When UK companies do business overseas, they benefit the UK economy by increasing productivity, competitiveness and innovation.

Despite intense competition, UK products, services and expertise continue to be in demand across the world. And, even in the face of a global economic downturn, opportunities remain plentiful. This is particularly true in high-growth markets, such as Brazil, Russia, India and China, whose dynamic economies will provide a wealth of prospects for UK firms in the coming decades, not just in their established cities, but increasingly, in regional, lesser-known centres, too.

Whether a company is venturing into selling overseas for the first time, or is an experienced exporter trying to break into new markets, these services, including support and mentoring from experienced advisers in the UK, support to participate in selected trade fairs and outward missions; advice on communicating overseas; and bespoke market intelligence, can help make doing business internationally nearly as easy as doing business in the UK.

What are the key problems that prevent businesses from starting to export?

Exporting is no different to domestic trade in the sense that businesses will face a combination of challenges that must be overcome in order to turn a profit. These will differ depending upon the size of the firm, the industry in which it operates, the makeup of its customer base and of course the general economic backdrop.

Just as with local trading, successful exporting depends first on recognising which potential barriers businesses are likely to face – both those uniform challenges that all exporters are likely to face and that are specific to a particular organisation.

Businesses considering exporting often have concerns over complexity, or a fear of the unknown. However, exporting presents such businesses – even if they represent a range of different sectors – with a set of roughly uniform challenges that can be tackled in turn and managed with the appropriate level of planning.

Examples of uniform barriers faced when exporting to a new overseas market include:

• Cultural differences
• Poorly established legal and regulatory institutions
• Substandard infrastructure
• Economic/political turmoil

Examples of barriers that will differ from organisation to organisation include:

• Resources – e.g. staff dedicated to overseas marketing
• Upfront financing
• Knowledge – e.g. where to target, which approach to take

In summary

Limiting yourself to selling to less than 1% of the world’s population (the UK) doesn’t seem like an ambitious plan for growth.

You can look at the European Union as your extended home market but even that accounts for only 7% of world population.

The world is a huge place but you can make it more manageable. With careful planning and taking appropriate advice communication, payment and technical issues can all be overcome.

The Business Growth Hub can help you to access specialist services and assistance designed to help you to enter into new markets and expand existing ones