With its seafaring and aviation traditions, the county of Hampshire is no stranger to innovation. In addition to hi-tech manufacturing, aerospace and marine, Hampshire is contributing a great deal to leisure and tourism, financial services and the telecommunications sectors.

That's why it's no surprise that the entries for this year's Bond Pearce Innovation Award, one of the three awards included in the Daily Echo's Hampshire business Awards, are as varied and as interesting as ever.

David d'Arcy Hughes, partner of Bond Pearce, is on the look-out for a business that fits the bill in several different ways.

He says: "Innovation is at the heart of business differentiation. We probably all tend to think of innovation in a traditional sense but innovation can mean changing a service that you offer to customers in a way that goes the extra mile to giving customers what they want. In an age where it's harder and harder to differentiate services, this could be particularly key.

However, because of the region's strong background in manufacturing, we could also be judging product developments that surpass expectations, so we could, for instance, be reviewing technology that is helping to create machinery or equipment that is more efficient and more effective in a manufacturing environment."

Recognition of a company's achievement in innovation through the Hampshire Business Awards goes a long way to helping that business to bring their offering to new customers or new clients. "That's our experience of previous winners of these awards," adds David, "especially businesses that operate in the SME sector, which are often stretched in terms of resources and won't be able to call upon the resources of a marketing team to promote the company's new or existing products."

Past winners of the Hampshire Business Awards have found the editorial coverage they received a major boost, not just within the local business community but also within their particular industry sector.

This can be a key factor in taking the company to the next stage of business growth.