Organizing marketing when entering new local-oriented markets : the Swedish Market

Abstract

This thesis was commissioned by Gallant Group Oy, a Finnish organization that operates in the financial management industry, providing financial management and advisory services. The objective of the research was to find out what special characteristics the Swedish market has due to its local nature and how they influence Gallant’s future marketing actions in Sweden. Gallant is currently only operating in Finland but wants to go international in the future because the Finnish market is highly competitive and it is not growing fast enough.

The research was conducted via qualitative research methods and the research data was collected via empirical research, where four employees from Gallant were interviewed and via marketing research that utilized existing online resources. The empirical research gave understanding about Gallant’s current operations and future plans as well as built foundation for the marketing research where Sweden as market in general and three competitors were analyzed.

The research findings showed amongst other things that the Swedish consumers prefer local brands and companies and that the competitors are focusing on clear service catalogue and have transparent pricing. The marketing actions and the effort to marketing varied between competitors but all of them were doing the same things. Based on the research, recommendations for marketing actions in Sweden were presented.