2009-10-28
Look local, be local and act local. It’s an easy process to give your customers, suppliers and partners a comfortable feeling and a sense of security just by appearing to be present on the market - and it need not be expensive.
Having worked with foreign companies exporting to the UK for nearly 5 years, I still find it amazing that companies don’t take their local presence seriously.
Several companies Enlink work with have UK Limited Companies and Enlink handle their Financial Administration so that UK regulations are met, which of course is important. However, what is equally important but evidently in a different way is how Customers, Suppliers, Partners and Employees perceive your business. This is where your local presence really matters.
In a Global World where business is dealt with over the Internet and on the phone and for people who are used to travel and be in one country one day and another the next day it might seem silly that you would need a local presence. What you can’t forget is the size of the UK market – not the area but the population. 62 million on an area less then half the size of Sweden! Many, many companies from several countries have seen the potential in the 62 million buyers and tried their luck in the UK.
This also means that the UK population have seen numerous companies’ come and go, which have left the UK population suspicious of companies that don’t show they are serious about the market.
The lunch hour is another reason to think local. My day usually starts at 9.00 am, which is the normal time to start in the UK, I go though my e-mails and other necessary jobs on my to-do-list. By the time it comes to contacting companies in Sweden or other countries it’s 11.00, which means lunch hour in most European countries (12.00 pm). By the time lunch is finished in Europe I have ½ hour before I will go on my lunch break at 12.30 (13.30) and when I come back there is not much time left until Europe goes home.
I’m not saying it’s impossible to work with even a small time difference, but what I would like to point out is that companies need to make it easy to buy from them and it should not be stopped by an hours time difference.
By having a Virtual Office in the UK the suspicions can be overcome as well as the one hour time difference. For example Enlink offers a Virtual Office that consists of a telephone answering service and a UK trading address.
The phone calls are always answered in the name of the Company i.e. ABC Ltd who also would have a trading address in Warwick. In our office there are five or six people that potentially could answer the phone, which would make your UK Company appear larger.
It’s important to choose a supplier that understands that this phone number is your customer’s and supplier’s first point of contact and that you could loose business if this isn’t taken seriously.
When Enlink answers the phone we are aware of this and we regard our selves as a part of our client’s team. Once calls are answered we can either transfer the calls to an appropriate contact person, help as much as possible or take a message.
So why not make it easy for companies to trust you and to buy your products – and you can enjoy a relaxing lunch break!