With both the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit affecting the operation of SMEs in recent years, it’s understandable if international trade hasn’t been a priority. Between increased financial constraints and the thicker wads of paperwork companies are having to contend with in order to trade overseas, it may seem like international trade simply isn’t worth the hassle.
However, as we learn to live with coronavirus and we adjust to a post-Brexit world, it may be time to start contemplating international trade once again.
And it’s not all doom and gloom! Although Brexit has made selling to customers in the European Union more complex given the rules and regulations concerning tariffs and tax, it is still possible to sell B2B and B2C within the EU.
B2B? B2C? Let's look at your options.
With the EU’s non-union One Stop Shop (OSS), trading B2C within the EU can be simplified. Rather than registering for VAT in each member state you trade with, the OSS allows you to only have to register for VAT in one member state, regardless of how many countries you trade with.
For UK businesses selling B2B services in the EU, most services are zero-rated and do not require overseas EU VAT registration – so no change to the pre-Brexit system. Simple!
UK businesses selling B2B goods admittedly have the toughest time; these businesses must register for VAT in each EU country they sell to. Also, UK businesses selling B2B goods are responsible for the import VAT and Customs Duty when the goods enter into the EU member state. Alternatively, UK businesses can ask their client to be the importer in which case no UK VAT would be charged to the client, but the client would be responsible for import VAT and any duty. If your SME falls into this category, narrowing your target market to one particular country would be a good way to start to trade with the EU again.
And of course, trade is still the same as it used to be for countries outside of the EU – that’s 170 countries by the way!
Please contact the Department for International Trade (DIT) and your financial advisor for compliance and overseas VAT registration assistance.
Tempted to step out into international markets again? An early step to take should be the localisation of your website...
Localisation is the adaptation of products and materials for a particular market. More than a direct translation, localisation considers conventions and preferences specific to each country. For example, currencies and measurements.
What are the benefits of website localisation and how will it increase international sales?
1 - Sidestep Hurdles and Increase Conversions
It is true that there is a certain reluctance among European customers to buy British. In the first quarter of 2021, the percentage of UK firms reporting decreased export sales increased from 38% in the previous quarter to 41%.
Although this may seem to indicate that website localisation is futile, one may argue that it actually indicates the opposite.
By translating and localising your content into your target market’s language, you are able to erase an element of that ‘British’ label and replace it with a global and dynamic identity, thus sidestepping people’s desire to evade British brands.
Furthermore, people’s desire to shop online in their mother tongue is nothing new. As a 2020 survey indicated, 65% of people would rather search the web in their native language. Moreover, 40% of browsers even stated that they would never buy products or services from websites in languages other than their native tongue.
Localising your website will enable you to sidestep export hurdles and increase conversions.
2 - Cultural Recognition
It is universally acknowledged that your website is your company’s face. It is the first instance in which your customer is going to meet you and decide if you are an enterprise that they would like to support.
By addressing your potential international customers in their native language, therefore, you are making that first interaction personal. People like to feel valued and seen, and by demonstrating your company’s interest in them and their culture, you are maximising your marketing efforts.
3 - SEO Benefits
Beyond conversions and cultural recognition, hosting a website in multiple languages will equally increase the traffic to your site, thus improving the search engine ranking for your website.
Whether you use domain extensions for each version of your website, or make use of subfolders, Google registers translated versions on your domain as part of the same website. As such, this means that any traffic to either of your sites will positively impact your overall search engine ranking.
4 - Test New Markets
A multilingual website is a great way to test new markets and open doors to international trade. This is because, by monitoring the traffic and conversions made on each multilingual site, it is possible to locate where the greatest demand for your product or service is based, thus developing a plan of action on how to move forward with your marketing efforts.
What is more, to do this, you don’t even have to translate your entire website, perhaps simply your homepage and a couple of landing pages would suffice. For example, if you notice that your Chinese page is enjoying significant activity, yet your French page is relatively untouched, you will come to understand that perhaps Asian markets are more profitable for you, and European markets less so.
5 - Stand Out, Stand Ahead
At present, having a multilingual website will make your SME stand out from the crowd, being the first to reach many international clients. However, in the future, multilingual websites will become the norm. Beyond offering a short-term competitive advantage therefore, having a multilingual site will allow your company to stand in good stead in the future.
It’s clear there are many benefits to localising your website.
However, it is not simply sufficient to use a machine to translate your content. Although machine translation is more accurate now than it was in the past, it is still prone to a multitude of errors, being unable to contextualise and identify linguistic nuances. Trusting a machine to localise your content, therefore, will lead to embarrassing and thus costly mistakes.
As your company’s face, your syntax needs to be grammatically accurate, your lexis needs to be culturally appropriate, and your design needs to be tailored to each individual country or market. There’s a lot to consider and there’s a lot riding on getting it right. That’s why you should use a professional translation agency - an agency who knows their language, knows the market and knows you.
If you fancy learning more about the benefits of Website Localisation, please visit web-translations.com.
Guest post written by Charlotte Graver, Web-Translations
Disclaimer:
For the avoidance of doubt, the content recorded in this article does not constitute formal advice and rebuildingsociety.com does not guarantee the accuracy of any information provided at the time of reading. It is always recommended that you seek professional advice before acting on any articles or information included.
Contact us at rebuildingsociety.com for information on how to finance international business expansion. It can be an expensive undertaking, but well worth it for the increased opportunities it affords.
