There’s never been a better time to export.
A catchy one liner, and true.
North East England is consistently the only UK region with a positive balance of trade, its export strength driven on by the success of world class industries including pharmaceuticals, subsea and tourism.
This export success story is only set to continue with the fantastic news that Nissan UK is to build two new models at its Sunderland plant post-Brexit.
The Sunderland factory made 475,000 vehicles last year – almost one in three of the cars built in Britain – and 80% of which were exported.
The knock-on effects of this investment are enormous.
Putting to one side the huge economic benefits, even if you’re not directly associated with the Sunderland plant, it creates a feelgood factor and gets people and businesses outside the North East taking notice of and talking positively about our region.
And what it does show is that businesses that grow, grow better if they are international.
What Nissan does, it does phenomenally well on a huge scale, but the benefits of exporting can be just as impactful for small and medium-sized businesses.
Exporting improves company profitability by increasing sales and revenue, improving cost base due to this scale and diversifying the number of markets for a firm’s product or services.
I’ve got the privilege in my job with Business Durham of meeting many companies in pretty much every sector and at every stage of growth. Exports is disappointingly not often a topic of discussion.
The number of SMEs exporting in the North East is low and we need more. It’s about building critical mass.
I get to see the impact on those firms that have taken the plunge and decided to export and hear the reasons from those who aspire to, but have yet to take those first steps.
One possible way to break into export markets without directly exporting is by selling into overseas communities based on your doorstep in the UK.
This business to business or more likely to business to consumer selling can be established quite quickly online and can in turn lead to export opportunities with firms based outside the UK.
Exporting should be for every business, irrespective of their sector, product or service and the barriers to exporting have never been so low because of the internet. Firms that are exporting tend to be more e-enabled.
The difference between success and failure is knowledge.
Companies cite the pitfalls of exporting as a barrier: ‘It costs more to sell overseas, how do you enter a new market, how do you find a business partner, how do you ensure you get paid and what about insurance?’
All questions uppermost in business peoples’ minds as they wrestle with the idea of diversifying into foreign markets. But questions which are answerable through the right networks and contacts.
Business Durham has the network of contacts to help local companies looking to take their first steps into markets beyond these shores.
We work closely with the Department for International Trade which has offices and experts based across the globe as well as in the North East, with the knowledge to answer any exporting question.
