The North Devon Business Awards 2023 are now open for entries!
Businesses in and near North Devon can enter one or more of 12 categories:
• Best Employer
• Best Retailer
• Business-to-Business Excellence
• Consumer Service Excellence
• Digital and Online Achievement
• Excellence in Building & Construction
• Excellence in Hospitality & Tourism
• International Trade & Exports
• Made in North Devon
• Outstanding New Business
• Sustainable Business
• Young Achiever
And if you know a business you think deserves to win an award – like a brilliant shop, skilled tradesperson or first-class fitness coach – you can nominate them for an award.
Visit our awards pages at business-action.co.uk/awards to enter.
Entries close on 1 March 2023.
Any North Devon business can enter or be nominated
Any business in the area can enter the North Devon Business Awards 2023.
Don’t be put off because you’re a small or new business or because you’ve never entered an award before!
If you’ve started a new business or kept a business going over the past few years, those are big achievement – we know life has been very tough!
Tips for entering the awards
We want you to enter and here are some tips to help you:
- Spend time on your entries – winning gives you valuable publicity including the presentation at the awards event, social media posts and articles in Business Action magazine. The better your entries, the more chance you have of winning.
- Ask people what they think is good about your business – if you don’t know what to put in your entry, ask customers, family, friends and others what they think is good about your business for ideas.
- Back up your claims – facts, figures & customer testimonials are powerful evidence of your achievements.
- Describe your achievements – Do you employ people? How many? Have you been awarded industry accreditations? Have you won impressive contracts? Have you taken on apprentices? Have you achieved industry qualifications?
- Be honest – don’t exaggerate your achievements as judges will assess your entries and look at your web site and social media profiles for more information.
- Tailor each entry to the category you are entering – if you are entering ‘excellence in building & construction’, focus on those activities; if you are entering ‘digital & online achievement’, focus on how you use digital tools. Don’t use exactly the same words for entries in different categories.
- Ask a colleague to check your entry and suggest changes or additions – another pair of eyes is often helpful. Perhaps you’ve forgotten an achievement that could boost your chances of winning or perhaps there are some points which you need to make clearer. Another reader can point these out to you.
- Don’t be scared – these awards are for all businesses and all sizes of business can win. It can be easier for big businesses to achieve some things because they have more resources, and often it is more impressive when a small business achieves the same thing with few resources. Every business is equal when entering our awards and has an equal chance of winning.
- And if there’s anything about the awards that does not seem clear, ask us. We are happy to answer your questions.
Good luck!
