answer the journalist’s question. That’s why author Carol Gee – who has gained international exposure and was featured in Essence – recommends asking yourself: “Does this response answer the question?” before hitting send. 

Call to action: If the pitch doesn’t answer the question, take a moment to revise. 

It’s about being helpful

HARO stands for Help a Reporter Out. At its core, that’s exactly what it’s meant to do. 

That’s why Salvatore Surra, Director of SEO & Content at Seamless.AI, says the key is to focus on the journalist’s audience. 

“It’s not about you, your company, or even your product,” said Surra. “It’s about what it means to the writer’s audience.  We try to put ourselves in the position of the writer and what would help them rather than promoting ourselves.”

This approach has led to placements on industry websites like CloudTalk, proving that when sources can be prioritize being helpful, everyone wins. 

The Bottom Line for Better Pitches

Pitching through HARO isn’t about being the loudest voice. It’s about being the most relevant, credible, and helpful. Whether it’s setting up keyword alerts, leading with your credentials, or simply answering the question clearly, these small adjustments can make a big difference in getting noticed by journalists.

The best pitches save journalists time and serve their audience. Keep that in mind, and you’ll not only increase your chances of being featured – you’ll also build lasting credibility as a trusted source.

Subscribe to HARO by inputting your email address on our homepage, at helpareporter.com.