Customer Excellence

Sponsored by Mecca Bingo

Define what customer excellence is to you and what you do to achieve it?

Evidence you may consider including should it be pertinent to your application:

1. Baseline – what was your starting point and your aspirations?
2. What processes have you implemented to achieve customer excellence?
3. Testimonials or reviews that prove you have achieved this
4. What controls have you put in place to maintain customer excellence?

Family Business of the Year

Sponsored by CarlyPress

Tell us why you should win Family Business of the Year?

Evidence you may consider including should it be pertinent to your application:

1. Can you demonstrate that the family have had significant influence on the business?
2. How many family members are involved in the management of the business?
3. The company will be financially successful and show a clear vision for the long term future of the business, including planned succession.

Growth Business (over 2 years)

Sponsored by Broomhead Commercial

Tell us how your business has grown?

Evidence you may consider including should it be pertinent to your application:

1. Growth in percentage terms? From what to what, where did your growth come from?
2. How did you identify growth opportunities?
3. What strategy and tactics have you implemented to initiate the growth?
4. Have you uncovered any unexpected risks and what did you do to mitigate them?
5. How have you managed growth? Plan, budget, people, premises? Adapting to change? What is the scope for further growth

Best Employer

Sponsored by Elite Staffing Solutions

What makes you the best company to work for? Have you changed work space or time to suit employees? Culture? Work life balance? Praise and reward scheme? Mission statement? Implement employee suggestions? Career progression?

Evidence you may consider including should it be pertinent to your application:

1. Staff testimonials?
2. Training?
3. Chance to progress/move around / through the company?
4. Staff benefits?
5. Staff retention and bottom line benefits?

Best Marketing Campaign

Sponsored by White Knight Marketing

Why do you think you should win in this category? Include details of what you have done and why?

Evidence you may consider including should it be pertinent to your application:

1. Established baseline so we can measure success
2. Have set targets for achievements
3. Clearly identified audiences and suitable approaches which are tailored
4. Innovation/creativity or well researched approaches depending on market requirements
5. Outcomes

Community Engagement Award

Sponsored by Viridor

This award gives businesses an opportunity to think outside of the work they do on a day to day business within their company and to look at how your company is engaging with the Taunton Deane Community to give added value.

Evidence you may consider including should it be pertinent to your application:

1. What has your company done to support the community?
2. What have been the benefits/outcomes to that community?
3. What benefits has your company experienced as a result?
4. Why have you chosen to support the community in this way?

Start Up of the Year

Sponsored by Summerfield

Why should you win Start Up of the Year?

Evidence you may consider including should it be pertinent to your application:

1. What is the vision for your business? Have you an outline plan? Is it clear and concise?
2. What is the market potential? Insight to market research?
3. How is the business being funded? Will current funding methods prevent further growth? Ability to budget?
4. Tell us how the business has evolved? Ability to adapt to change and overcome problems?
5. Successes to date? How has this been measured? Performance against plan?

Manufacturer & Producer Award

Sponsored by Bridgwater & Taunton College

This award recognises the most innovative and agile manufacturers and producers in the Deane.

Evidence you may consider including should it be pertinent to your application:

1. What commitment have you made to proven research & development practices?
2. Can you demonstrate a passion for continuous improvement?
3. Do you have a solid track record of business planning and growth?

Entries are welcome from all sectors whether volume or niche.

Creative Industries Award

Sponsored by ArtsTaunton

This award is open to applications from commercial, educational and voluntary organisations that have Creative Arts at their core.  This means that you either promote Creative Arts or feature Creative Arts as an intrinsic part of the vision or business model.

Tell us how your work/project/initiative has made an impact on the people of Taunton Deane?

Evidence you may consider including should it be pertinent to your application:

1. How you have engaged with the people of Taunton Deane and what have been the benefits derived? Include also any information on inclusivity.
2. What has been your progress to date? Are there any additional benefits which you hadn’t anticipated (qualitative and quantitative; it may be that your work has impacted on large numbers of the community or a few in a transformational way?
3. What have you learnt from the work/project and how will that inform your decisions going forward?
4. How do you ensure that you are getting the best possible return against investment, both financially and in using your human resources? Include how you are funded.
5. What are your future plans and how do you hope to achieve them?