Many of you will have been there before. You’ve been asked by the boss to put together an entry into your annual industry awards, and your first thoughts are:
- Thanks a lot! I just haven’t got time to do this
- They’re too complicated to enter
- What’s the benefit to my team?
- It’s more hassle than it’s worth
- We won’t win anyway (it’s always the same companies that win every year)
All totally understandable thoughts, especially given the uncertain business and geopolitical climate at the moment. However, if we all took that stance, then there simply wouldn’t be any awards. Competition has never been tougher, budgets are being squeezed like never before and it’s getting increasingly difficult to genuinely differentiate and stand out in the crowded marketplace.
All of which makes entering awards such as the 2026 NBF Bed Industry Awards more relevant than ever. They can provide you, your team and your company with a range of benefits, including improved brand awareness, greater credibility and increased morale. You can share your success with your employees, your suppliers and your customers – maximising the value of your award. We know from past research that consumers are influenced in the buying process if they know that a product or brand has won a relevant award. Just consider the power of a Which? or Good Housekeeping award. While not quite as competitive as so-called ‘industry oscars’, they do demonstrate how much reassurance such endorsements offer consumers.
If you win, there are so many things you can do with the good news, such as adding the logos to your website, social media graphics and videos, email signatures and vehicle livery. Whichever social media channels you use, it’s the perfect opportunity to blow your own trumpet – and a gift of a PR opportunity, particularly if the awards are independently run and therefore of interest to all sector titles. Like most things in life, you get out what you put in. There’s no point entering awards if you’re not going to shout it from the rafters if you win or even make it onto the shortlist.
Awards offer a rare opportunity to be directly compared to the competition and can give you great insight into how you shape up. If you win, great. If you don’t, you’ll learn a lot from the process, improve from the experience and stand a better chance next time.
Now in their 17th year, the NBF Bed Industry Awards return with four categories for retailers and four for NBF manufacturer and supplier members.
To encourage small businesses that don’t have dedicated marketing or PR teams to enter, we’ve made the entry process as simple as possible with an online form. Further details of the awards, including all criteria and deadlines, are available at www.bedshow.co.uk/awards
