Well, there it goes for another year. The entries for the kbreview Industry Awards 2009 are now closed and for you the hard work is over and for us it just begins.

We’re totting up the total but I’m delighted to say that the number of entries should at least match last year’s record total and in a year of bad news, recessions, credit crunches and downturns I think that’s absolutely remarkable.

And I’m equally delighted to say that there’s loads of new names in the list of entrants, many of whom are very well known, and that just shows that the work we put into making these awards as prestigious, desirable and aspirational as possible is really paying off. I can honestly say the standard this year is higher than ever so I don’t envy those judges.

Speaking of which, what happens next? Well, on Tuesday next week the first round of judging begins as the design categories judges shortlist the finalists. The same thing happens for the business categories the week after.

Once the finalists are announced, we contact them all and those in the design categories are invited down to London on February 12th to give a 15 minute presentation to an expert panel – and this year we’re holding that in the design-steeped surroundings of RIBA in central London.

For the business finalists – stand by your phone as you’ll be getting a visit from our judges who will come to see your operation first hand and see in person what makes it so special.

The winners are announced at the 1,000 people black tie event on May 11 at ExCeL London.

So good luck to everyone who’s entered but I’ve been pondering why so many new faces have put themselves forward. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fantastic that the awards continues to grow in stature. I’ll confess that I didn’t think we’d get as many entries this year due to the economy. With so much less business around I didn’t think people would be very inclined to put pen to paper.

But how wrong I was. Clearly, so many people have realised just how important it is to find something to shout about and something that sets your business apart from your competitors – but perhaps most importantly they’ve worked out what a boost to morale it is to be finalist or even a winner in a competition like this.

Marketing is something that I think many small retailers in particular either struggle with – or worse, don’t think is necessary. A high level of recommendations is great when the market is good, but relying on them when the market is poor just isn’t going to work. New business is the key to survival and being able to slap “award winning” across your front window and your local press is a perfect springboard.

So, once again good luck and watch out for the announcement of all the finalists here at www.kbbreview.com.

Andrew@kbbreview.com