The Export Academy, set up by Department for International Trade (DIT) North East, is a free programme specifically designed to help North East businesses acquire the knowledge and skills required to sell products and services overseas successfully.
Leading on the first session of the programme – “Understanding the Benefits and Barriers of Export”, Sue Beverley, International Trade Adviser at DIT North East, provides an overview of what you will learn during this module.
The seminar explores the benefits and barriers to international trade and looks at how to start building an Export Plan. Sometimes businesses find themselves overwhelmed, not sure where to start with international trade and wondering if export is right for them at this moment in time.
It looks at what can be gained from exporting, apart from obvious things like an increase in turnover, exporting can make a business more resilient. Spreading risk across multiple markets for example can make a company more stable. It can really help a business grow exponentially – opening a team up to new ideas and innovations and improving competitiveness as they gain more international knowledge.
Exporting is not, of course, without its challenges and much has been said of this lately in the media. However, this module looks at what those challenges are and helps businesses apply this knowledge to their own situation, providing them with the skills to carry out a “business health check” so that when they do take the first steps into export, they are well equipped to do so.
The session then goes on to look at how to conduct market research and identify the right routes to market. DIT’s advice would always be to build an export plan around one or two key markets to start with, build a successful track record and then move into another new market.
This module is full of practical tools and tips to help businesses shape their overseas expansion and take the fear factor out of global selling.
Whatever your business does, wherever it wants to sell and wherever you are on your export journey, the North East Export Academy is the ideal starting point to help you grow your international customer base effectively.
For more information on the Export Academy, or to register your interest go to - https://bit.ly/3qJn2ww
