Exporting

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Exporting is a popular growth strategy for many businesses, whether entering their first overseas market or expanding to further international territories. Exporting can offer many opportunities to Cheshire and Warrington businesses looking to grow, looking to innovate, and looking to partner with other businesses. In 2020, UK businesses exported a total of £601.0 billion goods and services.

A successful exporting strategy can help your business: 

• Increase turnover and profit, including through accessing bigger economies of scale 
• Innovate and develop new products to meet the demands of varying markets 
• Reduce the risk of being dependent on one market 
• Access a new supply chain 
• Reduce seasonality  

Whatever stage your business is at in its exporting journey there is a range of support available to help Cheshire and Warrington businesses export, including: 

• Help with researching new markets 
• Help with developing an export strategy 
• Help with understanding export opportunities 
• Export finance 
• Help with export documentation 

Deciding on exporting as a growth strategy can be a decision that a lot of small and medium business owners view as a complex and sometimes risky strategy, however with the support of the Growth Hub and other export support partners you can access advice and guidance to make your exporting journey as easy as it can be.  There are a range of decisions to make when starting to export. There is fully funded support to help you develop the best exporting strategy for your business and each exporting strategy will often be as unique as each business. There are areas of your business you will need to consider before choosing the most effective exporting strategy for your business: 

• Resources and expertise within your team 
• Financial resources and commitment needed 
• The suitability or changes needed for your products/services 
• Meeting demand alongside your domestic business 
• Ability to use the same supply chain or need to develop your supply chain  

Once you have decided exporting is a suitable growth strategy for your business then choosing which market you will sell in is a very important decision and you will need to consider various factors including: 

• Size of the market opportunity 
• What customs/taxes you may have to pay 
• Measuring any risks associated with that specific country/area 
• Any potential adaptations/changes your product/service may need 
• Ease of doing business in that country 
• Understanding the competitors in that country 
• Any cultural and legal differences in that market you will need to comply with

After deciding which market you would like to enter, you will then need to make decisions about how you will sell in that country, whether you will sell via your website, sell through an agent or distributor, licence your products or set up a physical presence in that country. When making this decision you will need to consider factors including: 

• How you will find a suitable agent or distributor 
• What percentage of sales will they be eligible for 
• How much autonomy and responsibility will you give to your agents/distributors 
• How you plan on developing market share and over what period of time 
• What pricing strategy will be most effective in that market 
• How will you develop relationships in that market 
• How you sell goods/services may impact your accounting responsibilities in that country 

After deciding which market you would like to enter and how you plan to enter the market, you will face the usual business planning decisions, with potential for an added complexity including: 

• Payment terms 
• Marketing- translation and cultural sensitivities 
• Protecting intellectual property 

In Cheshire and Warrington there is a wide range of support programmes and organisations that can help you: undertake the research needed to make the best decisions, access the finance you may need to maximise the opportunity, develop relevant contacts in your chosen territory and develop your exporting strategy. 

Contact us to find out more  

Some of the support programmes available to help your business export are listed below: