COMPANY CASE: Nokia: Envisioning a Connected World Statement of Problem

Nokia is not the most popular in the U.S, but for anywhere else in the world, they are. Nokia grabs only a single-digit slice of the U.S. cell phone pie, but it dominates the global cell phone market with close to a 40 percent share. Few companies lead their industries the way that Nokia does. Half of the worlds population holds an active cell phone, and more than one in three of those phones is a Nokia which equates to over one billion people. Competitors can easily replicate Nokias global strategy and they are. The latest wares from the smaller competitors have been the darlings of the press. Growth in smartphones is fast outpacing the growth of the overall market. Despite Nokias R & D efforts to expand its portfolio of high-end devices, the company still lags in that area.(Kotler and Armstrong, p.579)

Relevant Facts of the Case

Nokia sells more cell phones each year than its three closest rivalsSamsung, Motorola, and Sony-Ericssoncombined. Nokia has risen to global dominance based on simply selling basic products at low prices. Although Nokia markets a huge variety of cell phone models, it is best known for its trademarked easy-to-use block handset. Nokia mass produces this basic reliable hardware cheaply and ships it in huge volumes to all parts of the world.(Kotler and Armstrong, p.577)

Assumptions Developing countries do not demand as much glamour from the phones as developed countries do design trends, such as clamshell phones; candy-bar phones that slide open and closed; and ultrathin, blingy, multifunction phones. (Kotler and Armstrong, p.579) Developing countries tend to only want the essential functions of a phone. So Nokia has capitalized on this idea but meeting that customers needs. (Kotler and Armstrong, p.579)

Identification of Alternative Courses of Action Instead of appealing to the more technological market, Nokia developed an icon-based interface to replace text, a welcome innovation for many people in the world who dont know how to read. They also added multiple phonebooks to its devices, based on the fact that many people in less-developed countries share their phones with up to half-dozen other people. Nokia has even developed an inexpensive charging kit for bicycles with a dynamo that attaches to the wheel and a phone holder for the handlebars. At 7.5 miles per hour, it charges as fast as a traditional wall charger. (Kotler and Armstrong, p.578)

In an effort to gain income from existing devices, Nokia has opened its Ovi Store. This store is a one stop shop that connects consumers with content providers through their Nokia phones.

Recommended Solution
Technological development of mobile phones is an important technological force, because the technology in the mobile phone business is constantly innovating and developing which can lead to big changes for Nokia. Because of pricing affordability, Nokia should probably use that position in its marketing strategy in order to increase the amount of end users and thus the amount of profit. Nokia should be more quickly responsive to changes in the market of cell phones. For example if some new features are presented by the rivals in their models Nokia should come up with even better ideas in order to always be on the edge of mobile phone technology.

CONCLUSION

I believe Nokia will do just fine in the coming years. I believe they are doing their research and will further meet the demand of todays customer. They really have nothing to lose but everything to gain because there are many features of the cellphone that Nokia hasnt tapped into yet, whereas other companies have to reinvent what they have already done to maintain and grow their customer base.

REFERENCES Kotler, Philip, and Gary Armstrong.Principles of marketing. 14th ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.