EENW reveals five steps to drive export growth for SMEs

Rodolphe Soulard, senior European business adviser at EENW

Enterprise Europe Network North West (EENW) is urging businesses to develop their export strategy for 2014 now to capitalise on the highest export rates for UK goods on record.

Rodolphe Soulard, senior business adviser at EENW explains: “Exports of goods reached £78.4 billion in the second quarter of 2013 and are continuing to grow as the UK’s economic recovery gathers pace.

“There is a fantastic opportunity for North West businesses to export to Europe and beyond. Too often some SMEs are reticent because of concerns about collecting payment or simply because they don’t know how to approach sales and marketing outside the UK. Those opportunities are just too good to be overlooked and if businesses in Manchester are serious about growth they need to explore their export options.”

EENW has seen a 10 per cent increase in enquiries from North West businesses over the past year as more companies look into trading abroad and 66 per cent of users searching for trading partners overseas on the EENW website were new to the site. Despite this increased activity, EENW believes that more companies could be capitalising on opportunities to expand into new markets.

Mr Soulard continues: “Business confidence is growing both at home and abroad. With the right tools, many companies in the region could be taking their business to the next level. Contacting us for help is often the first vital step in achieving those goals. We offer a range of events to help companies understand specific markets, make contact with companies they’d like to trade with and find out more about funding opportunities they may be able to access.”

For those companies that are considering exporting, EENW advises five vital first steps:

• Develop a thorough business strategy 
• Research your markets - take particular care over opportunities and threats provided by local legislation and regulations, consumer behaviours, demand and emerging trends 
• Prioritise your markets 
• Identify funding and business support that is available to your organisation, such as EENW, in order to make an informed decision 
• Try, evaluate and adapt any activities as exporting is part of a long term plan 

EENW was established to help SMEs in the North West to drive growth by accessing trade opportunities with overseas markets and provides free and impartial information, advice and guidance to companies that want to begin trading overseas.

Businesses wanting more information on exporting to Europe can visit the website now, www.eenw.org, or speak to one of EENW’s expert advisers by calling 0844 259 8571.