Proudly brought to you by Recognition Celebration Business Excellence
Congratulations on your decision to enter the 2018 Telstra Margaret River Region Business Awards! Taking part in the Business Awards is a great way to recognise your business, showcase your achievements and come together with industry peers to celebrate your region. And there s a lot more than prestige, promotion and prizes to be gained Completing your submission will require you to step back and review your business, delve into key areas, highlight achievements, benchmark milestones and assess future planning. All finalists will receive an electronic finalist badge for promotional use and be recognised with a Certificate of Excellence at the Gala Presentation Evening. All winners will be announced at the Gala and be presented with a winner s trophy with the best of the best receiving a share in prizes worth over $15,000 including an incredible $10,000 advertising package from Triple M! Additional prizes include a partnership package from MRBTA worth $2,500, an advertising package from the Times worth $1,000 and a cash prize of $1,500. Your submission will take some effort but the potential reward is worth it. We encourage you to read this booklet carefully, attend an Awards Ready Workshop and contact us with any queries you may have. The MRCCI is proud of our vibrant, diverse and passionate business community. We wish you all the very best with your submissions! Rebecca Young, MRCCI Executive Officer rebecca@mrcci.com.au Timeline Entries Open: Thursday 26 April 2018 Awards Ready Workshops: 5.30pm Tuesday 8 May and 9.30am Friday 11 May 2018 Entries Close: Thursday 28 June 2018 Judging Finalists Announced: July End 2018 People s Choice voting Gala Presentation Dinner and Winners Announced: Wednesday 29 August 2018 Eligibility Criteria: All entrants must: Be a registered business and cannot be a club, co-operative or non-profit organisation. Be operating for a minimum of 12 months at the time of entering. Operate in the Margaret River Region.
2018 BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARDS Arrived and Thrived Award presented by South Regional TAFE Recognising the best new businesses (operating for a maximum of twenty-four months). Micro and Magnificent Award presented by Rustico at Hay Shed Hill Recognising the best businesses with zero to three full time or equivalent employees. Small and Sensational Award presented by the Telstra Busselton Store Recognising the best businesses with four to eight full time or equivalent employees. Robust and Remarkable Award presented by Riverfresh IGA Recognising the best businesses with more than eight full time or equivalent employees. Superb Service Award presented by Ventura Home Group Recognising outstanding customer service. Perfect Planning Award presented the Small Business Development Corporation Recognising exceptional business planning. Master at Marketing Award by William Porteous Properties International Recognising effective marketing strategies. Creative Industry Award presented by Creative Corner Recognising excellence in the creative industry. SEPARATE ENTRY REQUIRED. Contact niomi@thecreativecorner.com.au for terms & details. Environmental Excellence Award presented by Nature Conservation Margaret River Region Recognising business leadership in environmental best practice and stewardship. Community Spirit Award presented by Settlers Tavern Recognising businesses committed to benefiting and supporting the local community. People s Choice Award presented by the Commonwealth Bank Awarded to the finalist that receives the most votes from the people! 2018 OVERALL AWARDS (selected from the Business Excellence Award winners) Outstanding Visitor Experience presented by Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association Awarded to the business that delivers the most innovative visitor experience. The winner of this award will receive a $2,500 MRBTA partnership package. 2018 Business Person of the Year presented by the Margaret River Chamber of Commerce and Industry and AMR Times. Awarded to a winning Business Person who has shown great entrepreneurial spirit, leadership and direction. The winner of this award will receive $1500 cash and a $1000 AMR Times package. 2018 Business of the Year presented by the Shire of Augusta Margaret River and Triple M Awarded to the best performing business overall. The winner of this award will receive a $10,000 Triple M advertising package.
Entry Process Entry into the 2018 Business Awards requires only ONE submission, and based on the information you provide and the scores from our judging panel, you will be advised of your success as a finalist and in which category/ies you have been shortlisted. All submissions will be scored by an independent judging panel of qualified business experts. It s important to understand that the majority of judges will be based outside the region so it s likely that they ve not heard of your business before. Although you might have the best business in the region, your success will depend on the information you provide in your submission. All finalists will be notified by the end of July 2018 and the winners will be announced at a special Gala Presentation Evening Wednesday the 29 th of August 2018. The finalist and winner decisions will be final and no discussions will be entered into. ENTRY CHECKLIST Check your status against the eligibility criteria to ensure you qualify. Read all the questions you will have to answer. Contact the Margaret River Chamber with any queries awards@mrcci.com.au. Attend an Awards Ready Workshop (optional). Answer all questions. Use pictures, tables and graphs to tell your story. Ask somebody to review your submission. Make sure they give you honest feedback. Select 6 favourite 1MB business photos to be showcased at the Gala. You might like to include yourself, your staff, your premises, your products/services. Email your submission and photographs to awards@mrcci.com.au by 6pm 28 June. Should you be successful as a finalist Purchase tickets to the Gala as soon as possible (a link will be sent). This event will sell out. Be sure to promote your finalist badge and encourage your customers, suppliers, families, peers and broader network to vote for you in the People s Choice.
Guidelines Entries must be submitted by email before 6pm WST Thursday 28 June 2018. A $30 submission-processing fee will be required from Non-MRCCI Members. Payable to: Margaret River CCI. BSB: 016-520, Account: 491580811 Reference: Your business name Entry for MRCCI Members is free (covered by the membership fee). Entry into the Creative Industry Award requires a creative submission only. Creative submissions will not be eligible for any other awards or prizes. Creative businesses may submit a second written submission to be eligible. Contact niomi@thecreativecorner.com.au for details. Sponsors of the Awards are permitted to enter but are not eligible for their sponsored category. Sponsors of the Awards are permitted to sit on the judging panel if they are not entering into the Awards and demonstrate the required qualifications. The MRCCI Executive Committee members are permitted to enter the Awards but they are not permitted to sit on the judging panel. Entries that are incomplete or ignore word limits will score poorly. Entries must include a minimum of six 1MB photographs to be shown at the Gala evening. Note these photos will NOT be sent to the judges and are in addition to the photos you provide in your submission. Finalists may also be asked to participate in a short video interview. Finalists for each category will be notified via email by the end of July and will be awarded a Finalist Badge that may be used for promotional purposes. All finalists will be presented with a Certificate of Excellence at the Gala presentation evening on Wednesday 29 August 2018. Representative from the businesses must be in attendance. All winners will be announced at the Gala presentation evening on Wednesday 29 August 2018, and a representative from the business must be in attendance to accept the winner s trophy. All winners will be asked to participate in promotional photographs with the category sponsors at the Gala presentation evening, which will be available to the business, sponsor and MRCCI for promotional use. All applications must be emailed to awards@mrcci.com.au and must not exceed 10MB in total, including the written submission, six photographs and any other optional attachments.
Submission Writing Tips You are encouraged to use pictures within your submission but be sure they add to the story of your business and help paint an accurate picture for the judges. You are encouraged to use bullet points, graphs and tables if it helps to clearly answer the questions and makes your submission easier to read for the judges. You are encouraged to copy and paste the questions below to create an entry submission separate to this booklet. Applications should be in an easy to read font such as Arial or Calibri and a minimum of 11pt. 250 words is roughly half a page of A4 in 11pt font. Please stay within the word count. Content over the count will be scored poorly. Words essential for graphs and customer testimonials are NOT included in your word count. Please be sure to check that you have answered every question required for your submission. Any unanswered questions will score zero. ENTRY QUESTIONS Business name: Email: Web address: Number of full time or equivalent employees: Contact name: Phone number: To calculate this answer, please combine the number of hours performed p/week by your part time employees, divide it by 38, round it off then add it to the number of full time employees. For example, if you have 3 employees working 12 hours p/week plus 2 full time employees, your total number of full time or equivalent employees is equal to 3 (i.e. 3 part-time employees working 12 hours each = 1 full time). SECTION 1 - Business Overview 1a. Please provide a 1-2 sentence summary of your business (max 40 words). 1b. Please provide a broader overview of your business including a brief history and summary of your current operations. Describe your products and/or services. What makes your business unique? Briefly describe how your business performs financially. (400 words) Your answer should set scene for the judges. Explain why potential customers would choose your business rather than your competitors. How are you achieving business excellence? What makes you an award winning business? Your financial performance does not need to include figures but it should indicate good financial management and growth.
SECTION 2 - Business Planning 2. Describe your past business goals and how you've achieved them, as well as your future goals and what strategies you are implementing to bring them into fruition. (350 words) Include details of the strategies and the specific results you ve achieved. Highlight any changes you ve made to your business operations, such as streamlining systems, introducing new products/services or sustainability initiatives. If you employ staff, include strategies used to recruit, retain and motivate them. Note the judges will be looking for specific and measured results. SECTION 3 - Marketing 3. Describe your target customers, how you market to them and the effectiveness of these activities. (250 words) You should clearly profile your ideal customers in this answer and how you promote your business to them. Do you have a clear marketing strategy? What tools do you use to promote your business and what results do they achieve? Include details of how you measure success. SECTION 4 - Customer Service 4. What strategies does your business use to deliver excellent customer service? How do you create and retain loyal customers? How do you measure customer satisfaction? (350 words) What strategies do you use to engage and communicate with your customers? What do you do to ensure your customers are satisfied and come back for more and/or spread the word to family and friends? What are your customer service policies and procedures? How do you acquire and respond to customer feedback? SECTION 5 - Business Ethics 5a How do you ensure that your business minimises its impact on the environment and contributes to regional environmental stewardship? (250 words) Your answer should describe the practical ways in which you reduce your environmental footprint and any initiatives taken to help conserve regional environmental values. For example, with respect to sustainability, do you have a carbon emission reduction strategy, rainwater tanks, LED lighting, a paperless office, etc.? With respect to conservation, are you helping to conserve environmental values on your property or in the area and by the way you operate? 5b Demonstrate how your business has a positive effect on the local community. (250 words) Clearly describe your involvement in your local community including any economic and social benefits this has provided. For example, do you try to source locally, employ local staff, support charities and associations or participate in community events? How do you support the local community over and above your basic operations?
Thank you for taking the time to read this booklet. WE WISH YOU ALL THE VERY BEST WITH YOUR SUBMISSION! Should you have any queries, please contact the Margaret River Chamber for assistance. Rebecca Young Executive Officer rebecca@mrcci.com.au 2017 Finalists and Winners