Marketing Innovation for SMEs during COVID-19 Pandemic : A case study of the hospitality industry in Norrbotten

As a global disaster, the COVID-19 pandemic (coronavirus) has an impact on the whole world economy. The pandemic threatens the survival of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) globally and nationally. It appears inevitable that this pandemic has created a difficult business environment for small and medium sized enterprises to operate in. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a chain of events that have led to an economic crisis. The driving factor have been the Swedish government’s recommendations to the population to stay at home and exercise social distancing. This has led to a declining household consumption in Sweden and thus also reductions in production in the country. Thus, the purpose of this degree project was to examine how three small and medium sized enterprises businesses adapted their way of marketing in order to survive the economic crisis that came with the COVID-19 pandemic. The research has been conducted within the context of three small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the hospitality industry in Norrbotten. To gain deeper knowledge on how SMEs in Norrbotten changed their way of marketing during this economic crisis, a qualitative research approach was pursued. A multiple case study was administered against three contrasting organizations in Norrbotten to collect data in order to delve into the chosen subject more. The gathered data was collected through interviews. The findings of this study proves that the three small and medium sized enterprises were affected by the economic crisis that came with the coronavirus. Overall, the main findings shows that the three SMEs adapted and improved their marketing mix as a response to the crisis. The key factor in why the three companies had to improve their marketing mix was the change of the consumer buying behavior. The changed customer behavior was a result of the Swedish government and the Public Health Agency measures to prevent the spread of the virus: social distancing, traveling restrictions and closed borders.