Tips to Maximize Your Entry

Considering nominating your business for a Small Business BC Award? Our annual awards competition provides a powerful opportunity to put your business on the map and receive recognition for the hard work you’ve put in so far. 

We understand taking part in competitions like ours requires a time commitment. That’s why we want you to maximize the impact you receive from entering. Here are six tips to consider when submitting your nomination for a Small Business BC Award.

Establish Your Objectives

A great place to start is to decide upon your goals for entering the Small Business BC Awards. Maybe you want to help boost your staff recruitment, raise your profile within your industry, or improve your marketing? Our Awards program can be a powerful tool to achieve your goals. You just need to clearly define what those goals are before you begin.

Designate an ‘Awards Champion’

Throughout the years, we’ve seen businesses pass the task of administering their awards application from one staff member to the next. This results in inconsistent entries where no one person took ownership and drove the task forward. Instead, we recommend designating yourself, or a staff member, as an ‘Awards Champion’ with responsibility for handling the nomination from start to finish.

Match Your Content to the Criteria

Each of our award categories has detailed criteria you can refer to when submitting a nomination. Our judges will refer to the criteria when assessing which businesses will proceed to the next phase of the competition. It’s crucial to understand the criteria for your category and deliver an application that meets the criteria. These simple instructions provide the recipe for success. Don’t ignore them!

Speak to Previous Nominees

Each year, over 600 businesses are nominated in the Small Business BC Awards. Across the several month process, these businesses learn so much about the process, developing invaluable takeaways, experience and knowledge. Why not consider asking their advice? They’ll be able to share some of the benefits of taking part, how to prepare to present to our judges, and how to approach your community to gather votes.

Engage Your Community

Once you’re nominated for a Small Business BC Award, it’s up to you to engage with your community to get as many votes as possible ahead of February 28th. How you achieve this goal is totally up to you. Previous winners have used tactics like social media campaigns, email outreach, and even texting/calling friends and family. This exercise is a great way to remind them about your business and may even lead to a boost in sales.

Get Your Entry Proofread

Before you submit your nomination, task a friend or family member to read over it and provide their feedback. Try to find someone who will provide impartial feedback. They may notice an important element you’ve forgot to mention, or typos that have slipped under the radar. Your entry will sparkle if it’s error-free and provides a compelling case as to why you should win.