Episode 42: It's Award Season!
Welcome to the next episode of The CMA Soulmate Newsletter where 962 marketers get better at building Customer Marketing programs and strengthening relationships with customers in less than 5 minutes.
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Hello potential award winners!
You may not know this about me but I submit myself for every single award I see advertised. Not just in CMA but in Sales, Marketing, Customer Success. I never win any of them but hey I’m getting OUR story out there. 🤣 Since I have seen a few award programs accepting nominations and my Sendie Awards are going live in July. This episode will be all about streamlining the nomination process. I will include a template so submitting yourself is a frickin breeze. 💯
I think one of the hardest decisions is what award category to go for. Ummm we do so many things how do you pick just one? That’s why I like Captivate Collectives, Customer Advocacy Practice (CAP) Awards. This year I will be going for Exceptional Advocacy Portfolio for the team (aka ME) who houses multiple advocacy programs. A holistic advocacy strategy if you will.
There are other categories that want to know about more strategic growth initiatives. If you are submitting for those, focus on customer-centric programs that encompass:
Land and expand strategies
Retention and renewal tactics
Above and beyond tactics for Customer Satisfaction
Successful product launches
Customer Engagement
Let’s take the CAP Awards as our example. Last year I didn’t win. SO I asked for feedback on my submission! Turns out my story lacked details because I rushed it. Here are a few tips I will be doing this time around:
CAPTIVATE THEM FROM THE START
Begin your award submission with a captivating opening that grabs the judges attention. Use powerful language that intrigues the reader and entices them to continue reading. Seriously though, how many are they reading! Make yours stand out.
WEAVE A COMPELLING NARRATIVE
Successful award submissions go beyond providing direct answers to individual questions. Instead, craft a cohesive story that ties everything together. What challenges or pitfalls did you hit along the way? How did you overcome them?
ADDRESS ALL PROMPTS AND QUESTIONS
Award applications often cover a wide range of topics, and while some may be more relevant to your organization than others, it's crucial to answer every question.
BACK IT UP WITH DATA AND STATS
Award judges appreciate factual evidence. Incorporate data to support your story. Whether its showcasing revenue growth percentages, client wins, or team expansion, find ways to back up your claims with concrete evidence. (There are always ways to mask hard numbers with percentages if you are not allowed to share!)
INCLUDE A SUMMARY OF HIGHLIGHTS
Consider including a summary or highlight reel to reinforce key points in your submission. This can be in the form of a bulleted list summarizing the key highlights. The summary section serves as a reminder to the judges of your most important achievements and contributions.
As always, here is a framework you can use for submitting yourself for an industry award.
Final Thoughts:
Awards offer a pretty cool and fun way to gain recognition and enhance your professional or company's reputation within the industry. Now I know A LOT of awards are bullshit, thats why I like Captivates.
The CAP Awards are here for one thing: to celebrate the practitioners, leaders, organizations and customers driving innovation and results in the CMA field. You don’t need to be popular, work for a large enterprise, have snazzy technology or a six figure budget. Good luck with your next award submission! Apply today! 👇
Love your CMA Soulmate,
Leslie
More Digital Resources
Catch up on previous newsletters here.
Check out my video course Measuring the ROI of Customer Marketing & Advocacy if you want to showcase the ROI of your programs. Enjoy your 20% off!
I took my metrics sheet out of the course as an extra offering. Customer Marketing & Advocacy Metrics Spreadsheet is available now if you aren’t ready to purchase my course.
A free resource to help you while you are interviewing or going through performance reviews and gunning for a promotion- CMA Career Framework.
My latest free book on Account Based Customer Marketing (ABCM) with 50+ pages of plays for Retention, Upsell, Executive Outreach, & Scrappy ABM. Unlock Growth with ABCM is available for download.