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62 PER CENT OF COMPANIES SAID THAT THEY DEVELOP NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES WHEN DOING BUSINESS OVERSEAS AND AN EVEN HIGHER PROPORTION, 72 PER CENT, MAKE CHANGES OR MODIFICATIONS TO EXISTING PRODUCTS OR SERVICES

(...Continued from page 12) exporting their goods and services overseas expect to increase the number of countries that they serve.

Apart from opening access to new sources of revenue, conducting business overseas is also a catalyst for innovation, with companies developing new and modified products as they strive to meet the needs of international customers. According to the same UK Trade & Investment survey, 62 per cent of companies said that they develop new products and services when doing business overseas and an even higher proportion, 72 per cent, make changes or modifications to existing products or services.

Developing new products and services or improving existing ones to attract foreign buyers has the added benefit of helping businesses to gain and retain a competitive advantage at home too. Academic research confirms that exporting companies are more productive than non exporters, are more resilient to an economic downturn, achieve stronger financial performance and are more likely to stay in business. The majority of respondents to UK Trade & Investment’s survey also report that exporting improved their company’s profile and credibility. All of this helps the wider UK economy.

The UK Trade & Investment findings echo earlier research by The Economist Intelligence Unit into global markets. This highlights how ‘frugal innovation’ of goods for export into developing markets has successfully generated extended opportunities in developed nations, such as the multiple address books on mobile phones for people sharing handsets in Africa and Asia, and dust jackets developed for books for use in Sub-Saharan countries.

“The evidence about the business benefits which can be achieved through exporting is clear and compelling,” observes Heather Booth di Giovanni, director of economics and evaluation at UK Trade & Investment. “In the context of a depressed British market, the benefits of sustained revenues from a well-diversified portfolio of overseas customers are even more vital. We should not forget that there are opportunities overseas which are still growing, and that new opportunities are constantly opening up.”

For now, other European countries remain British firms’ primary market, according to UK Trade & Investment.

springboard: | www.ukti.gov.uk | page 13