Impact of Syrian Refugee Crisis on Marketing Arena

Strategic management and marketing theory demonstrates that marketing activities are significantly affected by events in the external environment (Mullins & Walker, 2013). For instance, the PESTEL framework shows that business and marketing decisions must be made in consideration of political, economic, social, technological, environment, and legal factors. One event that is increasingly affecting marketing activities is the Syrian refugee crisis, which has resulted in the influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees into Europe (Kleintop & Schwab, 2015). This text considers the implications of the Syrian refugee crisis on the marketing arena. Attention is particularly paid to the impact of the crisis on industries as well as marketing strategy for businesses in Europe.

With the ongoing civil war in Syria, Europe has received the largest number of refugees in decades (Kleintop & Schwab, 2015). Whereas the crisis presents considerable political and security challenges for European governments, it also offers significant opportunities for businesses in Europe. According to Marcus (2016), the crisis provides an important growth opportunity for European industries, particularly from a labour perspective. Most refugees are young, educated, and skilled, and come ready to work. Therefore, with European businesses increasingly grappling with labour supply challenges due to reduced birth rates and population ageing, refugees can be an antidote to these challenges (Kleintop & Schwab, 2015). Together with the government, businesses can turn the crisis into an opportunity. They can equip refugees with the necessary skills and training, thereby enhancing labour availability. With cheaper and more available labour, European industries would be better placed to expand their operations locally, regionally, and internationally. However, this may increase competition for employment between natives and refugees, ultimately causing antagonism between the two groups. This has the potential to fuel social unrest, which may be bad for business.

Businesses can also benefit from a larger market for their products. When making marketing decisions, businesses must consider the size of the target market and other demographic aspects (Mullins & Walker, 2013). A large population often means a large market for goods and services, and hence greater revenue potential. With a large number of refugees being welcomed into Europe, European businesses have a greater market for their products and services. This is a particularly important advantage given that the European market is increasingly experiencing market saturation and maturation challenges. Indeed, most multinational organizations have ever more turned their attention to emerging markets in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. These markets have large populations and have experienced rapid economic growth in recent decades, presenting considerable growth opportunities for Western multinationals. For European businesses, therefore, an influx of refugees means an opportunity to produce more goods and services. In fact, projections have indicated that European countries affected by the crisis will register greater economic output in the near future in the wake of the refugee crisis (Cassidy, 2015; Kleintop & Schwab, 2015). More specifically, being host to the largest proportion of Syrian refuges, Turkey and Germany will be the greatest beneficiaries.

Nonetheless, for European businesses to successfully benefit from the Syrian refugee crisis, supportive policies must be put in place. Governments must introduce policy mechanisms that favour refugees, particularly in terms of employment and wages (Marcus, 2016). Also, businesses must be willing to incorporate refugees into the workforce. Empowering employees economically would give them the power to purchase goods and services to the benefit of businesses. One of the factors businesses consider when making marketing decisions is the target consumer's ability to purchase (Mullins & Walker, 2013). Without this ability, refugees may be of little or no use to businesses and industries in Europe. Even if they produce more with refugees in mind, the increased output may be a waste of time, effort, and resources as refugees may not be in a position to purchase the output.

While the refugee crisis may benefit European businesses by providing a greater market for goods and services, the challenge of cultural differences cannot be ignored. Indeed, culture theory demonstrates that significant differences exist between countries in terms of values, beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, traditions, and behaviours (Mullins & Walker, 2013). Middle Easterners and Europeans are substantially different with respect to culture. As culture influences how a certain group of people behaves, European businesses may encounter challenges reaching out to refugees. They may not understand how to effectively present marketing messages to this group. This, however, may not be a major challenge as European businesses have dealt with multicultural markets long before the crisis, owing to increased globalization and immigration. They have progressively understood the impact of culture on business, and consequently learned to make marketing decisions oblivious of the underlying cultural differences. Even so, given that the ongoing refugee crisis is the largest influx of refugees into Europe in decades, the challenge may be quite overwhelming this time round.

On the whole, the massive influx of Syrian refugees into Europe without a doubt presents significant concerns for European governments, especially in terms of increased fiscal spending and national security due to the possibility of harbouring Islamic terrorists. From a business perspective, however, the crisis presents opportunities for growth, mainly from increased labour availability and a larger market for goods and services. Access to a larger market is a particularly important benefit for European businesses and industries given increased market saturation in Europe. To fully benefit from this opportunity, European businesses will have to adjust their marketing strategy to accommodate the preferences of the new market.

References

Cassidy, J. (2015, November 18). The economics of Syrian refugees. The New Yorker. Retrieved from: http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/the-economics-of- syrian-refugees

Kleintop, J., & Schwab, C. (2015). The economic impact of Europe's refugee crisis. Retrieved from: http://www.businessinsider.com/economic-impact-of-europes- refugee-crisis-2015-10?pundits_only=0&get_all_comments=1&no_reply_filter=1

Marcus, L. (2016, September 11). Europe refugee crisis is a major opportunity for businesses. The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/sep/11/europes-refugee-crisis-is-a- major-opportunity-for-businesses

Mullins, J., & Walker, O. (2013). Marketing Management. New York: McGraw-Hill.