If you saw our recent social media posts, or read our last blog, you’ll know we entered the 2022 Times of Tunbridge Wells Business Awards. In fact, we ended up being finalists in four categories: Family Business of the Year, Outstanding Business of the Year, Young Businessperson of the Year, and Entrepreneur of the Year.
So, without further ado, (and without slapping anyone!), we’re extremely pleased and grateful to announce we won both Outstanding Business of the Year, and Young Businessperson of the Year. And we wanted to use this post to thank the people who made it happen – namely, you – our customers, and our incredible team.
What We Do Differently
We’ve always believed it’s important to stand out from the crowd in such a competitive industry. It’s one of the reasons that winning “Outstanding Business of the Year” means so much to us. Taking home such an auspicious title really means the world to us. But we also want to recognise it didn’t happen by accident. We’ve worked hard to get here and listened to our amazing customers through every step of the journey.
When Corker Outdoors created the unique concept of our all-in-one shopping experience, complete with fifteen show gardens, it was to give our customers something they couldn’t find elsewhere. There is no better way to visualise our range of products than in-situ. But we also wanted this unique feature to serve our local community too. That’s why our show gardens put some of the best and most up and coming horticultural specialists in the spotlight. Our suppliers say they have never seen their like, elevating them way beyond a simple showroom or garden centre display. And they’ve generated more footfall for our business (and those of our show garden partners) than we ever thought possible!
This is just one example of how Corker Outdoors tries to meet and then exceed the needs and demands of professional landscapers and garden designers, as well as the most avid of hobby gardeners. We are curating a carefully selected product range of impeccable quality, consisting of the most in-demand materials such as Italian porcelain, natural stone, topsoil, compost and barks, and aggregates, which will continue to grow. Look out for some exciting new additions coming this year!
Our Amazing Customers and Team
We’re also extremely grateful for how loyal our customer base is. It is a real joy being able to be part of our customers’ projects and seeing them evolve over time. It’s very satisfying being able to chat with our customers and offer honest, impartial advice based on our previous knowledge of their projects, purchases, and preferences! If our customers didn’t keep coming back, spreading the word (you can leave a review here if you’d like to), we wouldn’t be where we are, or in a position to keep growing the business as we have. So, a huge thank you goes out to you, our customers.
You may have noticed a few new faces if you’ve visited us recently, or again, seen our posts. Gaining such great new recruits for the team is a fantastic win for us! It has been incredibly inspiring to find our core values and outlook so eagerly embraced and reflected by everyone. Our focus is never on the sale – but on nurturing those long-term relationships with our customers. From the feedback we’ve heard, this is clearly the case, and we feel fully prepared for the exciting times ahead. What’s more, the challenges behind us were overcome by everyone pulling their weight and then some – so, again, a huge thank you to everyone on Team Corker.
And Finally
And of course, we should probably mention that Young Businessperson of the Year. Congratulations to Oli, whose vision and creativity has been a significant part of reimagining our brand, optimising our customer journey, and enabling us to stand out from the rest of the pack.
But we really want to acknowledge it is a true team effort. From working weekends to always going the extra mile, everyone at Corker puts in maximum effort. They give our customers their very best – which we think is what’s truly outstanding.
If you won or were shortlisted for the Business Awards this year, huge congratulations from everyone at Corker!