Nokia Lumia Marketing Strategy Plan

Marketing Project-1

Submitted to: Mr. Ritesh Tiwari

Submitted by: Akhand Raj Section-m Seat no. 21

Nokia Lumia Marketing Strategy Plan

Situation Analysis:
Nokia, which was one of the most successful mobile phone company somehow faded out with the creation of the Smartphone market. Not so long ago it was a popular thing to own a Nokia but with the creation of the smartphone market it just started to lose customers. The king of the feature phones was losing out to the new market opportunity which it did not see coming and swept it off its feet. Nokia offered smartphones running their own software Symbian long before the Iphone release, however the platform was not very successful and Nokias sales start declining to Apples Iphone and Android running smartphones. The Symbian operating system did not succeed in creating an ecosystem and did not provide enough application for the customers to use. This is because Symbian developers did not actually understood that the basic functions were not enough in the growing smartphone market, as well as technical problems with the operating system slowed down application developers. Now if we take a close look at the current market condition of the Indian mobile market in which if only take the smartphone market. The total smartphone penetration in India is only about 10% [1] . The inevitable shift from Feature phones to Smartphones is on its way. According to IDC Nokia takes the fourth place with 5% market share in the smartphone market competing with top three rivals Samsung (26%), Micromax (22%) and Karbonn (13%). In the present market situation the company has been acquired by Microsoft who had long been trying to be a major player in the smartphone market as it supplies the Windows OS platform which has been in competition with the Android and IPhones but hasnt really made that much of an impression in the minds of the customers. Microsoft was lacking the hardware base and the patents that were required to survive in a smartphone business. With the acquisition of Nokia by the Microsoft, Microsoft has gotten teeth to fight with the big dogs of the smartphone markets. With Nokias supremacy in mobile patents Microsoft has got itself a great deal to accomplish its dream to attain major share of Smartphone market. Nokias mission seems focused on building its brand worldwide, it looks like Nokia would like to achieve again the credibility and the position as a market leader, which it once had. The company wants to target the mass market and it also understands that the products it has to offer must be more than what already exist in the market. The mission statement is recognizing the competitive environment that Nokia faces now. Nokia is lacking the positioning and the brand identity of its competitors.[2]

SWOT ANALYSIS OF NOKIA LUMIA:

The following SWOT analysis captures the key strengths and weaknesses of Nokia Lumia and identifies the opportunities and threats facing it.

Strengths:
Brand name of Nokia- One of Nokias main strengths is in its brand. Before the mobile phone market was changed by the changing market trends, Nokia has been amongst the most respected and well-known

companies in the mobile phone market. Their products are associated with distinct design, accountability and sturdiness. The company dominated the sales in mobile phone market since 1998 until the last couple of years (Samsung overtook Nokia, 2012). Nokia has developed brand awareness and the companys brand have been associated with the best products in the industry. Although Nokia is having hard time keeping up with the Smartphone market, their loyal customer base can help the company in regaining its market share. The company has been long time in the smartphone market and has great and experienced personnel. This can be attributed to the facts and figures given by IDC that even after so many setbacks Nokia still is able to maintain its market share on being No.2 in the overall mobile market following South Korean giants Samsung[3]. In countries like India where even today low end feature phones are still a big market and play a major role Nokia still have the game in their hands. Nokias patents and feature phone experience- With Nokias immense experience in the feature mobile segment and lots of patents in the mobile technology field they have something which is very essential in bringing out a much diversified product at a competitive price. They right now also are doing it at present by combining feature like 41mp camera phones which give pictures with supreme quality in its smartphone like Nokia Lumia 1020. With other features like NFC and Wi-Fi sharing technology from Nokia is really catching up and is being demanded in the market by the customers to enhance their data sharing experience.(Refer EXHIBIT 1). Microsofts robust and user friendly operating system- Compared to the other mobile operating systems which are currently competing in the Smartphone market Nokia Lumia has a very smooth and light operating system which has identified the need for mobiles to change their way of disc fragmentation which resulted in faster and smoother interface which is by far comparable to iOS which was actually leading in the mobile device interface experience. The operating features are way more easy to use and the lagging is low as compared to Android whom many on online retail stores commented as Laggaroid. Nokias dedicated music and app store and other location based services- Paul Balaji, managing director of Nokia India said "We will focus on differentiation that gets created beyond just the operating system, around imaging, entertainment and location services[4]. This is already being implemented by location based apps of navigation like HERE, City Lens and Nokia HERE Maps which are already giving tough competition to Google maps and other related location based services because of their easy and fast interface. The Nokia music store has been the best in case of entertainment with a one year free subscription of unlimited music downloads with lots of music albums and songs collections giving a tough fight to Apples iTune. While imaging is already been taken care of by Smart Cam, Glam Me and the dedicated Carl Zeiss lens camera phones with unmatchable picture quality with 41mp camera in Lumia 1020. Price and Design- The prices at which the Nokia Lumia model 520 is trying to cater the needs of lowend customers is priced around Rs.7k-9k which after the acquisition of Nokia by Microsoft are being speculated to go down in the coming year which will increase the penetration of overall smartphone market but also Nokia Lumias if we keep in mind the 10% market penetration in India. While for highend users Nokia Lumia 925 and 1020 for mid-section Lumia 625 and 720 are creating a buzz. As far as the design is concerned they have a very different appeal with its availability in different colours and sleek design makes it very popular among the youth who are looking for a product that is affordable and at the same time differentiate them from the crowd of monotonous designs of Samsung and Apple.

Weaknesses:
Customer Service: Nokia Service centres are not as quick to respond to the problems encountered by the customers. The management is bad at Nokia care centres as the representatives working their doesnt give a feeling of actually wanting to help customer. The complaint resolving period can stretch to a month in some odd cases. (Data taken from nokia forums and authors personal experience). Less availability of apps: When compared to Samsung and Apple Nokia Lumia is lagging behind in the availability of the number of apps by a huge margin. With only 120000 apps available for windows based Lumia series while Android and iOS having around 900000 apps in their stores brings a big let-down for the Lumia users. Late adopters of changes: Samsung has moved to octa-core, while Nokia is at dual-core," says Gupta of Forrester. The greater the number of cores in the chip, the more applications it can run simultaneously. Similarly, Nokia is absent in the fastest growing smartphone segment in India: 'phablets', or devices that combine the functionalities of a smartphone and a tablet, and have a screen size of 5-7 inches[5]. This has been one of the biggest problem for Nokia in particular not capitalizing on the future opportunities or simply bad planning for future. They were late for even introducing dual-sim mobile phones and late in tackling iPhones when they were first launched in 2007.

Opportunities:
Technological advancement in file sharing: The file sharing and data sharing is changing dramatically for mobile phones with new features of NFC and Wi-Fi sharing is coming up in a big way. This can be a big opportunity for popularise the ways in which consumers can utilize these features and can make dedicated apps which make use of these technologies. Rural area being untouched: In developing countries like India which have a fair share of rural population which are not very literate to bring them technology in an unorthodox manner with more interactive interface based on picture representation and different local and regional language options. Special promotion campaign for these areas to make them familiarise with the new features which would be useful for them in their work which is majorly agricultural based source of income. Only 10% smartphone penetration: This is a major factor that in India still the phone market is still dominated by feature phones rather than Smartphones which gives them an edge that they can completely focus their development by keeping in mind the needs of the market like India which is huge given Indias huge population base and loyalty towards Nokia phones. Gesture and Holographic projection based technology: These technologies have been referred by many as the game changer. Microsoft has already utilized it in its XBOX consoles its time that they do the same with the Smartphone segment. Nokia Lumia Phablets: They should launch 1520 and 1320 soon so that it can also tap consumers in tablet market and enlarge the Windows phone ecosystem which would result in development of more apps and more loyalty from the consumers.[6]

Threats:

iOS 7: Launch of iOS has made life difficult for Lumia as it is more colourful and playful as compared to its previous versions which is bringing freshness to the iPhones. Local chinese phones: The strategy of Lumia to cater to mass market gets a hit with the availability of cheap Chinese phones available in the market. Government interventions: Recently Nokia ran into a law suit with government over tax issues relating to the manufacturing unit in Chennai. These type of infractions brings down the credibility of the company.

Strategies:
Marketing Mix: Price: Nokia Lumia range should be able to lower its prices because of Microsofts acquisition of Nokia (Backward integration) so that it can compete at lower prices in a market like India which is highly price sensitive. This will increase its penetration in the indian market. Promotion: Lumia series should not only be advertised aggressively but an aggressive public relations program is required so as to emotionally attach itself to the masses just like what Google is doing with its recent ad campaign over internet. Product: Lumia series should be innovated with the new technological opportunities listed above so that they can create a highly differentiated product and to get a first mover advantage. Place: Lumia series smartphones as talked above can be made available to the rural population by bringing in changes with the interface of the mobile phone or a dedicated series for the sole purpose of reach to rural areas can be created.

EXHIBIT-1: Overall Mobile Patents

REFERENCES:
1. Economic times article http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-09-03/news/41726611_1_nokia-india-lumiasmartphone-sales 2. Is Nokias performance in the Smartphone market affected negatively by marketing strategy decisions? Analysis of marketing strategy choice and implementation for Nokia Lumia in Europe by Aarhus School of Business and Social Sciences 3. Economic Times Article http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-09- 03/news/41726611_1_nokia-india-lumiasmartphone-sales 4. Economic Times Article http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-09- 03/news/41726611_1_nokia-india-lumiasmartphone-sales 5. Economic Times Article http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-09-04/news/41765617_1_microsoft-indianokia-lumia-mobile-handset-market 6. Ibtimes Article http://www.ibtimes.co.in/articles/529873/20131213/nokia-lumia-1520-1320-launch-indiaspecifications.htm