Audience research
Part of Judges read the entries or the market does, business awards audience research
Business awards customer interviews explained for England
A listicle on business awards customer interviews in England: who to recruit, which questions to ask and how to turn answers into programme decisions.
What to take away
Business awards customer interviews are structured conversations with entrants, judges, sponsors or past winners, used to test whether a programme fits the people it serves.
- In England they check assumptions before you commit budget to a category or entry process.
- Recruit entrants, non-entrants, judges and sponsors, not only happy contacts.
- Keep sessions to 30 minutes and use fixed questions so answers compare.
- Use findings to shape categories, entry forms and judging criteria, not marketing quotes.
- Write up each interview within 48 hours, tagged by theme.
Why interviews beat surveys at this stage
A survey shows how many people hold a view. An interview shows why, which matters while the programme is still being designed.
If you are starting from scratch, the wider business awards audience research guide for England sets out how interviews sit alongside desk research and entry data.
Interviews also surface language. Entrants often describe the same benefit in different words, and those words belong on your entry form. They also expose gaps between what a programme says it rewards and what entrants think it rewards. Surveys are cheaper at scale, so use them later to confirm what the interviews revealed.
Who to interview
Apply two criteria. Geography: the person must work for an organisation eligible to enter an England-based programme. Relevance: they must have entered, considered entering, judged or sponsored a programme in the last two years.
Aim for four groups. Recent entrants, so you learn what nearly stopped them. People who looked and did not enter, who hold the objections you need. Judges, who can say whether entries give them enough evidence. Sponsors, who care who else attends.
Six to ten interviews per group is enough for a first pass. Coverage matters more than volume.
Recruit through your own records first, because past entrants, lapsed entrants and judges are already known to you. Ask sponsors for introductions to their clients, and offer a 30-minute slot with the questions shared in advance.
Questions that produce usable answers
Ask about behaviour before opinion. What did you do, what did it cost in time, and who signed it off? Then turn to barriers: what nearly stopped you entering?
On judging, ask how they weigh evidence of impact against evidence of activity. On sponsorship, ask what they need to justify the spend internally. BSI's work on the future of trust and organisational reputation frames why entrants care who else is associated with an award.
Close with one open question: if you could change one thing about awards in your sector, what would it be?
Record the session only with permission, and say how notes will be stored. Send a two-line summary afterwards so the interviewee can correct anything you misheard.
A decision table for common situations
The table is a starting point, not a rule.
| Situation | Choose | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| You need a new category | 6 to 8 interviews with eligible entrants | A single survey to your mailing list |
| Entries are falling | Interviews with people who considered entering and did not | Assuming the fee is always the barrier |
| Judges say entries lack evidence | Interviews with judges plus a form review | Adding fields without asking what evidence is needed |
| A sponsor is renewing | One interview with the sponsor's marketing lead | Relying only on attendance numbers |
| You operate in tourism | Interviews alongside published sector data | Treating one region's results as national |
Sector detail that changes the questions
Sector shapes what counts as credible evidence. For tourism awards, claims about visitor numbers sit against published data, and the ONS tourism industry statistics give a neutral reference point.
Where entrants are protecting a brand name, a process or creative work, ask early whether they can share it. The GOV.UK step-by-step guide to getting intellectual property rights explains the protections an entrant may hold.
Ask which trade bodies, accreditation schemes or funders the entrant already reports to. Existing reporting duties show what evidence they can supply without extra work.
Turning answers into programme changes
Tag every comment against a theme: eligibility, time, cost, credibility, evidence or logistics.
Then decide what changes. If several non-entrants mention the same eligibility confusion, rewrite that page. If judges want shorter entries, cut the word count instead of adding guidance. If sponsors cannot explain the audience, fix the audience definition before the pitch.
Name the person who can approve each change. A finding without an owner becomes a note in a folder.
Revisit the themes at your next category review. A short round each year costs less than rebuilding a programme that never fitted its audience. The business awards target audience in England covers how to segment entrants, judges and sponsors.
Common questions
How many customer interviews do I need for a business awards programme?
Six to ten per group is usually enough for a first round. Stop when new interviews repeat what you already know.
Should I pay interviewees for their time?
For most England-based programmes, no payment is expected. A short session and a clear purpose are normally enough.
Can I use interview quotes in award marketing?
Only with written permission and in the form agreed. Quotes about your own programme are safer than quotes about a sponsor.
Do I need interviews if I already have entry data?
Entry data shows what happened, not why. Interviews explain the drop-offs behind the numbers.
