Myths and truths: Growing your business internationally

27 July 2023

As a business, you’d be forgiven for letting the past few years mar your enthusiasm for risk-taking. You’ve likely had to navigate new regulations, implement new safety measures, and make lots of difficult decisions - all whilst maintaining ‘business as usual’.

The difference now though is that expanding your business internationally isn’t the risk you might perceive it to be. In fact, it could be one of the most stabilising business decisions you make. With Royal Mail’s customs solutions in place, and a world that loves to buy British: it’s time for growth across Europe and further afield.

Here we tackle some of the most detrimental myths deterring businesses from taking full advantage of international opportunities.

This is a very common anxiety, whether you’re a business already selling to Europe or simply considering it. Brexit has brought with it seismic changes to the way parcels pass through borders and - in the past - retailers, carriers, and customers have experienced difficulties.

Since the EU’s introduction of The Import One Stop Shop (IOSS), however, things have been easier. IOSS simplifies the declaration and payment for VAT for goods sold from Great Britain into the EU, helping avoid unexpected charges for your end recipients. For more information about IOSS, please see here.

There are a number of widely available third party IOSS solutions for customers if you want to pay as you go and don’t want to manage EU tax returns in house.

As well as these, Royal Mail Click & Drop has now been updated to make customs compliancy easier than ever.

For those customers who are not IOSS registered, are sending items valued above €150 or would rather navigate customs clearance upfront we offer a Postal Delivery Duties Paid Solution (PDDP) to a limited, but growing list of EU destinations. Please see here for more information.

I don’t have the capital

Perhaps you think you’re too ‘small business’ to really benefit from going global. In fact, expanding your customer base is likely to make you more resilient to economic downturns. If sales in one country decline, you can refocus your efforts on regions still growing.

Royal Mail’s customer Spice Kitchen are proud of their SME status and continue to enjoy strong global sales. “If the pandemic has taught us anything,” their Head of Community Ann Lowe tells us, “It’s that the world can change in an instant. Having options in terms of sales channels is vital for business. We see global trade similarly, in terms of offering options to spread the risk and offering us resilience in the face of an ever-changing business landscape.”

How do I connect with global customers?

This can feel like a daunting task. Having just become accustomed to the trends and complexities of the UK market, you now need to understand an entirely new one.

To connect with global customers, your partners are everything, particularly your delivery partner. 98% of global shoppers say their loyalty to brands is directly affected by the delivery process.¹ Royal Mail offers a Tracked delivery to 80 key e-commerce countries and notifications in 6 local languages, so global shoppers can always stay informed.²

I feel uncertain about foreign markets.

Despite your uncertainty about foreign markets, there are still ways to make global shoppers feel at home. Localising your business offerings via website translation and local currency options, for example, are simple and effective ways of making consumers across the world feel more comfortable buying.

Our customer Adore Baby sell via marketplaces as a way of reaching foreign markets. These marketplaces localise their language and currency options as a way of supporting the growth of SMEs globally. "We sell worldwide," says owner Pamela Kennedy, "to the US, Australia, Dubai, Italy, Germany. We have customers everywhere."

Royal Mail Click & Drop supports AdoreBaby's marketplace sending, in turn helping those foreign markets receive their items in the most stress-free way possible. "Click & Drop has streamlined the whole process for us," Kennedy continues, "because we're able to get everything from the marketplaces we use. We want to make sure people are going to get their items in time. We trust Royal Mail to do that for us."

Online marketplaces, paired with services such as Royal Mail Click & Drop, are a great way to allay any anxieties you have about unfamiliar markets. Marketplace websites have already been designed to be attractive to international shoppers, so make the most of them!