The Firm and its Products
Nokia is a global firm within the communications and information industry. The firm is headquartered in Espoo, Finland (Grünewälder, 2008). Also, the firm deals with mobile phones, mobile computers as well as networks. Also, the corporation offers internet services comprising music applications, games, and media as well as messaging services.
Core to the operations of Nokia is the client-driven marketing tactic. Essentially, the model of marketing enables the firm to fragment its world market in terms of economic situations. Besides, the firm utilizes product and service differentiation as well as the provision of innovative and standard products with unique attributes.
In reality, the firm’s major undertakings continue to utilize innovations in the production of products to augment the client base. In other words, Nokia remains to update its products with speed, efficiency, and quality, thereby attracting numerous clients across the globe.
The SWOT Analysis
Strengths
The firm’s trademark forms its major strength. Being among the world’s largest producers and manufacturers of mobile phones, the firm has branched out its operations in different nations around the globe causing an increase in its distribution network.
Additionally, the corporation’s originality, innovativeness, and resilience along with reliability are major strengths. Besides, the firm enjoys greater yields on equity, proceeds on assets along with higher net profit margins and a strong financial position, thereby making it a leader in the international mobile phone industry.
Further, the enterprise has strong research and development facilities leading to its dominance in the mobile phone market. The increased expansion of the firm’s stores in several nations is also added strength.
Nokia’s own-branded products ranging from the high-end finest to low-price value have proven useful in covering diverse classes of products including mobile phones, internet services comprising music, applications, games, and media. For instance, Nokia’s high-end Lumia line is designed for individuals with higher incomes, whereas low-end Asha phones are for clients with lower budgets (Grünewälder, 2008).
Weaknesses
The economic depression currently experienced affects the soaring expenses associated with livelihood and diminishing earnings in the hands of the public. Nokia is likely to experience a reduction in the demand for its products due to reduced earnings. Further, in maintaining its status as a global leader in the mobile phone industry, the firm has to charge lower prices, which in effect squeezes its margins.
The other weakness that Nokia encounters arise from the fact that numerous retailers are merging and offer stiff competition. Another weakness of the firm is illustrated in Nokia’s financial records characterized by diminishing returns. The reason is that the firm’s share of the market in the US has been decreasing. Nokia also undertook cost-cutting of staff, thereby losing the status as a good establishment (Grünewälder, 2008).
Threats
The ever-changing expertise has greater effects on the client purchase tendencies. Nokia has a responsibility for regular appraisal of its products to meet the expectations of the customers. Further, the slump in the economy is likely to initiate joblessness and decreased proceeds. The outcome would divert the firm’s attention from lower-priced products to higher priced commodities leading to restructuring the pricing system.
Nokia faces the threat of competition from Apple Inc., Intel Corporation, LG Display and LG Electronics, Sony Corporation, Texas Instruments Inc., Lenovo Group Limited, Hewlett-Packard Company, Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Toshiba Corporation, SK Hynix Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., and Western Digital Corporation companies that have been penetrating the market (Grünewälder, 2008).
Moreover, the emergence of cheap China phones also poses a threat to the operations of Nokia.
Opportunities
Nokia has the prospect of expanding into the tablet market, leading to an enlargement of its global operations. In reality, the transactions involving tablets have realized augmentations recently. Also, the firm has a prospect of developing various new lines of Smartphones with novel operating systems through the application of technological prowess.
Further, there is a prospect of forming conglomerates with other firms such as Google that could lead to the generation of exceptional Nokia-Android Smartphones. As a result, the firm will be able to achieve increased revenue margins. Besides, developing markets such as China present wonderful opportunities in which Nokia can invest (Luther, 2011).
Marketing Objectives
The firm pursues many objectives with the marketing plan. The objectives will be specific, measurable, attainable, and timely. In other words, Nokia will follow the SMART model in developing and implementing its objectives. The marketing objectives of the firm include
- To improve customer engagement and relationship with the firm and its products by 50%
- To attract clients between the ages of 25-55 years since the segment constitutes over 70% of the firm’s mobile phone market.
- To achieve a 50% augmentation in market share within the next three years.
- To take advantage of the rapidly growing retirees aged over 55 years of the market subdivision through the provision of simple and comprehensible mobile phones.
The objectives must be attained within three years. However, increasing the presence of the firm’s brand is expected to be attained within the first year of the plan. The presence of the firm’s brand will be attained by increasing the number of times the products are mentioned on social media. The objectives are attainable given the set targets against the period. Also, given the past trends, the results can be achieved within the given time.
How the secondary Research was Conducted
Most information was retrieved from the firm’s website. However, other related marketing journals also provided valuable information concerning the marketing plan. Most importantly, the marketing researches that have been conducted provided invaluable information applied in this plan. Moreover, the reports from the promotions, conference presentations, as well as other events, provided significant information on the firm’s performance.
In essence, the external sources of information such as the websites comprising of the applied social media websites as well as the search engine websites, articles written concerning the corporation and journals both academic and non-academic regarding the firm and its brand products.
Further, marketing research reports that have been conducted concerning the enterprise and its products, reports from the firm’s marketing activities including promotions, presentations, and events along with blog posts regarding the firm’s products, brand and activities were also utilized.
Besides, press releases concerning the brands as well as products, video records on the firm’s events, text messages and e-mails received by the firm regarding the products were also used.
Networks
Depending on the objectives and the target clients, Nokia Company explores various innovative social media platforms to promote its services to reach its targeted users. The social sites have offered new opportunities for the firm to promote its products and services as well as reach the target users at reduced costs.
The main social networking site that the firm will utilize is Facebook. Currently, Facebook is the largest social networking site in the world. Facebook will allow the firm to reach the target market through users’ profile information such as different age brackets as well as their attention altitudes. For example, most of the younger generation use of phones and iPad for online socialization.
Studies show that people between the ages of 21-24 are the biggest users of Facebook at about 17%. Because of this popularity, the social site provides a good site for the firm to increase its presence as well as the brand to the target market.
Twitter provides the best platform for the firm to increase its presence among the users of its products. Twitter is currently developing self-service commercial methods targeting an array of people, particularly the firm’s target group. Also, twitter target enthusiasts of the open and common social site handlers.
Twitter mostly target users within the age bracket of twenty-five and above. Therefore, Nokia Company that intends to attract the age groups will embrace the use of Twitter to increase its presence.
Marketing Goals
To reach the target market, Nokia intends to take advantage of and penetrate the rapidly growing segment of retirees aged over 55 years. As such, the firm is capable of utilizing the high disposable incomes as well as the capability to dedicate time to novel lifestyle attributes of such clients.
Consequently, the firm is capable of increasing profits. The firm also targets clients aged between 22-55 years to augment sales since the segmented forms the bulk of Nokia phone users.
Marketing Mix
The firm will apply the marketing mix that includes the product strategy, distribution strategy, promotional strategy as well as the pricing strategy. All these strategies are in line with the firm general marketing mix (Luther, 2011). The product strategy will focus on the merchandise quality as well as the specifications of the customers. The enterprise will be manufacturing phones in accordance with the clients’ specifications.
On the distribution strategy, the phones will be marketed on the firm expanded stores around the world as well as in the distribution channels. The firm will also utilize its well-developed sales promotion strategies to advertise the products.
The products will be priced depending on the average income of the consumers as part of its wider pricing strategy. Other sections of the marketing plan such as the financials, the set targets, marketing strategies are integrated within the general strategic marketing plan of the organization.
The methodology of Implementing the Marketing Mix
Nokia’s marketing mix includes its product, price, place, and promotion variables that it combines to realize the response it aims to achieve in the market. In this regard, the firm should embrace the cost leadership strategy. Under this tactic, the firm can offer its products at lower prices across diverse locations around the globe.
The strategy is most suitable for Nokia since it is capable of controlling the operation expenditures as well as offering prices that are competitive in the global market, which in effect leads to increased proceeds. Through the strategy, the firm can apply promotional techniques that are highly valued by the customers. In other words, the firm offers products that have special attributes required by the consumers (Luther, 2011).
As such, the firm can create product devotion among its customers, thereby ensuring inelasticity in prices on the part of purchasers. Further, embracing the cost leadership strategy enables the firm to improve interior operations to be more efficient, enabling the organization to endure the external demands. Therefore, Nokia is presented with the prospect of regular relations with the diverse sectors in the macro-environment.
References
Grünewälder, A. (2008). Analysis of Nokia’s corporate, business, and marketing strategies. Munich: GRIN Verlag.
Luther, W. M. (2011). The marketing plan. New York, NY: AMACOM Division of American Management Association.