Nokia Strategic Marketing - Case Study Example

Name: Tutor: Course: Institution of affiliation: Date: Strategic Marketing Plan (SMP) Selected organization- Nokia, SBU - mobile phones 3.1 Corporation – Nokia Nokia Corporation is a multinational corporation that falls in the industry of communications and information technology. It has it’s headquarter in Espoo, Finland. The company has established itself as a specialist in the manufacture of mobile phones and other portable devices related to information and technology. Furthermore, it provides internet services which include application, messaging, media, map navigation services among others (AP Online 2011). Nokia Solutions and Networks is a subsidiary company of Nokia and its principal role is to offer telecommunication networks. The control and management structure of Nokia Corporation comprises of shareholders and Nokia Leadership Team. This structure was established in one of the general meetings under the stewardship of the board of directors. Noteworthy, the chairperson and the entire Nokia Leadership Team is appointed by the (BOG) board of directors. However, it is only the chairperson of the team that is allowed to be a member of both the leadership team and bord of directors. Several committees also exist to oversee the operations of the organization and some of them include the Corporate Governance, the Nomination Committee, the Audit committee, and, and the Personnel Committee (Arvind and Hicks 2008, 79). According to the year ending 2012, Nokia Corporation had a total of 101,982 employees across the globe. Its operations or rather sales occur in nearly 150 countries, and annual reports indicate revenues totaling up to €30 billion. Also, as per 2012, this company was ranked as the second-largest mobile phone maker after Samsung (BBC News 2013). This translates to 18.0 percent of the total market share. However, its performance in the Smartphone technology has been significantly dismal with a market share approximated at 3.0 percent. In this year alone, 2013, it is further estimated that the corporation has lost 40 percent of their revenues due to cut-throat completion occasioned by Smartphones. The organizational structure for Nokia Company Nokia has also had interests in personal computers since its inception. For instance, in 1980s, Nokia Data, which is a Nokia’s computer division, manufactured a series of personal computers that were referred to as MikroMikko. It further engaged in production of Nokia display products encompassed the manufacture of CRTs and TFTs (BBC News 2013). Nonetheless, the line of mobile phones remained the most preferred and in 2000 Nokia Display Branded products was sold to ViewSonic. Recently, there has been renewed interest in PCs with the introduction of mini laptop known as Nokia Booklet 3G. The history of Nokia Smartphone is a bit fascinating. Frank Nuovo a former Nokia chief, nearly a decade ago gave presentation that seemed to have defined a new era for the wireless carriers. Approximately 7 years before Apples introduction of the Iphone, Nokia team came up with a single buttoned phone that had a color touch screen (Nokia – USA 2013). This device was amazing and had the ability to locate places, play racing games as well as in one occasion ordered lipstick. Consequently, the late 90s witnessed Nokia developing a much better tablet that had similar features to the now, Apple Ipad. It was a full touch screen with wireless connections. However, all these inventions led to waste of resources, as they were never implemented. These gadgets became casualties of the company’s corporate culture which demeaned its resources but yielded no fruit due to various factors such as internal rivalries that actually took the ideas out of the company and came up with more better products (Windows Phone Source 2013). The Nokia Company also engaged mostly in patent production hence abandoning production of software and other hit devices. These have greatly contributed to the demise of the initial Nokia smart phones. 3.2 SBU - mobiles phones The mobile phone industry is rapidly becoming part and parcel of personal communication, permitting holders access to an ever-growing range of services. The global market for mobile phones has generally been characterized by tremendous growth and technological transformation. This trend has further been enhanced by the deregulation of telecommunications and the elementary overtures in wireless technology (Matthew 2013). Nokia Corporation embraced the global rise in mobile phone penetration and as per 2012 it was the second largest mobile phone maker in terms of units-just after Samsung. Several brands of Nokia phones have been released since 2000 with the most notable one being Nokia 1100 handset that became operational in 2003. A record figure of 200 million units was sold across the globe making it the world’s top-selling consumer electronic products (Manila Bulletin 2009). Nokia enjoys two significant strengths that will make it hard for competitors to imitate: these are its design and branding capabilities and sleek manufacturing capabilities. The ever growing markets opportunities in Asia, Americas and Africa cannot be taken for granted. Therefore, as a business entity, Nokia must focus on establishing partnership to open up into these new markets (Manila Bulletin 2009). In addition, advances in GSM technology has given way quality designs work in 3G cell phones. Nokia has used symbian-powered smartphones and is working on producing newer versions of the same. However, with the stiff and constant completion in the market, the company has embarked on producing competitive handsets that can be powered by windows 8 operating system (Telecommunications Weekly 2010). Also, following competition from other competitors in the market, Nokia has been on the upbeat to remain relevant in the industry. The entry of Apple devices and Smartphones has revolutionized the industry further thus triggering rapid adjustments of the Nokia phones that existed. For instance, in 2006 Nokia released Nokia N95, which is a Symbian-powered slider smartphone (Manila Bulletin 2010). This was followed by other N-series devices that made use of newer revision of Symbian OS. However, Android powered mobile devices from competitors have taken the telecommunication market by storm since 2007 causing Nokia to lose its command in the industry. In a bid to counter the competition, Nokia Lumia, which is powered by Microsoft’s Windows 8, has been introduced in the market. 6. Recommended strategies The company’s biggest distribution and promotion strategy is to always present itself as a major challenger in the mobile phone industry. The Nokia Company relies greatly on creation of awareness of its handsets; in the current time it is the Nokia Lumia which it has been showing off at various retail stores (AP Online 2011). Currently, the company is partnering with Microsoft, a relatively large company to capture a larger market and compete favorably with the mobile phone competitors. This will also help them get a large budget for marketing their handsets (BBC News 2013). Consequently, the company’s chief marketing officer Tuula Rytila stated that the company is working on creating a global brand that will bring the Smartphone competitions to a whole new level. In order to comprehend which strategy Nokia has been applying in a bid to regain its ground on mobile phone market, it is imperative to consider the marketing mix of the company. Since marketing strategy modifies the marketing mix for the products, the marketing mix will more or less point to the strategic preference of the company (Arvind and Hicks 2008, 79). The marketing mx comprises of 4ps, which is made up of the four most critical aspects of marketing strategy employed on any products. They include product, price, promotion and place. These factors offer avenues for companies to differentiate their products. Evaluation of current strategies: Product Nokia’s mobile phones vary considerably because the company has a wide range of products in N-series some of which include the recent Nokia Lumia and Nokia Asha. In addition, the company has varied product designs some of which have touch screens, classic button phones, in addition to the slide sets (AP Online 2011). Nokia is renowned for high quality devices, and frequently manufactures technologically superior cameras and navigation maps for its smartphones. Price The company has also been strategic in terms of its pricing. The retail prices of its mobile phones vary from as low as $25 to around $250. This high variability in prices has made it possible for people from different social and economic classes to access the Nokia phones. Promotion Nokia has over the years used mass media such as newspapers, radios, television, and billboards to market its products. Place Nokia is getting its products to the global markets mainly through distributors. It primarily sells its mobile phones via mobile operators and retailers (BBC News 2013). This is a common trend in this industry. It is worth noting that the company has invested very little in establishing retails shops in continents such as Europe (with exception of UK) and Africa. Recommendations I would recommend that Nokia should consider re-examining introduction marketing strategy especially for its mid-price range products. If at all Nokia would consider the use of segmentation strategy when launching its next smartphones, the company should be more cautious when rolling out the strategic choices. One sure means of implementing a winning segmentation strategy is as suggested by Matthew (2013). According to him, marketing strategy formulation encompasses a number of procedures. The process should commence with an understanding of customer behavior. The second step would entail dividing the market into smaller segments, and deciding which of the resultant segments has a greater chance of success. Nokia should then manufacture products that are most suitable for the selected market segments, and position it strategically so that customers remain aware that Nokia is interested in meeting their needs (Arvind and Hicks 2008, 76). The segmentation process of the market may be done according to the demographics, psychographics, geographic and behavioral features. I would also recommend that the company consider opening its own distribution outlets in prospective markets. The impact of distributors has served to reduce interpersonal contacts between Nokia Company and its prospective customers (BBC News 2013). Presence of these outlets would make customers feel as though their needs are being addressed directly. I would further applaud and advocate for further cooperation between Nokia and Microsoft in terms of promotion. The use of Windows 8 on Nokia devices would certainly serve to promote the use of these devices (AP Online 2011). This is because Windows is a well-established product in personal computers. Consumers will certainly wish to associate with gadgets that use Microsoft products as they are known to be versatile and support a wide range of applications. 7. Implementation Program Quadrant Strategic Objective Measure Target for 3 years Market Segmentation The largest market segment should have been identified by the end of 3 years Increase in revenue 10 percent Partnership Partnership with Microsoft Enhanced performance of Nokia applications 30 percent Customer relations Opening Nokia distribution outlets Increased market share Improve by at least 20 percent. Operations of processes Improve name recognition Enhanced awareness of Nokia as a brand 1.5 times more than a direct competitor. Works Cited Arvind, and J. Hicks. "A Mobile Phone Ecosystem: MIT And Nokia's Joint Research Venture." IEEE Intelligent Systems 21, no. 5 (2008): 78-79. "BBC News - Nokia and Microsoft form partnership." BBC - Homepage. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12427680 (accessed September 23, 2013). "BBC News - Nokia at crisis point, warns new boss Stephen Elop." BBC - Homepage. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12403466 (accessed September 23, 2013). "Cell Phones and Smartphones - Nokia - USA." Cell Phones and Smartphones - Nokia - USA. http://www.nokia.com (accessed September 23, 2013). "Lumia 920 pre-orders doing well in Europe | WinSource." Windows Phone Source. http://winsource.com/2012/10/17/lumia (accessed September 23, 2013). Matthew Mpoke Bigg. "Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters.com." Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters.com. http://www.reuters.com/article (accessed September 23, 2013). Manila Bulletin (Newyork), "Microsoft Office Coming to Nokia Smartphones," August 13, 2009. Manila Bulletin (NY), "Nokia Makes Worldwide Walk and Drive Navigation Free on Smartphones," January 25, 2010. Manila Bulletin (Newyork), "Nokia Unveils the "Smartest" of Smartphones, Promising Ovi Services at Nokia World Showcase," September 20, 2010. Telecommunications Weekly (Newyork), "Nokia launches three no-compromise mass-market smartphones powered by Symbian Belle.," September 7, 2011. AP Online (Newyork), "Nokia unveils Windows smartphones to catch rivals," October 26, 2011. Read More