Firstly, to set the scene you need to know that I own the franchise for thebestofhinckley and have done so now for four years come April 2011. What makes the bestofhinckley such a powerful website is that I am just one of approximately 400+ bestof franchisees across the UK. The franchisor of the bestof is a company called N5 in Solihull, which is owned by a talented and visionary individual called Nigel Botterill.
Each bestof franchisee is independent and so we can set the principles and practices of our own local bestof business but the website is centrally controlled for quality and branding. This is very important because to produce the exceptional results that we can achieve for our business members it is so important for the website to meet all the strict and often changing criteria of Google and the other major search engines.
We have two categories of members on the site:
1. Members – this is you, the local people of Hinckley & Bosworth who can join FREE to use the public facilities of the site*;
2. Business Members – these are the businesses that pay a subscription to be on the site.
*Everything that goes onto thebestofhinckley is moderated and monitored for quality and suitability. We will not accept or post any derogatory or offensive remarks about people, places or businesses.
Let’s take the second of these first, the business members. These are important to us because, if these didn’t exist then the site wouldn’t either!
It has been said to me before that “the businesses on the site are not the best it’s just that they pay to be there”, which in part is true – they do pay. But that then begs the question what makes them the best in the area?
To ensure that businesses are thebest in the area I visit every business that applies or is recommended to us and wishes to come onto the bestofhinckley. During the visit I take an in-depth look at the business and what they do. I then decide whether, in my opinion, the business meets our bestof quality criteria – primarily, that as a business they deliver exceptional service and they are honest, reliable and trustworthy.
If the business meets our quality criteria, I then take up references for that business and speak to their past customers/clients to verify my own opinion. Their bestof feature is then written to highlight the key features of just what it is that make the business special and worthy of being called a bestof business. We do not differentiate on size, the business can be a sole trader or a large company – the key factor is that they do what they do well.
The final quality check for our businesses is of course you – the local people of Hinckley & Bosworth. Through the business testimonials on the site you can tell us exactly what you think and this can be good or bad! We publish the positive things that people say about our bestof businesses and investigate any negative. Our contract with each of our bestof business members allows us to remove a business from the site if it does not meet our and your exacting standards for a bestofhinckley business.
What are the benefits for the business? Well, the business:
Now let’s look at the first level of membership – you, the people of Hinckley & Bosworth and again without your valued support the site wouldn’t exist either!
Why should you wish to join, what are the benefits to you of the FREE site membership? Well, membership of thebestofhinckley will enable you to:
We send out regular email newsletters to all our registered members with the very latest offers and events but you can rest assured that we do not share your data with anyone. This means that you do not have to worry about getting unsolicited email (SPAM) from other companies through your bestof registration.
If you would like to find out more about thebestofhinckley, personally or for your own business then do please contact me through the email link on the site or telephone 01455 246 342. You can also follow us on the social media sites Twitter, FaceBook and LinkedIn
