How to write a good entry

Entries should tell the story of your achievement in whichever category or categories you are entering.

This story of no more than 1,000 words will cover, for example, how you identified and researched a need, how you set about meeting it, what targets were set, what you did and finally how you measured your success.

Any supporting figures or third-party commendations should be robust and able to stand up to scrutiny by the judges if required.

Your entry should answer the following questions, where relevant:

• Who you are and which category you are entering
• What type of business you operate in terms of sector coverage/typical customers
• What business opportunity, process or service you identified that is the basis of your entry
• How you researched the market if appropriate
• What your conclusions were of any research
• What strategy was developed to meet this opportunity/development/change/etc
• What targets were set as part of this strategy
• How you put this strategy into action ie what you actually did – this should form a large part of the entry
• How you measured your success against the targets set, including any relevant figures
• What difference the initiative/development made to your bottom line/customer base/service delivery etc

Supporting material

The judges like to have (a maximum of 3) relevant supporting material. For instance, if a marketing campaign’s success is being partially judged on the media coverage it achieved, include links to examples of that coverage. Research documents, customer brochures, staff newsletters and training manuals all help demonstrate to the judges in a practical way what the entrant has achieved and should be included where relevant. In previous years, we have viewed them all and intend to do so again.

The panel of judges will also review relevant websites, so full addresses and access codes should be provided. The most important point to focus on when preparing any background material and supporting evidence is that it is quality and relevance that matter most, not quantity.