I was delighted to see UK exports to South Korea growing, following the Free Trade Agreement between Europe and South Korea which was signed off last year.
It reminded me that a lot of business is based on interpersonal relationships and that having a successful product or service is only part of the export story. Having (and keeping!) profitable customers is also important, and that is achieved by personal relationships, maintaining a profile in front of your customer and being highly responsive to customer needs.
In a previous role, I spent a lot of time in South Korea, ensuring clients were entirely happy with our products and service, and often that meant flying out at short notice to meet obligations that we had. Our Korean clients appreciated the “face time” and the fact that we were prepared to respond at short notice.
UKTI can help in this respect of course, acting as your eyes and ears in a distant market – and then helping when you visit the market.
Export Week starts on Monday (10 Nov) and the flagship event for my regoion, ExploreExport , will be at Newcastle Racecourse on Tuesday (11 Nov), when we will have 70 or so UKTI commercial staff from around the world here to help you.
It really is your chance to meet the markets (like South Korea) where you may want to establish your own “face time”. This is a perfect chance to begin that journey, or diversify your existing markets.
I hope you can use Export Week to your advantage, come and meet some of our commercial teams around the world and accelerate your business growth.
To find out more about ExploreExport and the full range of Export Week events or to sign up to join us during the week log onto the website at: www.exportweek.ukti.gov.uk