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.
If you are ever unsure about the authenticity of certification that has been presented to you, send it to info@exportaid.co.uk with the subject title CERTIFICATION CHECK. We can’t guarantee to be able to identify every false certificate but we might be able to recommend where you can find the information you are looking for.