This is Midlands Export the podcast brought to you by the Department for International Trade in the Midlands.

My name is David James and in this episode I’m talking to Alex Makino-Farrell, Adviser at the China Britain Business Council about the exciting opportunities in the worlds biggest online market.

I caught up with Alex at the DIT’s Go Global event in February this year. We talk about how CBBC can help you successfully enter the Chinese market, why everything you’ve learnt about digital marketing in the UK is largely irrelevant and why talking to Chinese students and tourists could be really good for your business.

To find out more about doing business in China and the rest of the world go to Great.gov.uk and click on the ‘Contact an International Trade Adviser’ link which is on the front page.

If you have consumer products using an established online marketplace could be a great way of not only selling to British customers but also to consumer around the world.

In fact using marketplaces for cross border e-commerce is one of the very easiest ways to begin your export journey.

This is Midlands Export the podcast brought to you by the Department for International Trade in the Midlands.

My name is David James and in this episode I’m talking to Cas Paton, Founder and CEO of OnBuy.com the world’s fastest growing online marketplace.

I caught up with Cas at the DIT’s Go Global event which took place in February this year.

We talked about how OnBuy has been built specifically to provide sellers with the best possible service and the best possible price. And the global ambitions of this fast growing British company looking to disrupt the world of e-commerce.

If you want to talk through how to use e-commerce to take your products global visit Great.Gov.UK and click on the ‘Contact an International Trade Adviser’ link which is on the front page.

The UK’s digital marketing industry is perhaps the most advanced and competitive in the world. This means that compared to other nations we’re much better at things like search engine optimisation, social media marketing and paid search advertising.

So when British companies work with their digital marketing agencies to promote their business internationally they can outperform even the market leaders in their own country.

So if you are finding the cost of your pay-per-click advertising is eating into your margins you might find you can get a much cheaper cost-per-click for the same search term in another country. With relatively cheap next day delivery available for much of the world why limit your e-commerce ambitions to the UK?

My name is David James and this is Midlands Export the podcast brought to you by the Department for International Trade in the Midlands.

In this episode I’m talking to John Chacksfield the Owner digital agency SharpMonkeys to get an overview of best practice for international digital marketing.

This episode was recorded at the DIT’s Go Global event in February this year.

If you would like help using digital marketing to take your business global go to Great.Gov.UK and click on the ‘Contact an International Trade Adviser’ link which is on the front page.

If you’re an online retailer who’s had success selling to customers in the UK you will be interested to know there’s a way to easily export to 40 additional markets through an online marketplace called Fruugo.

So if you’re finding the increased cost of paid search traffic in the UK is eating into your margins or you're just looking for new growth opportunities you’ll be interested in this episode of Midlands Export.

My name is David James and I got the chance to talk to Håkan Thyr, Chief Revenue Officer at Fruugo, at the Department for International Trade’s Go Global event in February this year.

Håkan explained that although in Britain we’ve got used to buying from UK based marketplaces like Amazon.co.uk with goods coming from warehouses in our own country. In lots of other countries, including many European nations, online shoppers habitually buy from suppliers based across a border - hence the term cross border e-commerce.

For instance 75% of all online orders in the Middle East are cross border - which means huge opportunities for British e-commerce retailers. And as you’ll hear in this episode Fruugo make it super easy to turn this opportunity into increased revenue.

For more great advice on exporting by e-commerce and digital trade visit Great.Gov.UK and click on the ‘Contact an International Trade Advisor’ link which is on the front page.

This is Midlands Export, the podcast from the Department for International Trade in the Midlands.

In this episode we’re talking to Ed Williams and Jamie Laing Founders of Candy Kittens, a high end confectionery company that launched in 2012. Ed and Jamie have some great advice on how they launched and grew their business through a combination of retailers, e-commerce and export.

My name is David James and I caught up with Ed and Jamie at the DIT’s Go Global event which took place in February this year.

If you want help to take your start up global visit Great.gov.uk and click on the ‘contact an international trade adviser’ link which is on the front page.

Cross border e-commerce is an increasingly important method of exporting. If you already sell products or services on your own e-commerce website, a few minor changes may be all that is needed to begin attracting and selling to customers all around the world.

One of the changes you will want to make is allowing overseas customers to pay using a method they know and trust and in their own currency.

Anyone who has run an e-commerce site will know the frustration of abandoned shopping carts where a potential customer has selected the products they want, registered to buy and then stopped their purchase right at the check-out.

My name is David James and in this episode of Midlands Export I’m talking to Mat Everitt, Vice President of Strategic Sales at World Pay about how you could be losing over 50% of your international sales by not providing alternative payment methods.

Speaking at the Department for International Trade Go Global event in February this year Mat tells us that although we all use Visa and Mastercard based payments, even for things like ApplePay and one click purchasing, this is not the way things work everywhere, even in major economies like France and Germany.

Listen to this episode to get a good understanding of how much money you are leaving on the table if you don’t offer alternative payment methods and how APMs can help make your business more efficient and more profitable.

To get more great advice on how to use the internet to export visit Great.Gov.UK and click on the ‘Contact an International Trade Adviser’ link which is on the front page.

Alex Wyatt, Global Project Manager at SimplyVAT

Using cross border e-commerce to export around the world is a relatively easy and very efficient way to begin your export journey.

One thing you need to be aware of is that although you can initially sell cross border without registering for VAT in the country you are selling to, there are different thresholds for different countries after which you will have to register for and pay VAT in the destination.

My name is David James and in this episode of Midlands Export, which was recorded at the Department for International Trade’s Go Global Event in February this year, I’m talking to Alex Wyatt, Global Project Manager at SimplyVAT.

Alex tells me that although there’s a single market in the EU there aren’t common VAT regulations so you would have to register to pay for different taxes in each of the countries.

Unfortunately the rest of the world is no easier with the USA having a sales tax rather than VAT which differs from State to State and town to town.

Fortunately you can get help from companies like SimplyVAT.com who can deal with the complexities of international VAT for you.

You can also get support from your very own International Trade Adviser. Just go to Great.gov.uk and click on the ‘Contact an International Trade Adviser’ link which is on the front page.

One of the most important relationships you will have as an exporter is with your freight forwarder. Freight forwarders are businesses that can facilitate all the logistics and paperwork required to get your products from your factory or warehouse to your international customer.

If the additional administration needed for customs clearance and international shipment is putting you off selling overseas go and talk to a freight forwarder as they can make the process very straight forward.

This is Midlands Export the new podcast from the Department for International Trade in the Midlands.

My name is David James and in this episode I’m talking to Rachel Morley, Export Champion and General Manager of Leicestershire based Spatial Global.

We find out what freight forwarders do, how to find the right forwarder for your business and the type of paperwork you will need to be aware of as an exporter and how freight forwarders can do a lot of it for you.

To start or accelerate your own export success story visit great.gov.uk and click on the ‘contact an international trade adviser’ link which is on the front page.