The Business of Giving Awards

 

Question Based Selling™

By Tom Freese

If you owned a shoe manufacturing company and one of your ships unexpectedly came upon an island inhabited by thousands of locals walking around barefoot, one could think, “There’s no opportunity here. These people don’t even wear shoes.” On the other hand, the person looking at the proverbial glass as being “half-full” might realize, “Hey, look at all the bare feet! Quick, unload the ship!”

Last week, I worked with a client in St. Paul, Minnesota who faces a similarly interesting phenomenon. Crystal D is a leading manufacturer of awards. And, as their name indicates, much of what they produce is employee and customer recognition pieces made of fine crystal. Whether it’s a custom design etched with the recipient’s name and the host company’s logo, or a standard crystal bowl, recognizing the value of people and relationships with these awards creates a lasting impression.

So, what do you suppose happens when a financial downturn puts the squeeze on client budgets, or corporate cutbacks significantly curtail discretionary spending? Just as you might hold off buying that huge hunk of jewelry for your spouse, one could assume that the current economic climate is bad for the crystal award business.

Au contraire! It turns out that Crystal D’s business isn’t really about just giving awards or manufacturing products. Rather, they are in the recognition and appreciation business. Especially given the recent turbulence, it turns out that retaining valuable employees, preserving partnerships, and enhancing customer loyalty is more important than ever before! What can be done to retain employees, motivate partners, and enhance customer relationships? One option is to throw money at them.

For years, financial incentives have been the primary reward companies used to entice customers, motivate employees, reward talent, and increase productivity. Now that we’ve entered a period where payrolls are being radically trimmed, however, bonus checks have become less frequent and noticeably smaller—to the point where opportunities to provide financial compensation are probably going to be much more limited into the foreseeable future.

If you look beyond monetary compensation, you will notice that employees, partners, and customers actually desire two things. In addition to being fairly compensated, most people also yearn to be “appreciated” by those with whom they do business. Therefore, particularly in the midst of financial stress, it’s more important than ever to communicate and to demonstrate to employees, partners, and customers that they are indeed valuable to you and your business.

The fact that crystal is “more expensive” is also a waning objection. Dollar for dollar, nothing can provide the same initial impact or lasting value as a crystal recognition piece. Personally, I have accumulated a number of crystal awards over the years and they will forever occupy prominent places on my desk and bookshelves. Giving out gift cards or holiday turkeys is nice, but it doesn’t compare to the lasting emotions that come from a lasting reminder that says, “You are important to us.”

As companies seek to motivate employees, stay ahead of the competition, acknowledge partner relationships, differentiate new product launches, and inspire loyalty through their existing customers, the trend is actually moving toward enhanced recognition programs where companies give more and more frequent awards. Hence, the upside for using recognition to offset lean economic times has actually bolstered Crystal D’s business, much like pulling a ship full of shoes up to an island inhabited with barefoot people.

Note that this article is not a paid endorsement or a commercial advertisement. Besides being a timely idea you may want to use in your own business, this blog post is simply an example of how thinking outside the box is what will ultimately enable the strong to survive. Maybe I’ll even win an award!