Yes! Nominating a business is 100% free. Whether you're nominating yourself or another business, there are no charges to submit a nomination.
Anyone can nominate — business owners, employees, customers, or partners. You can even nominate your own business. Self-nominations are welcome and evaluated using the same criteria as other nominations.
Absolutely! Businesses can be nominated in multiple award categories if they meet the relevant criteria.
Yes. We send an official notification email to all nominated businesses with next steps and eligibility verification details.
Yes! Contact Us and include your Nomination ID in your message so we can provide an accurate update.
Once your business has been nominated will receive a Nomination Verification email. Be sure to check your Promotions or Spam folder if you haven’t seen it. You will be able to verify and make any necessary changes on the nomination verification page.
We’ve harnessed the same AI advancements used in world-class search engines and business intelligence tools. Using large language models and data aggregation, we evaluate businesses holistically—not just by what they say, but what others say about them.
Our system filters out noise and fluff, revealing real stories of excellence based on facts, patterns and earned trust.
Our evaluation system uses five key indicators to assess business excellence in a fair, data-driven way:
Customer Satisfaction
What real customers and clients are saying—based on reviews, testimonials, and public sentiment.
Service & Offerings
We evaluate the quality, consistency, and uniqueness of the business’s core products or services.
Value & Pricing
We compare pricing structures to value delivered, factoring in market competitiveness and customer expectations.
Online Presence & Credibility
We assess the strength and trustworthiness of a business’s digital footprint—including websites, listings and branding.
Responsiveness & Community Engagement
We consider how actively the business engages with customers, responds to feedback and participates in its local or digital community.
Each nomination is scored using AI and third-party data sources to ensure a transparent, unbiased process.
It's a mix of both. AI handles initial scoring, but final decisions involve human review for fairness and accuracy.
Our evaluation process can take up to 4–6 weeks from nomination to final decision, though many are completed sooner.
That’s completely normal. Because our process is 100% merit-based and data-driven, not every nomination results in an award.
However, our AI evaluation system doesn’t stop there—it may identify alternate award categories or similar recognitions where your business performs exceptionally well. If that happens, you’ll be automatically considered and notified about the updated nomination.
Our goal is to match every great business with the recognition it genuinely earns and you are free to submit as many nominations as you'd like.
Winners are notified by email with official confirmation and instructions to claim their recognition. Be sure to check your Promotions or Spam folder.
We don’t charge for nominations or selections. Our awards are merit-based and always free to earn.
Our revenue comes from optional Merit Packages available only to recognized businesses. These packages help award recipients share their achievements through tools like press releases, digital certificates, media kits and promotional exposure.
There’s no obligation to purchase anything. But for businesses that want to make the most of their recognition, we provide resources to help do that effectively.
All winners are listed publicly on our Winners Directory, organized by year and award category.
Definitely! We encourage winners to share their achievement. If you choose a media package, we provide ready-made graphics and social badges.
Yes—through strategic affiliate distribution. When your business earns a merit-based award from us, you gain access to our press release services, which are distributed to trusted media partners, including affiliate sites of major networks like Fox, NBC, CBS, and ABC.
It’s important to note: these are local and regional affiliates, not national TV features. Still, they carry the branding and trust of these major outlets, and they’re a powerful tool for boosting credibility, search visibility, and marketing reach.
Business Merit Board is a recognition platform that celebrates outstanding businesses through a transparent and merit-based award process.
Merit-based awards are earned—not bought. They’re based on real indicators like customer satisfaction, reputation, and overall business performance. Vanity awards, by contrast, often allow anyone to win as long as they pay, with little or no evaluation involved.
Merit-based recognition isn’t just more credible—it’s the only safe and reliable way to market your business using award claims. It gives you the leverage to be featured across trusted platforms like affiliate news networks, search engines, and even major broadcast affiliates such as Fox, NBC, CBS, and more.
While we are an independent platform, our awardees have been featured across trusted media partners, including affiliate sites of major networks like Fox, NBC, CBS, and ABC.
Yes! You can reach us anytime via our Contact Page or email us at support@businessmeritboard.com.
