Development and Implementation of Direct and Internet Marketing Strategy in Nokia - Essay Example

? Development and Implementation of Direct and Internet Marketing Strategy in Nokia Introduction The increasing global competition has pushed many companies to resort to other forms of communication to ensure they have competitive advantage over other their competitors. They have increasingly diversified their communication strategies to tap into the ever growing markets as a result of globalization. The recent developments in the field of technology marked by the internet revolution have made many companies resort to the use of internet in reaching their clients. Similarly, many companies have embraced the use of direct marketing to lure customers into buying and remaining loyal to the company’s products. Direct marketing strategy is adopted to ensure the success of the marketing campaign. It involves companies approaching the consumers with their products and survives with the aim of meeting their goals by influencing an action through buying, ordering, requesting more information as well as visiting the company website (Roberts, 1999:18). Internet marketing strategy involves the use of internet to attract people or to give more information about the company’s products through directing them to the company website, increasing customers to the organization as well as branding the organization with its products (Clarke, 2005:172). Over the past years, Nokia has been on the leading end in the development and implementation of direct and internet marketing strategy which has promoted its growth in terms of product penetration and acquisition of the market share. Similarly, this marketing strategy and ensured the company grows its revenue as it keeps on launching new products to counter its competitors. This research paper will outline how Nokia develops and implements direct and internet marketing strategy as it gives the achievements and limitations of this marketing strategy. Backgrounds of Nokia Corporation Nokia is a multinational corporation dealing in communications and information technologies with its headquartered in Finland. The principle products of the corporation are portable information technology devices and mobile telephones. The company also deals with other products related to internet services, messaging, navigation services, games, and media among others (Nokia, 2013). Since its establishment, the company has been on steady growth as it operates in more than 120 nations across the world with employees above 100,000. Nokia has annual revenues of 30 billion euro which has placed it second mobile phone maker after Samsung as at 2012. The company commands the mobile phone industry with its current share marked at 23%. Despite the steady growth that the company has enjoyed over the years, its market share has not remained stable from last year due to developments and entry of smart phones by other agencies. The introduction of iPhone which runs Google android operating system has systematically contributed to the declining market share of the corporation. However, the company is working on strategy to ensure it counterattack the new agencies by partnering with Microsoft to ensure all Nokia smart phones are incorporated with Microsoft window as their operating system. Besides this, Nokia has elaborated ways of capturing certain markets as it develops products which meets the demands of certain age group of the society (Mangan, 2012). Their marketing strategy is very essential in ensuring they reap from the untapped markets both online and direct. Frameworks and Approaches to Direct and Internet Marketing Nokia has been on the forefront towards direct and internet marketing since competition in the mobile telecommunication industry is flooded with the entries of new products as well as new agencies. This has pushed the company to venture into direct marketing at ensuring they meet their target population as well as consumers towards realizing the existence of the company products and services. Nokia have embraced the use of direct marketing towards connecting it as a producer to the end users who are its consumers. In most cases, Nokia has used direct marketing and internet marketing in different ways as well as to leverage the marketing as it communicates and deliver the products to the customers. The company has been on the continuous use of catalogues, direct sales force, direct mails, telemarketing, trade shows, emails, websites and seminars. Similarly, the company talks to its customers at the point of sales which contribute to their direct marketing as they give their customers more information about the company as well as to the product the company offers (Patron, 2004: 209-220). Some of the direct marketing strategies used by Nokia have been facilitated with the development of internet. The company had done a survey which presented it with facts that some other old methods have diminished which called for more radical approaches towards marketing leading to the adoption of internet marketing. This was to ensure the company reaches more consumers in allover the world as it have wider operating locations amounting to over 120 nations. With the emerging technologies, the company has been able to reach its target consumers through internet marketing. Evaluation of the Concepts With the adoption of internet marketing by Nokia, the company has revolutionized its direct marketing by promoting its sales of products to its target consumers. The ability to access internet by consumers has enabled the company to provide users with the basic importance facts which can help them to evaluate the company products and services offered. Through direct marketing and internet marketing Nokia has been able to connect to its consumer and the target market through the provision of information in relation to the products, entertainment, shopping and group communication. Nokia has been able to eliminate geographical considerations as consumers in any part of the world can access the company’s website to see the products that the company offers. Nokia has provided its consumers with the opportunity of doing online shopping or ordering online and shipping the products to their destination (Weinstein & Geach, 2011:522). This form of direct marketing strategy has proved to be fruitful as the company reaches many consumers who would otherwise not be reached through other forms of marketing. Internet marketing has made it easier for Nokia to reach many consumers as it is more targeting, flexible, affordable, responsive and profitable compared to other forms of marketing (Kumar & Petersen, 2007:139-46). Nokia has embraced the internet and helped them in scaling heights as it can reach customers at any time as long as they log in to the companies website or open web browsers to enable them see on the new products. The number of internet users has been on the steady growth with the advancements and application which comes with mobile phone. As a result of this, many people are able to access internet than before making it easily accessible, responsive as well as flexible to the users. Face to face selling is the traditional direct marketing strategy still used by Nokia. It is more common with Nokia agencies and distribution stores to reach the potential customers. In most cases, it is used by the company during road shows in promoting new products as well as informing the clients on what are on offer. This marketing strategy is helpful to the company as it helps in getting in touch with the consumers as the company gets to hear from them in exchange of the products. The personal contact between the company and the consumers has helped Nokia achieve its growth because some customers get influenced when they come into face to face contact with the salesman more than media adverts or other forms of advertisements used by companies (Faulkner, 2010:108). Direct mail is another direct and internet marketing strategy used by Nokia in reaching its potential consumers. It involves sending information about the company products on offer, sale, service reminders or any announcement to consumers in different locations (Porter, 2001:62-78). Nokia has used direct mails in contacting their potential target groups about the products as has created awareness and promoted the companies growth as it reaches new markets as well as precipitating growth from the already existing markets and customers. Nokia has experienced a successful campaign through mailing of new products to prospective customers as it has permitted high target market, personalization of information. It has also allowed the company to taste the responses hence allowing them make the necessary adjustments towards correcting the observed behaviors from the consumers. Nokia always sends products catalogue which features variety of products with the target needs of a particular audiences who have developed interest towards buying (Nokia Siemens Networks, 2013). Sending of catalogue has become away of direct mailing since other companies have also adopted the strategy towards reaching potential customers as well as prospects. With the evolution of telephones in the world and the business environment, Nokia has found it meaningful to contact its target audience through phone. Nokia has a growing database where it contacts the potential customers to sell its products. Telemarketing has grown in popularity to the point that it has become a new way of marketing and many big companies have embraced it to take advantage of reaching the potential customer rather that using other marketing strategies (Chaffey & Smith, 2012: 260). To enable the success of this direct marketing strategy, Nokia have established a good calling list with a contact structure and trained personnel who get remarkable rewards when they make sales. This direct marketing strategy target specific consumers ranging from institutions to individuals on the tailored products meeting their expectations. Usefulness and Limitations of the Frameworks and Analytical Tools Nokia have benefited from internet marketing as it has been able to grow it sales with a bigger margin. There has been increase of online and offline sales achieved through wider distribution to customers who are operating online and through a variety of products offered to them online (Oswald, 2008:187). The company has also been able to add value to its producers as a result of internet marketing. This has been achieved due to extra benefits customers receive in relation to products developments through online dialogue and immediate responses. Through this, the re has been increased interaction, online participation, dwelling on the company website. Internet marketing has enabled Nokia Company to get closer to its customers through creating a two way dialogue on web interactions (Rau, 2011: 429). The company is able to communicate with its customers through surveys, forums and online market research. The resulting impacts have been grown number of email received by the company in relation to products inquiry as well as increasing new visitors to the company website. Similarly, the company has benefited in reducing the expenditures for marketing and advertisements. Online email communications, sales and service transactions has reduced the cost of printing and sending mail. Web self service have also saved on the cost since customers answers their questions through the web contents. Marketing in the social media has provided opportunity for many companies to go viral hence reaching many potential consumers at different locations within the shortest time (Hocking, 2012). This leads to publication of companies products as Nokia has been able to reach many consumers through their online platforms. However, the company faces challenges since it is very difficult to create a powerful viral concept with the target population. Anything happening online more so in the social media is not controlled hence has no target group. Consequently, the organization risk damaging their brands since there is tendency of receiving unsolicited messages. Interactive advertising has had its main objective of achieving growth of the customer’s visits through direct response. This has been effectively achieved through media multiplier effects. The same applied to online sponsorship which ahs long term co-branding arrangements with synergistic. Over the years, responsive rate for interactive advertisement has been on the declining trend because of banner blindness. Online sponsorship may increase awareness which don’t lead to sales (Stair & Reynold, 2011: 347). Recommendations for further improvement Despite the wide usage of internet marketing by many companies including Nokia Corporation, there are a lot they need to undertake to ensure there is improved online customer experience. Improving on their experience will determine their frequencies towards visiting the website as well as interacting with the company in different platforms. There is need to increase the customers online usability. There should be more information as to how the products can be operated by specified users in order to achieve their specified goals of buying the product. Most of the interactive websites managed by Nokia does not communicate on the usability of the products to bring effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction to the end user. This makes them to resort to direct marketing where they get in touch with the seller to give them more information in regard to the product they buy (Thurow & Musica, 2009: 99). Accessibility of the sites should be designed to accommodate site usage using different web browsers as well as settings particularly those targeting the visually impaired and other visitors with other forms of disabilities such as motor control, difficulties in learning as well as dead users (Shelly & Campbell, 2012:61). Designing a website which meets the above criteria and the needs of the special groups will ensure the company reaches all the concerned customers visiting the website or any other online interactive platform. Nokia needs to persuade the public in the market towards visiting the online platforms where they do the internet marketing. This should be aimed at maximizing returns from the web investments though measuring and optimizing using techniques such as web analytics and usability studies. The platforms should have an information architecture which combines the company, navigation and labeling constituting information system. They should also have site maps to depict different relationships between groups of contents on the websites (Larson, 2013:100). Similarly, there should be blueprints to show relationships between pages and other web contents to be used in portraying the organization and the labeling systems. Nokia Corporation should understand the customer’s expectations when doing direct and internet marketing make a clear service promises which it should deliver. Its tangible products should be easy to use, of quality and fair price. The company also needs to ensure there is reliability through being available to customers and replying customer’s emails. It should respond to call backs, and have a speedy download (Sinha, 2010). Similarly, assurance and empathy should be ensured through establishing contacts with the call centre, personalization, ensuring privacy and security of the customers on online platforms. Conclusion Direct and internet marketing has been a powerful tool used by Nokia in reaching its customers as well as potential buyers towards influencing them to company’s products. With the developments and advancements in technology, Nokia have been able to acquire competitive advantage through the adoption of internet marketing to reach target groups all over the world. However, direct and internet has some limitations as it does not directly influence the company sales but depends on the expectations and the needs of the customers. References Berry, T., 2013. Direct marketing fundamentals. Retrieved from: http://articles.mplans.com/direct-marketing-fundamentals/ Chaffey, D & Smith, P., 2012. E-marketing Excellence: planning and optimizing your digital marketing. New York: Routledge. Clarke, I., 2005. Advances in electronic marketing. London: Idea Group Faulner, M., 2010. Coming face to face with Neo Warmers Agenda. New York: Routledge. Hocking, T., 2012. 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