Previous Winners & Judges Feedback
Iconic Digital
Best Customer Focus
Commenting on Iconic Digital, the winner in the Best Customer Focus category, the chairman of the judges said::
“Iconic Digital is a dynamic business-to-business digital marketing company that lives up to its mission statement of delivering excellent results for its clients. It has achieved spectacular success and growth through its unique active social scheduling platform and guarantees to deliver a return of £3 for every £1 spent on digital marketing. Iconic Digital has seen turnover shoot up by 400% in the past three years with customer retention rates high. What impressed the judges most is that the company donates 30% of profit to charity.”
Dogus Holdings AS
Best Corporate Social Responsibility
Commenting on Dogus Holdings AS, the winner in the Best Corporate Social Responsibility category, the chairman of the judges said:
“The creation of the Dogus Children’s Symphony Orchestra (DCSO) by the Dogus Group AS, one of Turkey’s largest conglomerates, has given gifted young people the chance to showcase their musical talents and perform in a real orchestra. Formed in 2006, DCSO has given more than 65 concerts in Turkey and elsewhere, allowing 800 young musicians to perform. The company has made a great contribution to society and many of the youngsters with the orchestra have gone on to get a scholarship with a music college. Music brings people together and Dogus Group has done a great job at expanding the appreciation of classical music to wider audiences.”
SIMBA Sleep
Best Innovation
Commenting on Simba Sleep, the winner in the Best Innovation category, the chairman of the judges said::
“Simba Sleep has shaken up the mattress sector with the first ever dual spring and memory foam mattress. After a year in R&D, Simba has come up with a hybrid bed, made of memory foam and patented conical pocket springs, topped with a soft comfortable synthetic latex, that is suitable for everyone. The company is backed by an impressive number of high-profile investors and from launch in March 2016, it has become a leading European direct-to-consumer mattress provider. By combining technology and textiles, Simba Sleep has given the industry a wake-up call.”
Agent42 EMEA
Best Place to Work
Commenting on Agent42 EMEA, the winner in the Best Employer category, the chairman of the judges said::
“Marketing agency Agent42 EMEA has defied convention and turned the virtual office into a reality. Realising that having a swanky office was an expensive luxury, the MD Lauren Taugen decided that virtual was the way forward. Supported by cloud-based servers and mobile IT, staff are able to work in a way that suits them. Each partner employee works on projects that matches their skills, giving them the chance to excel and do work they enjoy. Five years later, Agent 42 has become an international phenomenon and a model for the workplace of the future.”
Think Tenders Ltd
Best Small to Medium-sized Business
Commenting on the award to Think Tenders, in the Best Small to Medium Business category, the Chairman of the Judges said::
“The government is keen for smaller businesses to get a bigger slice of the lucrative public sector market and Think Tenders provides an easy route to enter. Businesses using its expertise in writing bids for public sector work can save themselves a huge amount of time and effort. The company has impressive conversion rates and in its first three years, it helped its clients secure ??500 million in public sector contracts. Brilliant business model and a must-have partner for companies trying to get a foothold in the public sector.”
Our IT Department
Best Small to Medium-sized Business
Commenting on the award to Our IT Department, in the Best Customer Focus category, the Chairman of the Judges said::
“Growing quickly from a staff of four home workers to a business with 50 employees in multiple office locations in the UK, Our IT Department has achieved remarkable success by working closely with clients to understand their needs. The company manages its clients' IT network infrastructure and because it does not tie customers into a long-term contract, it relies on high service levels to retain them. Offering a wide range of customer services and focusing on feedback ensures the company is highly responsive to its clients' fast changing needs.”
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- How to impress the judges
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PJ Lhuillier, Inc.
Best Corporate Social Responsibility
Commenting on the award to Cebuana Lhuillier Inc, in the best Corporate Social Responsibility category, the Chairman of the Judges said::
“Congratulations to Cebuana Lhuillier for educating the masses in financial services literacy. In the Philippines, only 63% of cities and municipalities have banking facilities, leaving a large percentage of the population unbanked and uninsured. Through its brilliantly orchestrated financial inclusion educational campaign involving branch staff, agents, seminars and a mobile roadshow, it got the message across to business owners and individuals in 514 communities about managing their finances. More than 19,000 people undertook Cebuana Lhuiller's financial literacy programme with almost 17,000 passing. A great outcome and a step forward in helping marginalised people become more educated in financial matters.”
Limak Kosovo International Airport
Best Customer Focus
Commenting on Limak Kosovo International Airport, the winner in the Best Customer Focus category, the chairman of the judges said:
“Limak Kosovo International Airport (LKIA) has turned itself into a modern, customer-focused organisation that puts passengers’ needs first every time. Followings it privatization, the airport went through a complete transformation. Staff had to be trained and learn how to multi-task, a new marketing strategy was developed and new IT had to be implemented. Passengers were naturally skeptical about the privatization but have been pleasantly surprised with new routes and destinations; great customer service and glowing media reports. Well done to LKIA for achieving customer satisfaction rates of 8.7 from two (on a scale of 1 to 10) and for increasing passenger traffic.”
PJ Lhuillier, Inc.
Best New Product / Service (less than 2 years old)
Commenting on the award to Cebuana Lhuillier Inc, in the Best Product/Service Range category, the Chairman of the Judges said::
“Philippines microfinance company Cebuana Lhuillier has made huge strides in helping marginalised communities across the Philippines protect themselves from natural disasters by giving away free insurance to one million people. The Insurance Commission has a target of getting half the population people insured against disaster by 2020, and Cebuana Lhuillier's generous giveaway goes a long away to meeting this target. The offer will also have an important impact on the economy. With more people insured, it means that in the event of a natural disaster, such as a typhoon, the country can get back on its feet quickly.”
The Midcounties Co-operative
Best Customer Focus
Commenting on the award to The Midcounties Co-operative, in the Best Customer Focus category, the Chairman of the Judges said::
“Midcounties Co-operative has transformed itself into a first-class customer-focused organisation by listening to its customers. Through its recently introduced Customer First Programme, it ran 'Talk to us' surveys and appointed ambassadors to obtain invaluable feedback from customers that has been used prudently to improve the customer experience. Many improvements have been made in stores and, to the delight of shoppers, queues have been cut. The programme has been so successful that the retailer has seen a 6.6% increase in customer satisfaction and a 5% jump in its customer loyalty index.”
Finegreen Group
Best Small to Medium-sized Business
Commenting on the award to Finegreen Group, in the Best Small to Medium Size category, the Chairman of the Judges said::
“With more than 10 years experience in the healthcare recruitment business, Finegreen Group has proved itself to be a clear leader in its sector. Its professionalism is outstanding, it has organised itself to mirror the disciplines in the NHS and its staff are trained to go the extra mile to get the right person for the job. At a time when NHS budgets are under strain, through a canny understanding of its market, Finegreen Group has continued to expand in a consistent and steady way, achieved higher levels of placements and brilliant financial results.”
Zorlu Energy Company
Best Corporate Social Responsibility
Commenting on the award to Zorlu Energy Company, in the Best Corporate Social Responsibility category, the Chairman of the Judges said::
“Zorlu Energy Company's renewable energy initiative for schools across Turkey gets top marks for giving youngsters an insight into the issues surrounding sustainable sourcing power. Overall, the level of awareness among the 8,000 participants about the contribution renewable energy makes to the country's environmental and economic performance rose by almost 12%. Supported by a social media and publicity campaign to maximise awareness in the project, Zorlu's Our Energy for Children campaign has fueled interest in the renewable energy debate and motivated the next generation of scientists to think of energy as a career.”
Founder - Y2 Learn Driver Training
winning this last award has got me an invitation to join the Institute of Master Trainers Association. I’m really pleased
Director of Marketing, Solihull College
Winning a Best Business Award has provided us with a platform to raise our profile via the media. Since winning we have secured press coverage in key national and regional publications regarding the great work we are doing and we have attracted students to the college that may not have otherwise heard about us.
I would recommend the Best Business Awards to any dynamic organisation that wants to prove to stakeholders that it is delivering.
co-founder of Concert Live
If you are a young business without much marketing spend, then entering awards can be a cost-effective way of generating positive marketing and PR, because you are thrown into the spotlight. It also offers a seal of approval.
Potential customers can look at that and think “I’m happy to do business with this company”, because they have that recognition.
Little Bear
Best Customer Focus
Commenting on the award to Little Bear, in the Best Customer Focus category, the Chairman of the Judges said::
“With startup businesses often unable to resource much-needed public relations (PR) support at the time of their launch, Cherish PR has come up an affordable package branded as Little Bear. Cherish has to be commended for spotting a niche market and giving startups PR assistance than can be executed in-house and won't break the bank. This is a well thought out product that provides new enterprises with a better change of survival. Anything that supports fledgling startups has got to be a good thing.”
Vision Independent Financial Planning
Best Customer Focus
Commenting on the award to Vision Independent Financial Planning, in the Best Customer Focus category, the Chairman of the Judges said::
“Vision Independent Financial Planning has proved its commitment to customers by paying for an expensive independent quality assurance review by tax specialist Grant Thornton of its legacy advice given to customers. This is something few other independent financial advisers (IFAs) have undertaken. After achieving a glowing report with 91% of advice up to scratch, Vision now plans to continue with an independent review every year. With advice given by IFAs constantly being scrutinised by regulators, this is an exceptional initiative that inspires confidence in Vision.”
ESL Landscape Contractors
Best Small to Medium-sized Business
Commenting on the award to ESL Landscape Contractors in the Best Small to Medium Size Business category, the Chairman of the Judges said::
“ESL Landscape Contractors is making the world a better place with its beautiful gardens. With 20 years' experience of working with architects to landscape green spaces for commercial organisations, it has built up a reputation for providing a top-class service at a competitive price. Achievements include securing an impressive number of contracts in the south east from a wide range of prestigious clients including well-known firms, schools and leisure centres. Through its focus on quality and customer service, business is blooming for ESL Landscape Contractors.”
Aberdeen City Council
Best Innovation
Commenting on the award to Aberdeen City Council in the Best Innovation category, the Chairman of the Judges said::
“With councils under pressure to do more with less, innovation is the name of the game. To move with the times, Aberdeen City Council launched a new style of suggestion box that is online, stores all ideas and allows open collaboration. Called the Ideas Hub, it can be accessed by 3,000 staff and since its launch more than 200 ideas have been submitted and the website has had almost 200,000 hits. This is a fast and effective way to bring in innovation and for staff to have their say and get recognition for their ideas.”
Nexus Vehicle Rental
Best Innovation
Commenting on the award to Nexus Vehicle Rental in the Best Customer Focus category, the Chairman of the Judges, said::
“Operating in a business area where service is everything, Nexus Vehicle Rental has made excellent use of technology to meet the demands of its 750 corporate customers. Managing half a million vehicles in 1,750 locations in the UK is a logistics nightmare. After the installation of its Intelligent Rental Information System (IRIS) to manage rentals, bookings can be completed in an incredible 60 seconds. Today half of all bookings are made via IRIS, which leaves more time for the more complex cases. The introduction of speedy booking is an impressive achievement that has helped boost service to unprecedented levels and kept the competition at bay.”
Nexus Vehicle Rental
Best Customer Focus
Commenting on the award to Nexus Vehicle Rental in the Best Customer Focus category, the Chairman of the Judges said::
“Nexus Vehicle Rental is streaks ahead of the market when it comes to customer service. By investing in staff and building its business on the latest cloud technology, it is living up to its proposition of any vehicle, anytime and anywhere. Nexus can boast a 99% customer satisfaction rate, which has been maintained for 18 months and is three times higher than the industry average. Congratulations to Nexus for being the envy of the rental vehicle market and achieving dazzling results in customer service.”
Kia Beauty / Abhnash Bains
Outstanding Entrepreneur
Commenting on the award to Mrs Abhnash Bains of Kai Beauty in the Best Outstanding Female Entrepreneur category, the Chairman of the Judges said::
“Mrs Abhnash Bains is a talented philantropreneur whose main interest is to provide a range of quality beauty and well-being therapies, such as hypnotherapy, Reiki and aromatherapy, to the masses. The idea of setting up a Kai Beauty salon in an ASDA store is brilliant and a great way for stressed out women to fit in some pampering while out shopping. Well done to Mrs Bains for coming up with an innovative way for working women and mothers to enjoy and benefit from some relaxing therapies that won't overstretch their purse.”
Be-a Education Ltd
Best Small to Medium-sized Business
Commenting on the award to Be-a Education Ltd in the Best Small to Medium Size Business category, the Chairman of the Judges said::
“Be-a Education has introduced affordable, high quality online courses that, in only three years, have helped more than 25,000 people all over the world gain new professional qualifications. Through its New Skills Academy, the company offers more than 120 different professional courses certified by experts in 22 different categories. Education has the power to change lives and having access to an anywhere, anyplace, anytime academy is an easy way for people to learn at their own pace. Congratulations to Be-a Education for giving people access to a flexible modern way of learning and a better future.”
Be-a Education Ltd
Outstanding Personal Achievement
Commenting on the award to Chris Morgan, Managing Director of Be-a Education Ltd in the Outstanding Personal Achievement category, the Chairman of the Judges said::
“After a career in recruitment, Chris Morgan has transformed himself into a leading entrepreneur in the educational sector. Realising that people need to constantly update their skills in a flexible way, he launched his business a few years ago to meet the requirements of today's workforce. His business is now booming with more than 250,000 students signed up for one of the 120 courses. Aged only 33, Chris has demonstrated great spirit, determination and entrepreneurial talent, and has to be admired for his fantastic achievements in education.”
Zettlex UK Ltd
Best New Product / Service (less than 2 years old)
Commenting on the award to Zettlex UK Ltd in the Best Product / Service Range category, the Chairman of the Judges said::
“Zettlex's incredible range of sensors for measuring speed and position are ground-breaking and a credit to British inventiveness. It latest range called the Incoder with 100 million product variants for angle measurement in aviation and other sectors is simply trailblazing. With 87% of sales going overseas and an annual growth rate of 30%, Incoder has already shaken up the established global market. Zettlex is a beacon of innovation that is putting the UK on the map as leader in high-tech manufacturing.”
Nippy Gecko IT
Best Customer Focus
Commenting on the award to Nippy Gecko IT in the Best Customer Focus category, the Chairman of the Judges said::
“Nippy Gecko has taken customer service to a new level by ditching the call centre and bringing in a personalised approach. Contract tie-in has also been dumped and replaced with much welcomed 90-day contracts. All its techie staff speak plain English, clients all have a single point of contact and can design their own service. Nippy Gecko has an impeccable customer focus policy and the 95% client retention rate says it all.”
Limak Kosovo International Airport
Best Communication
Commenting on Limak Kosovo International Airport, the winner in the Best Communication category, the chairman of the judges said:
“Limak Kosovo International Airport (LKIA) has brushed off a media storm with flying colours following its privatization a few years ago. The media were geared up for bad news around corruption and inefficiency. But instead through its open and honest approach, LKIA had only good things to report around new routes and destinations, new airlines using the airport, full flights and an increase in passengers. Positive media coverage has reached dizzy heights and the company receives 300% more media mentions now than during its privatization. Congratulations to LKIA for creating a brand new shiny image and getting the media on its side.”
