With the advent of the digital era, the world around us has changed a lot.
What started as a tool of convenience has now become a way of living and the dependency on technology is increasing with each passing day.
Especially when we talk about Generation Z, the generation that has grown in the world of digital technology, they have been running their lives by using the internet.
While the world has moved from Televisions to Smartphones and from Hangouts to Netflix and Chill, there is one thing that has remained conventional and that is the use of awards and trophies for recognition and gratification.
On the contrary, the market and horizon of the awards and recognitions have broadened as there has been an increase in events and award functions.
Right from accolades for sports and academics to enterprise need of awards and trophies as weekly, monthly, and annual recognitions, gratifications, and adaptation of awards and trophies for personal and individual events, the need for awards and trophies have increased over time.
But with growing need and demand for awards and trophies, even the competition and the expectations of customers have grown.
The evolution of awards and trophies business
Not only has the demand for awards and trophies have increased, but the demand for personalized and creative award designs have also increased.
People now not only want awards that have the logo of the company and name of the recipient, but they also want the award design to be personalized for the event as they want people to remember the award.
Apart from that, for those functions and events that hold value and are help periodically, awards work as an identity of the event.
Thus, to capture the increasing demand in the awards and trophies business, businesses have to get creative and introduce multiple and creative design options.
But instead of investing a lot of time, money, and resources in designing physical trophies, people are using different awards and trophy design tools and software to create virtual designs. And once the design is approved by the client, the trophy is then executed.
These unique designs also allow brands to create a buzz in the market as they can promote client testimonials and trophy designs on various social media platforms.
With the increasing use of the Internet and its effectiveness in getting measurable outcomes, many players have diverted their marketing efforts towards digital marketing and have gained a competitive edge with a strong digital presence with creative and customized products and offerings.
With such changes in the customer expectations, business operations, and marketing efforts, the awards, and trophies business has observed a paradigm shift from a brick and mortar business model to the brick and click business model.
If you too are looking to adopt digitalization and create a strong virtual presence on the digital platforms to grow your award and trophies business, we have listed down five essentials that you must have for successful and effective digitalization of your awards and trophies business.
1. Personalized e-commerce platform
While many might suggest you to go forward with different marketplaces to save the cost of development of an e-commerce platform, we strongly suggest you go forward with not just a basic e-commerce platform but a personalized e-commerce platform that aligns with your business goals and customer expectations.
The reason why we suggest you build your platform is that when you create a presence on marketplaces, you get increased sales initially but you have to comply with the rules of the marketplace and you do not gain any brand recognition.
When you go forward with your own e-commerce platform, not only can you build your brand, you can also customize and personalize the platform and increase customer satisfaction by delivering personalized and delightful customer experiences.
Thus with your e-commerce platform, you can gain a competitive edge and in the long run, you will gain loyal customers for your brand.
2. Enable award customization with award design software integration
There has been a huge uproar in the market for the trend of customized and personalized products and every industry is adapting it to match customer expectations and also to charge a premium for the customizations.
The trend is also followed in the awards and trophies business and it can be taken to the next level by integrating an award design software with your e-commerce platform.
With an award design software, you can shift the power of customization to your customers and allow them to design their own awards and trophies with personalized images, text, brand logo, and other such options.
Apart from that, the software allows you to configure products that you have designed on your e-commerce platform and you can also share them on your social media platforms.
What good is a product or a platform if your target audience is not aware of your existence?
Once you have a personalized e-commerce platform with an integrated award design software, it is now time to reach your target audience and bring them to your digital platforms.
The best way to do so quickly and effectively is by leveraging social media platforms.
Use your award design software to share your products on your social media platforms and also encourage your current clients to share their experiences and your products on social media.
Also, ensure that your social media platforms prompt people to share their feedback with you.
4. Digital and content marketing
Apart from social media platforms, one of the best ways to reach your target audience is by optimizing your content and digital platforms for the search engines.
Have a team of digital marketing professionals, who will help you with search engine optimization, content marketing, and paid marketing to reach your target audience and help you build a strong virtual presence.
While optimizing your digital platforms for search engines just keep in mind that ultimately it is your customers who will give you order. So it is essential that the content that you release on the web for your customers is informative and contributing.
5. Creative designing
Nothing creates more traction on the internet than that of creativity.
Whether it is your award designs or social media posts or your promotional schemes or just a graphic and copy content to wish your customers for a festival; ensure that the posts are creative and eye-catching.
Apart from that, also make sure that you have a brand pattern that reflects on all your designs and posts so that in the long run it becomes a brand identity.
Parting words: Awards and trophies business
Awards and trophies will never go out of fashion as gratification and recognition are at the core of human behavior.
In fact, looking at the way the future generations are leaning towards instant gratification, the future seems brighter for those who can stay relevant and creative.
But the way award and trophies businesses did business conventionally via store-fronts, that must evolve to a brick and click business model.
And it is essential that to grow, businesses adapt to the customization and digitalization trend.
Abhishek Agarwal, CMO of Design‘N’Buy, which is a leading award and trophy design software provider in the USA provides an award and trophy design tool to the customer who wants to create awards, shield or trophies that will be treasured forever for any occasion. Right from designing to the ordering process, this tool automates the entire process. This is one-of-a-kind of solution for the trophy, awards and shield made up of any type of material.
