News

October 30, 2009

“Customer Kings” offered chance to win £5k prize

Entrepreneurs in the UK and Ireland with outstanding customer service skills are being urged to enter the Customer Kings competition, run by IT firm Cisco, for a chance to win a £5,000 prize.

Applicants are required to explain why their business should be the overall winner in 750 words, and summarise why they are a "Customer King" in the style of a "Tweet" (a post on the social networking site Twitter) which is 140 characters long.

One national winner and two 'Highly Recommended' businesses will be chosen in each country — England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland. An overall winner will be selected from these to receive the £5,000 cash prize, by a panel including the founder of price comparison site Moneysupermarket, Simon Nixon.

"We're looking for small businesses that know how to create a memorable customer experience," said Kate Pritchard, spokeswoman for the competition's co-sponsor, Real Business. "Maybe you have a technology that allows you to personalise every customer interaction, or maybe you've created a great training programme.

"The overall winner will receive £5,000 in cash, and the regional winners and runners-up will receive PR, which is likely to lead to national press coverage," she added.

Larger businesses will be entered into a separate category, but all entrants must have fewer than 1,500 employees and be the sole proprietor of their business.

The closing date for entries is 18 December.

• For more information and to apply online, visit the Customer Kings website