Public relations and external communications as an aid to export : Examination of leading companies in Western Finland

Finnish companies have a reputation for designing and producing quality products and services. Unfortunately, they also seem en masse to be less capable and successful when it comes to selling or marketing them, particularly overseas. The Finnish economy and society-at-large would benefit from increased export activity. Telling prospective customers about your products should be a natural part of sales and marketing activity, with marketing-led tools such as public relations (PR) a way of introducing a brand/company to a market and helping develop its presence. Once established it would sustain and grow markets, generating additional customer loyalty and interest that should contribute towards a company’s financial success. For many companies marketing activities can be restricted to attendance at a trade fair, sending out some brochures or maybe having information on their website. Relatively passive, in other words, hoping that a prospective customer will know of them in order to find them or stumble across them by chance. Does management understand or care about its marketing activities? This thesis looks at how larger companies in western Finland (an area said to be particularly export-aware) view and manage their PR activities and use this as a tool to assist and drive export sales. The necessity of export, PR and when combined as export marketing, is examined in detail, offering a practical reference that may shake some companies into action and supporting those who are presently trying and seek to improve or refine their activities. Recommendations for action and further research are also given.