This is the concluding post
to our blog, as our research is now done. Research results and feedback are summarized in this post. Additionally, some issues were ignored during our research
for the sake of this course exercise. These issues are discussed in the last section.
Why did we choose Qatar?
1. Demand: Large
derived demand for high quality litter bins, geographically concentrated.
Stadiums, an airport, museums and many sorts of infrastructure projects are
planned.
2. Past experience: Company X has supplied the Dubai metro with XBins in the past. This
positive experience from the region makes Qatar an easier choice.
3. Existing partner: Company X has a partner in the United Arab Emirates that can assist
sales and marketing efforts in the Middle-East.
Home/foreign market strategy and recommended changes for Qatar
Home: XBins are part of the
parent company’s environmental unit, which also offers other products. XBins are
manufactured in Finland, where they also enjoy a good market share. End
customers in Finland are architects, construction companies, the public sector
and facility managers. Domestically XBins are mainly sold directly to customers.
Foreign: Company X exports
to over 20 countries (mainly metal litter bins), and has distributors in most
of these. Local sales force in three countries. Distant markets have been
entered because a customer has contacted XBin.
Qatar: The main change
required for Qatar is an increasingly proactive attitude, which means a switch
from a pull to push strategy. This implies that more resources are required
than in past activities. Manufacturing stays in Finland.
Brand strategy & product portfolio
The primary weakness of
Company X is lack of brand recognition. In the context of Customer-based brand
equity, XBins are in the Salience phase. The parent company’s brand is more
visible than Company X, but abroad not even the parent’s brand is well known.
Our recommendation is to
use the House of Brands strategy,
according to which XBins would be sold under a stand-alone brand (separated
from the parent). XBin needs its own brand identity, independent vision,
mission, logo and slogan.
Regarding product
portfolio, the full range will also be offered in Qatar. It is important to
also remember that custom models are possible if the order is big enough.
Target customers/stakeholders, key messages and communication channels
Our research revealed that
construction companies are our primary customers in Qatar. Any positive
influence on architects engaged in projects in Qatar would be highly
beneficial, as design litter bins have to fit into the overall urban design.
The competitor analysis
revealed that the competitive advantages of XBins are Nordic design and
environmental friendliness. The key messages are thus:
-
Nordic
design
-
High
quality bins manufactured in Finland
-
Nice
to look at, easy to use
The main communication
channels are:
-
The
company’s web site, which should be upgraded to be as informative as possible
-
Brochures
-
Trade
fairs/expo’s/seminars (these can be expensive)
Potential partners and channels
Figure 1 below illustrates the possible channel configurations of Company X to sell its products in Qatar.
 |
| Figure 1: Company X's potential partners and channels for the Qatari market |
Difficulties and limitations disregarded in this project
Company X has very limited resources, both financial
and human. We believe the aggressive entry into Qatar that our research results lead us to recommend, is very difficult to achieve in reality. As the primary limitation to enter Qatar is lack of brand recognition, marketing staff needs to be recruited.
A chicken and egg dilemma emerges:
more people are needed to enable Company X to expand and sell more, but more sales
are required to justify more people. It is unclear how much support can be
expected from the parent company.
The original assignment
this project was based on, limited us to a choice of country. However, in
reality, choosing one country might not be the best or only option. Company X
might instead seek to cooperate with multinational construction companies from the start. This is because, arguably, the country the bins end up in is not important to Company X. The
construction companies are the customers either way.
