February 22nd, 2010 by jrec
Instant money comes at a very high price. Exportaid is not affiliated with any company who provides easy loans because they are generally offered at a high cost to our customers. We recommend that you first take the advice of a currency specialist from your own bank. They will be able to talk you through the various options that may be open to you.
Getting paid for international transactions sometimes takes longer than anticipated, so first you need to plan payment delay into your cash flow forecasts, and second you need to talk to your bank about the bridging facilities that they may offer. For example, there are circumstances in which for a fee you can negotiate early payment from your bank for a Letter of Credit. So talk to them.
Posted in Getting Paid | No Comments »
February 4th, 2010 by jrec
It is ten or eleven years since the real value of a personal meeting was highlighted. At the time, we worked in an Export sales capacity in which we were supported by a first rate Customer Services team. It was policy always to introduce our overseas visitors throughout the company, but specifically to those who were most likely to interact regularly with customers.
We were visited by two guys from Malaysia who were well-known to our Customer Services team, but mainly because of the difficulty in communicating with them over the telephone. The Malaysian guys’ English was excellent, but the metering of their speech was unfamiliar to our team. So during their short visit we went out for a meal together with the Customer Services team, and from that day onwards there was no further communication problem. It appears that being able to visualise a face as you speak is essential in understanding the nuances of expression in speech.
Posted in Communication | No Comments »
January 21st, 2010 by jrec
In entering any new market with new products and services, you will need to ensure that they meet or exceed international, national, regional and sometimes local standards and certification. Okay, you may find that a single standard or certificate may cover all bases, but that is not always the case.
The achievement of a standard and production of the relevant certification, will inevitably help to increase your competitiveness. Standards and certificates provide confidence to your customers, especially so when products are completely new to a market. Relevant standards should be identified as part of your initial market research. There are generally cost implications in achieving a standard, and you therefore need to include this in your marklet entry budgeting.
For international buyers, it is wise always to check the authenticity of any certificate that is presented. Exportaid has seen some spectacular forgeries, from company registration certificates, ISO certificates, to certificates for technical standards. So if unsure, it is good practise to check with the issuing authority.
Posted in Ethics and Standards | 2 Comments »
November 3rd, 2009 by jrec
Our own experience shows we have had more bad payers from our domestic market than from overseas. Thankfully the numbers are very small, but the message is a powerful one. While it is natural for people to trust what is pshycologically close and mistrust what is pshycologically distant, there are as many dangers close to home as there are elsewhere in the world.
There are many tools available to help companies minimise the risk of exposure in international markets. Match the terms of payment you offer to suit the perceived degree of risk in dealing with clients, new and old. These can be amended according to performance, as we did many years ago with a Turkish client. Our terms started with advance payment only, but as the relationship developed we were able to offer more flexible terms in order to generate and expand business opportunities. There are notable exceptions, but as a general rule, if your Insurers are not happy with a business risk, then neither should you be!
Posted in Getting Paid | No Comments »
October 29th, 2009 by jrec
…is what makes the world go round. It really doesn’t matter whether your client is in the next town or half way across the world, direct communication is the key to building, maintaining, and developing a good business rapport. It has now become almost impossible to be out of contact because telecommunications are so much more accessible than at any other time in our history.
This is incredibly positive news for business development, because it means that events happen quicker, and answers can be delivered often in seconds or minutes rather than days or weeks. Our ExportAnswer service is entirely free to use, and even for this free service we will answer your international trade questions within one working day, so long as you have registered with us.
Posted in Communication | No Comments »
September 7th, 2009 by jrec
There is far too much talk and not enough action about international environmental issues. Governments talk about climate change and their intentions are probably very good, but we are simply not seeing them deliver on their promises. Two years ago, a UK client wanted to purchase some water storage units for their business, and their requirement was for units that were made in the UK from UK recycled plastic. They searched the Internet for suitable products and found them on a government website: ‘water butts made from UK recycled plastic’ seemed to fit the bill, but we decided to find out where the UK plastic was actually recycled.
We found that the plastic was indeed collected from locations across the UK, but then shipped across to China where it was converted into plastic water storage units that were then shipped back to be sold in the UK. We challenged the government organisation on the true ethics of the situation, and it they justified themselves because ‘otherwise the containers coming from China would return empty’. Would it not have been better to convert the UK plastic in a UK factory, which would be both kinder to the environment in terms of transport fuel usage and simultaneously create employment? Then those ‘empty’ containers could be shipped to China full of UK made plastic water butts to sell into that important and rapidly growing economy. Or is that just naive?
Tags: Add new tag, Ethics
Posted in Ethics and Standards | No Comments »
September 2nd, 2009 by jrec
If you create something, make sure you protect it. A teenage girl once had a great idea to make skirts out of neck ties donated by her father, family and friends. She wore the prototype with pride while walking through a favourite shopping arcade. On her next visit one week later, she saw ‘tie skirts’ being sold for £35 each. A salutory lesson, that taught her not to reveal new product ideas without first protecting the design.
Many are under the misapprehension that Intellectual Property Protection is expensive and only really benefits the lawyers. There are many things that you can do to achieve limited protection at little or no cost. There are also instances where the amount you pay a lawyer to protect your property will benefit you significantly in the long term. You can obtain a good summary of the various intellectual property rights at http://www.virtuosolegal.com/ip.htm If you created it, protect it!
Posted in Intellectual Property Rights | No Comments »
August 17th, 2009 by jrec
There are a number of world time zone maps and clocks available online. Exportaid uses a number, including http://www.worldtimezone.com/ and http://www.worldtravelguide.net/clock/ to constantly remind us of the time differences between our UK base and the rest of the world. We plan our communications with associates and clients in different countries so that everyone knows in advance when they need to be available.
Russia covers seven time zones, North America six, Africa four, and Australia three. So not only does communication need to be planned but also your travel. Most importantly, you need to know when and where your customers will be available to meet with you. By understanding their timetables and the cultural issues that may impact on that timetable, you can save yourself a lot of time and money.
Posted in Logistics | No Comments »
August 11th, 2009 by jrec
The Internet is a fantastic business tool, but it can never replace face to face contact. It has enabled Exportaid to work with individuals and companies in many different countries at very low cost, both to our company and our customers. It has helped significantly in the development of The Export Network (TEN), of which Exportaid is one of 18 associate companies spanning 12 different countries.
We have utilised most of the technologies that are now available. Possibly the greatest breakthrough in communication technology has been the development of live video. This has enabled face to face communication with minimal need to travel. There are still limitations with the free live video services, most of which only support two individuals talking to each other, but technology is moving faster than we can control it and we expect that free conference video technology will not be too far away. While nothing will replace doing business around a table in the same room, video can be a good second best.
Posted in Communication | No Comments »
July 27th, 2009 by jrec
It doesn’t seem to matter how much you try and improve your services on the Internet. There will always be someone out there who thinks it is riotously funny to try and wreck your good work! Scamming and spamming appears to be an entrenched global problem that we can do little about, and even spending a few seconds deleting it may seem like an imposition. However, there are places where you can report scams, so save the following websites into your favourites:
Bank email scams: http://www.banksafeonline.org.uk/report_scam.html
Notification of the latest scams: http://www.millersmiles.co.uk/
Reporting Phishing: http://www.antiphishing.org/report_phishing.html
There are many more out there, so if you want to find more just type ‘phishing scam’ or a similar phrase into your search engine and it will give you more options. Collectively we can make a difference. One thing is for sure, if we do nothing about unwanted and/or offensive email, the problem will not go away.
Posted in Frauds & Scams | No Comments »
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