A Swiss SME operating in the physical security products sector contacted the FHNW University of Applied Sciences so as to receive recommended courses of action for the acquisition of new customers in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). So far, the company has no presence in the market of Dubai. They are active in the development and manufacturing of physical security products, such as burglar resistant safes and strongrooms, fully developed and assembled in Switzerland. The firm has its own development, assembly and service department within its premises in Rümlang near Zurich Airport. To date, the company has developed its own materials, namely Relastan and Novicton, which are implemented in their end products. In the physical security products industry, the brand is relatively known for its premium and customizable physical security products within the upper price and quality segment. The Primary goal of the firm is to expand its reach and customer base by successfully entering foreign markets, such as Dubai. This paper shall not only provide for the right set of marketing tools, but also form the basis for the decision of to whether enter the Dubai market. To date, the company does to not have any customers, re-sellers, agents, or distributors in the said region. Moreover, since purchasing processes are increasingly determined by the ongoing and irreversible digital transformation and given the high competition in the target market, a framework with suitable marketing tools addressing the new marketing environment is needed.

The authors began the project with a kick-off meeting at the premises of the Swiss SME. The purpose was to learn about the company, to define their goals and objectives, and the scope of the thesis. The authors then conducted an extensive desk research to gather secondary data in the fields of marketing, communications, international business and strategy, and in particular on the target Region. After collecting theory, it became clear that practical insights on the current market situation were missing, and therefore, the authors decided to conduct several interviews with experts that possess valuable and firsthand experience of Dubai, including the relevant culture(s) and marketing in the region. The interviews and theory helped the authors to not only gain an understanding of the current market conditions, but also to structure the thesis accordingly. It appeared to be essential to focus on the Islamic and Arab culture related to the aspects of business making. Furthermore, the diversity in Dubai's population given the high density of expatriates created a challenge when it came to define a target segment with a specific consumer behaviour. Therefore, the right set of marketing tools as well as the appropriate utilization of them had to be adjusted continuously so as to align them with the theoretical findings and the results of the interviews.

Given the multi-domestic strategy to be pursued by the Swiss SME to enter the market of Dubai, additional financial and human resources are required. The authors provided the firm with an in-depth external analysis of the target market including Dubai's economy, politics, geography and demographics. In addition, its culture was thoroughly investigated resulting in a concrete guideline on how to deal with it. Along with that, the company's competitors as well as its internal strengths and weaknesses were analysed. Based on all these findings, the authors presented a course of action where the steps on how to successfully enter the market of Dubai were explained in detail. Given the limited human and financial resources, the company should focus on the existing tools. As for the online marketing tools, the authors suggest to focus on the corporate website, on LinkedIn for communication purposes and to establish relationships with relevant stakeholder, as well as on Instagram so as to keep cutomers updated and to attract them with appealing pictures. The company’s website should ideally be optimized by using search enginge optimization (SEO) tools. The information released on online marketing tools that are publicly available, must be handled with special caution due to the security aspect of WALDIS products. Discreteness is therefore key in their marketing activities, which in turn lead to the required trust amongst customers. In terms of offline tools, the authors suggest sending personalized introduction letters to a few target customers as soon as the online presence is established. During the introductory face, participations at exhibitions and fairs are also recommended. Furthermore, advertising in luxurious magazines and business-related newspapers will provide the Swiss SME with further potential clients of the right segment. Finally, a booklet in Arabic and English is highly recommended and should be uploaded onto the Website as well as provided as a print version for offline use. The benefit for the company is that they do no not only receive a set of suitable marketing tools, but a comprehensive guideline on how to implement them in the best possible way along with specific actions and suggestions. This guideline may also be used for the other markets within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region if applicable.