So, let’s just call this what it is — most marketing leaders, me included, have tried pretty much everything to bring in more leads. ABM, webinars, SEO, influencer campaigns, paid media blitzes, guerilla stunts with inflatable mascots — yup, all of it. But you know what’s still somehow flying just under the radar? Business awards. Not just the shiny logos on websites (though yeah, they look great there), but actual award wins that can flip a maybe into a yes. Let me tell you why.
Credibility That You Can’t Fake
It’s a bit funny, but even the most skeptical exec will raise an eyebrow when they hear a company is an "award-winning" one. Something about a third-party nod just hits differently. It’s like Yelp for grown-ups. When a business wins an award, it’s not just them tooting their own horn — someone else is doing the tooting, loudly. That builds a layer of trust that you really can’t replicate with ads or even content. And for demand gen? That trust turns into interest, which turns into engagement, which sometimes — no joke — turns into pipeline.
Free-ish PR is Still PR
Here’s where it gets fun. Most awards programs come with built-in buzz: press releases, social shoutouts, email newsletter love, you name it. If you’ve got even a moderately engaged audience, this stuff gets shared. And let’s be real, any excuse to make noise in people’s feeds without paying LinkedIn CPMs that cost more than a weekend in Vegas — well, that’s a win. Awards give your brand reach, and more reach almost always means more leads.
Instant Content — No Brainstorming Required
Now, I’ve worked in content. I know the pain of that "So what are we posting this week?" meeting. Winning an award solves that. Like, instantly. Blog post? Done. Email nurture update? Got it. New social tiles? Just pop that badge on a photo and boom — engagement. I mean, it’s practically plug-and-play. And it’s not fluff either — people really do click and read this stuff because, let’s be honest, we’re all a little nosy.
Conversion Rates Get a Nice Little Nudge
Let’s say you’ve got your demand gen engine rolling — nice CTRs, people hitting the landing pages, maybe a few MQLs. But then... they stall. Decision fatigue. Budget purgatory. That’s where the award win can help. It’s like that one extra checkbox on a prospect’s mental list. "Oh, they won something? Okay, let’s talk." It's subtle, but it works. And in B2B, subtle sometimes is the secret weapon.
Hello SEO, My Old Friend
Quick tip: when you win an award, don’t just celebrate — optimize. Link it, tag it, write about it, and watch the backlinks roll in. You’ll be surprised how much traffic comes from award aggregator sites or press outlets. And yeah, it’s not always top-funnel, but those who click? They’re curious. And curious folks tend to be closer to buying than those who just saw your last paid ad while doomscrolling.
The Cred Club Opens New Doors
One last bit that’s usually underrated: awards open doors. Strategic partners, new vendors, potential M&A interest — they all use award wins as shorthand for "these folks are legit." So even if your award announcement doesn’t cause your pipeline to explode, don’t be surprised if you start getting better replies from prospects or random reachouts on LinkedIn.