Do you run an exporting business? Or are you just looking to downscale?
11:00, Wednesday, 18 November 2020
Whether you want to export or downscale, there is advice for all
Raising finance to support export acivities can be many and varied. Winning a large contract can be daunting if you do not have the finance to fulfil it. Trade cycles can be elongated when exporting and waiting for payment can put a strain on any business. The Covid pandemic is also not making this easier and therefore exporters are having bigger challenges than in the past.
This is where the government plays a crucial role with a solution given by an export credit agency called Uk Export Finance (UKEF). Together with the Department of International Trade, they provide the necessary finance or insurance to safeguard a boost for UK PLC'S international sales.
UKEF can help your customers to:
- gain export contracts by providing attractive financing terms to buyers
- supply working capital loans
- get paid by insuring against buyer default
- UKEF consider support for exports to over 200 countries
- They have long and short-term finance solutions available
- they complement the support provided by banks and insurance brokers, maximising the success of UK exports.
With Brexit just around the corner, many new rules will affect citizens, businesses and travel to the EU.
Before exporting though, there are a few things to research. To sell to a new market without the correct information, can be costly and time consuming.
Research is helpful to determine:
- the right markets to enter and at the right time
- the best routes into a market
- how to position your product or service in your chosen markets
- relevant customers, and competitors
- what are the barriers to market entry
Therefore you should
- have clear objectives and detail what you want the research to do
- ascertain what information is essential and define what you need to know
- recognise short and longer term marketing objectives so that they are in line with your market research
- Methods of research
- Online market research - usually readily available and inexpensive.
Although doing your research yourself or finding somebody to do it for your, is a good way to gather information on things like appropriate markets, customer segmentation and rules and regulations, there are disadvantages in that data may be unreliable, outdated or not relevant to your circumtances.
After gathering enough data via online research to select the earmarked market/s, in-market research should be the next step. This is also known as field research. Even though costly, visit the country you are targeting, gather specific information regarding your product or service. Combine this with a visit to a trade show or similar event. The data you gather thus, will be accurate and up-to-date.
Your needs should determine which research approach to take to ensure that you have all relevant information to hand when venturing on contacting any organisation with the eye on financial and insurance help to boost your exports.
On the other hand, if you are not in exports and need to scale down from a large office or workspace, Basepoint Andover has beautiful appointed offices to suit every need. You do not need to do any research whatsoever. Just give us a call, book a tour, and there you have it. Done and dusted, as the saying goes. You are sorted.