Growing your business across the globe is an appealing prospect. It’s also an extremely daunting one. Fortunately, you don’t have to take your first steps into the export market – or even subsequent international moves – alone. With 2,400 staff and a presence in 100 countries, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) supports many British businesses every day. The Government Department does so through a portfolio of services designed to cover different stages of the process.

Passport to Export
Preparing your company for export success.
In a nutshell: Passport to Export provides new and inexperienced exporters with the training, planning advice and ongoing support they need to succeed in overseas markets. The service assesses a company’s readiness for international business, and helps it build international trade capacity.

The details: Passport to Export is fundamentally an assessment and skills-based programme, putting together in one simple responsive process all the tools that exporting companies need to grow their business. Participating companies receive an in-depth capability assessment, and face-to-face training from export professionals. This will help business people understand the stages of export in relation to their business and develop a focused action plan. The training also covers the key export stages, including sales presence, getting the customs side right and promoting a product. Passport to Export can also assist in market selection, market research and support for visits to potential markets. The programme includes access to limited matched funding of up to £1,000, subject to a company’s eligibility for activities agreed in the action plan. The scheme runs for 12 months from initial registration.

Am I eligible? Eligible companies should be SMEs according to the EU Definition (between five and 250 employees) and new to export: exports cannot represent more than 25 per cent of turnover and proactive exports cannot exceed 10 per cent. These quotas can be waived, however, if your company is defined as R&D intensive, being more than a year old but less than five years old.

Get started: To find out more on Passport benefits, content, duration and eligibility, plus customer testimonials, visit www.gov.uk/passport-to-export-service

Gateway to Global Growth
Building on success, responding to change.
In a nutshell: Gateway to Global Growth offers a strategic review, planning advice and support to experienced exporters, helping you build on your success and develop new overseas markets.

The details: The programme incorporates a year-long programme of strategic support tailored to your needs to help grow your company’s business internationally. The programme aims to assess changing markets and opportunities, responding with well thought-out solutions that deliver continued international growth.

The strategic review with an experienced International Trade Adviser (ITA) assesses trade development needs and helps construct a next steps action plan. It includes guidance and mentoring from export professionals and support on specialist subjects.

The content also includes business master classes, advice on language and culture, support on a range of specialist subjects such as protecting your intellectual property or managing foreign exchange, advice and assistance with market research, access to UKTI’s international network, connection to international trade business networks and signposting to UKTI services, other government services and private sector providers.

Are you eligible? Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with two to 10 years of export experience, or companies classed as ‘innovative’, are eligible to participate.

Innovative companies are those with more than one employee engaged either wholly or partly in R&D activity and more than one employee engaged either wholly or partly in new product or service development, those that have employed someone external to the business to conduct new product or service development activity in the last year, or companies over two years old deriving at least some of their turnover from products and services introduced in the last three years.

Get started: Participation runs for 12 months from registration. For further information about the main features of the Gateway to Global Growth service and to download an information pack with more details of the scheme and customer testimonials, visit www.gov.uk/gateway-to-global-growth

Export Insight Visits
An easy first step towards assessing a market.
In a nutshell: Export Insight Visits is a service allowing companies to build on the platform given to British business by prestigious events such as the London Olympics 2012. The visits aim to introduce novice and non-exporters to the principles of international trade so that they can go on to grow internationally.

The details: Export Insight Visits are organised trips to attractive markets with a number of other businesses. To participate in any visits, companies must usually have been trading for a minimum of 12 months.

Participation is for new to export companies (those with exports representing no more than 25 per cent of turnover and proactive exports not exceeding 10 per cent), and companies currently or previously enrolled in either Passport to Export or Gateway to Global Growth are not eligible.

Are you eligible? The cost of participating in an Export Insight Visit is £99 (ex VAT). This includes group flights, accommodation, group transport and activities in the market. Participants will need to pay for food and drink, public transport and any extra personal charges incurred, while also organising their transport to and from the departure airport.

Get started: Booking these visits operates on a first come, first served basis, with acceptance confirmed following a review by a UKTI International Trade Adviser (ITA). If you are interested in participating in more than one visit, you should register this on the UKTI website. The ITA will help you determine the best fit for your company – depending on availability, you can participate in more than one visit. Places on each visit are limited to one person per company at the £99 rate. While further company representatives can attend depending on space, these representatives can only participate at full cost with the agreement of the company’s ITA.

For further details, visit http://www.embltd.co.uk/ukti or email insight@uktiem.co.uk

EXPORT COMMUNICATIONS Review (ECR)
Communicate effectively with your target market.
In a nutshell: An Export Communications Review (ECR) assesses the way that a company communicates with overseas customers and makes practical recommendations for improvement. It provides companies with impartial and objective advice on language and cultural issues to help them improve their competitiveness in existing and future export markets.

The details: The ECR covers key communication tools including your company’s website, examining whether it directly targets international customers, search optimisation, and ease of use. It also explores awareness of local online competition, use of social and business networking in other languages, and your company’s ability to answer enquiries arising from your website in other languages. Development of a web strategy, technical aspects involved in setting up an international website, the design, structure and navigation of the site for overseas visitors, inclusion of appropriate international content, translation and localisation for your target export markets, site promotion, and managing the impact of a successful site are all things that could be covered in a review.

Other topics covered by the ECR include letters and publicity materials, along with spoken communications. This covers language training needs, translation and interpreting services, and the company’s readiness to handle different languages at overseas trade shows or exhibitions.

Am I eligible? Participants can benefit from a programme of reviews summarised in a written tailored report with recommendations and an action plan. The cost of each review is £500 (plus VAT), the first three of which are match-funded by UKTI with a subsidy of £250 for eligible companies. These consist of exporting companies that have been trading for at least two years and employ fewer than 250 staff.

Get started: To apply for an export communications review, complete and submit the online application form at www.gov.uk/export-communications-review or contact the UKTI ECR team on (+44) 0845 034 2111, or via email at info@ukecr.co.uk.

Overseas Market Introduction Service
Tap global expertise to open doors.
In a nutshell: The Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS) is a chargeable, tailored service to access market and industry information, identify potential contacts or plan events. Created to be a flexible business tool, it taps the expertise of UKTI’s global trade teams to benefit your business.

The details: The service is web based and offers direct links to UKTI staff in overseas markets. They can help you access vital information and contacts, understand the market environment and identify opportunities. They can also help you set up meetings or promotional events. A typical service package can include market, sector advice, analysis of market entry strategies, support during overseas visits, and identification of possible business partners.

Am I eligible? OMIS is open to both experienced and first-time exporters, tailoring a package to include services of UKTI trade teams located in Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates across the world.

As a Government Department, UKTI offers both objectivity and credibility: you will receive honest and independent advice about various markets or sectors, and also benefit from the prestige of the British diplomatic network. UKTI can provide unique access to contacts, opening doors and impressing. Through OMIS, you can access venues, including embassies or consulates to hold meetings or host receptions and seminars. It was reported that 67 per cent of OMIS clients found that the service overcame barriers to market access. As an added benefit, participants can log on to the OMIS website to view the status of any activities you have already commissioned.

Get started: To take the first step towards tapping into OMIS, contact your local International Trade Team or Scottish Development International (SDI), Welsh Government (WG) or Invest Northern Ireland (INI). You will find a list of UKTI regional offices at www.gov.uk/overseas-market-introduction-service. An initial meeting with an International Trade Adviser (ITA) is completely free of charge. Your ITA will then contact the country or countries in question, where UKTI’s local experts will undertake specific research on your behalf, identify contacts, set up meetings or help to arrange events.

Tradeshow Access Programme
See the market face-to-face.
In a nutshell: Market visits and trade missions are organised to help UK companies visit the market they’re interested in and talk face-to-face with prospective business partners.

The details: Taking part in overseas exhibitions is also an effective way for you to test markets, attract customers, appoint agents or distributors and make sales. UKTI’s Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP) provides grant support for eligible SME firms to attend trade shows overseas.

Participation is usually as part of a group, a great advantage for inexperienced businesses, and is usually led by an Accredited Trade Organisation (ATO). ATOs work with UKTI to raise the profile of UK groups and sectors at key exhibitions.

Am I eligible? To participate in the scheme, your business must be an SME with fewer than 250 employees, annual turnover of less than €50m, and less than 25 per cent of the ownership being a larger company than an SME. The grants are aimed at less experienced exporters – those earning just a small percentage of their total sales from exports, or with less than 10 years history of exporting. The grant is a variable amount between £1,000 and £1,800, with the level set for each show after discussion with the ATO responsible. Selected shows outside Europe typically attract higher grant levels.

Get started: The TAP supports participation in over 300 international events annually. To download a calendar of events, detailing the sector of each event, the ATO involved, and details about participation, please visit the Tradeshow Access Programme at www.gov.uk/tradeshow-access-programme. You can also apply for participation through the site.

Export Marketing Research Scheme
Get support for your research efforts.
In a nutshell: The Export Marketing Research Scheme (EMRS) offers support, advice and some grant funding to eligible companies wishing to research a potential export market. It is designed to encourage exporters to carry out marketing research when considering entry into new overseas markets.

The details: Export marketing research is the systematic and objective collection of information about an overseas market. It can help companies reach sound decisions on such issues as whether or not to export to a new market, how best to deliver products/services in the market and whether to and how best to invest in the country. By using marketing research, a company is less likely to make costly mistakes at market entry stage. The EMRS aims to increase UK exporters’ confidence and competence in the conduct and use of marketing research, to ensure UK companies undertake or commission marketing research based on sound methods, and to achieve a widespread understanding of the discipline and benefits of marketing research in the exporting process.

The EMRS programme covers research on key topics, including market size and segmentation, regulations and legislation, customer needs, usage and attitudes, distribution channels, trends, competitor activity, strategy and performance. There are three main categories of marketing research supported by UKTI.

These are in-house overseas marketing research (where a staff member has the ability and experience
to carry out the project to a satisfactory standard), marketing research projects conducted by professional market research agencies, and the purchase of published marketing reports.

Professional advisers can offer free advice on how to set about conducting export marketing research including the conduct of both desk and field research, advice on locating and briefing suitable market research agencies and on evaluating proposals and reports, and sourcing appropriate market research if it is already available in a published report.

Am I eligible? Companies with between five and 250 employees with a proven track record of at least two years trading are eligible for grant support. UKTI can fund up to 50% of the agreed costs of marketing research projects.

Get started: If you would ilke more information about this service you can access advice in the guidance notes, downloadable from www.gov.uk/export-marketing-research-scheme. You can also contact the team on info@ukemrs.com or arrange a meeting with a Research Adviser through the International Trade Adviser service.

Business Opportunity Alerts
High-quality commercial information, straight to your inbox.
In a nutshell: Business Opportunity Alerts are personalised email alerts informing companies about relevant opportunities and developments. A free service, the alerts provide high-quality sales leads via UKTI’s huge global contacts network.

The details: UKTI staff in British Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates, are always looking for business opportunities in your chosen markets, publishing over 400 business opportunities in more than 100 markets every month. These opportunities, ranging from private sector opportunities and multilateral aid agency tenders to public sector leads, are published and distributed to registered members of the UKTI website.

Get started: Companies can find information and expert advice in the guidance notes, which are downloadable from www.gov.uk/export-marketing-research-scheme. Another way in which businesses seeking advice can get in touch is by contacting the team on info@ukemrs.com or meeting a Research Adviser through the International Trade Adviser (ITA), which is completely free of charge. Your ITA will then contact the country or countries in question, where UKTI’s local experts will undertake specific research on your behalf, identify contacts and set up meetings.

Overseas Business Risk Advice
Prepare yourself to face new challenges.
In a nutshell: Doing business internationally can entail certain risks, including political and economic developments, cyber risks, bribery and corruption. For this reason, UKTI and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) can provide you with key information to help you manage these potential issues.

The details: UKTI and the FCO have brought together authoritative, accessible and topical information on countries, and the key issues related to the political, economic and business security environments. This helps companies understand and effectively guard against risks when they export.

FCO diplomats also regularly provide authoritative, clear assessments of political and economic factors in key emerging markets. The reports are varied and topical and aimed at helping UK businesses to identify and pursue new opportunities and manage risk.

Get started: The information collected by UKTI and the FCO can be accessed via the UKTI website at gov.uk/ukti