Wondering how your brand can get the attention of this year’s judging panel and conference attendees? Here are a few tips to help:
Choosing Your Category (or Categories)
If you have a question on which category may be a best fit for your brand, category descriptions are included in the nomination packet and the questions for individual categories can be found here. Also, feel free to reach out to Loyalty360. We are happy to provide category suggestions based on the campaign, program, or strategy you would like to submit.
If you do have an initiative that stretches over into more than one category, don’t be afraid to go for multiple awards. Keep in mind that brands submitting for two or more categories are eligible for the 360 Degree Customer Award – an overall award based on an amalgamation of a single brand’s respective finishes in the individual or multiple categories.
Tailor Your Submission for Each Category
Often brands have a campaign, program, or strategy that could fit into multiple categories. When submitting for more than one category, be sure to read each question and adjust your responses accordingly. Each category has a different set of questions that tie back to its overall theme or topic. Mention why your brand is not only building overall customer loyalty and customer experience, but what you are doing specifically regarding the category topic. The same judge may not read all your entries, so also include background information on your brand for each submission.
More Than Loyalty Programs
The Loyalty360 Customer Awards are focused on much more than just programmatic loyalty. Just because your brand doesn’t have a long, established loyalty program does not mean you’re counted out. Most of our categories are focused on bigger picture customer loyalty and customer experience – from campaigns, to new technology adoption, to employee initiatives and more. This year we have eight different categories that almost any brand fit into.
We Want Results - Share Metrics and Overall Impact
One of the most important pieces of advice we give every year – quantitative and qualitative metrics are among the most important parts of every entry. Providing them is one of the best ways winners set themselves apart from the pack. Some departments (shout out to PR and legal) are reluctant to share sensitive data, but typically there is a clear connection between the amount of detail shared and the most impactful entries that come through each year.
We take brands’ trust seriously and handle the metrics shared in award entries very carefully. All entries are judged in a blind fashion. Brand names and references are not shared, and awards submission details are not shared outside of judging without your permission. This is your chance to share your successes – don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. Sharing program, strategy, or campaign participants, revenue, growth, employee comments, user feedback, and more give judges a complete picture of your entry.
Everyone Loves a Good Story
As you go through your award submission, be sure to connect the dots. Give us background information on your company and the details of the initiative you are nominating, and the results, but tell us how your entry had an impact on your company overall. What did your team learn? Were there hurdles along the way? Where is the initiative today and what’s next? All these pieces help paint a bigger picture that can give the judges additional context.
David and Goliath
Each year we see a variety of entries from new launches and long-term programs to small, medium, and large businesses across a variety of industries. Just because you have a new program or you are not a Fortune 500 brand doesn’t mean you should count yourself out. The Loyalty360 Customer Awards are for B2C and B2B brands from across the world, and we’re proud to recognize a vast array of brands each year. Check out our previous winners list to see brand finalists from the last two Customer Expos.
Get Your Team Involved
The Loyalty360 Customer Awards is a great way to recognize your team and partners for all their hard work. As any program, strategy, or campaign is a group effort, we see that submitting awards entries are as well. Be sure to get input and feedback from your team, supplier partner(s), and/or brand client(s) to help build a complete story.
Start Early!
Deadlines sneak up on everyone. Leave your team enough time to complete the awards questionnaire thoroughly before the deadline hits. There are only a handful of questions for each category, but we want to make sure you have enough time to answer each question completely, get proper input and signoff, and include as much detail as character limits allow.
What Makes Your Brand Unique?
Finally, we want to know what makes your brand unique and why you believe your team is deserving of a 2019 Loyalty360 Customer Award. With thousands of loyalty and customer-focused strategies out there, we need details on what makes your brand stand out, what your team’s biggest learning or takeaway has been, and what you’ve done to build lasting loyalty and positive experiences with your customers. The work that brands put forth each year always amazes us, and we are looking forward to more great stories this fall.
The deadline to submit for this year’s Loyalty360 Customer Awards is August 30th, so be sure to start those entries soon! Finalists will be announced in September and will compete in the final judging round during Loyalty360’s Customer Expo in November.
For more information on the awards, how to submit, the nomination packet and category questions, visit customerawards.org or contact CarlyStemmer@Loyalty360.org.