Qualification Process
The following is a list of criteria we review when qualifying a business
Years in business
Minimum of two years in business
Online review count and rating
Minimum of 25 online reviews with overall 4.2 star review rating. This tracks how many online reviews a business has and their overall star rating. This helps us to know the experience that past customers have had.
Previous accolades
Having a past accolade adds to your points in the qualification process. If a business has won another reputable award in the past, it helps to know the track record of the company in the industry.
Number of staff members
Minimum of 2 employees* dependent on the nature of the category. The number of staff members provides insight into how they are able to sustain demand of customers, and also ensures that the businesses in a category are more or less comparable.
Website presence
A website is your online store front. Having a neat and efficient one means a business cares more for their online presence and how accessible they are to customers and adds points to your business for the qualification process.
How online complaints are handled
This tracks how often complaints happen, and how well a business responds to complaints, whether they reply, how they reply, how long it takes to reply.
Social media presence and interaction
All leading businesses have a social media presence and are frequently active. How often a business connects with their customers is important.
Location appearance
How a business portrays themselves at their location says a lot about how they are organized. Having a neat and well kept location adds points to your business in the qualification process.
Community involvement
Going the extra mile for your community is a great representation of how above and beyond a business will go for their customers. Community involvement adds points to your business.
Nominations
The amount of public nominations your business receives is a great indicator of how much your city loves you! Receiving nominations shows that your city recommends you, and gives you points in the qualification system.