Investment Capital Contests

Intuit Small Business Contests

Intuit frequently rolls out small business contests that award cash and prizes to worthy entrepreneurs. Recent contest details demonstrate why this is an effective strategy for Intuit and how your company can benefit from their small business competitions.

Intuit is a small business powerhouse.

Their brand is known for providing cost-effective solutions and resources that are accessible to the average small business owner. So it's only natural for the company to sponsor periodic competitions geared toward small business owners and entrepreneurs.

Intuit contests seem to share a handful of common characteristics. By studying Intuit contest details you can learn how to better position your company to win future contests and gain a better appreciation for the reasons why Intuit has been so effective as a small business brand.

In one of their recent competitions (the "Small Business United Grant Competition"), Intuit invited communities to nominate local business for a cash award. The grand prize was $25,000 small business grant and $2500 worth of Intuit products and services–a decent haul for any small company.

Here's why competitions like the Small Business United Grant Competition are so important to Intuit:

• Story generation. Small businesses make great fodder for stories. The problem is that companies like Intuit are at least one step removed from the kinds of stories that generate interest with consumers. By inviting communities to nominate area small businesses, Intuit created its own catalog of small business success stories.
• Connections with customers. Corporate entities like Intuit often find it difficult to connect with mom-and-pop business owners. Contests that feature startup entrepreneurs create critical links and psychological connections between the company and the bulk of its customer base. Additionally, by inviting local communities to participate in the contest, Intuit labeled itself as a community-minded business interest, even though its business model is clearly not community-based.
• Brand enhancement. For some of their contests, Intuit partners with Google. For example, one contest featured Google maps embedded in the contest home page and the Small Business United Grant Competition awarded a $100 Google Adwords grant to every participant. Subsequently, Intuit's brand was enhanced through both its identification with small business owners and its connection to the highly-respected Google brand.

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