Chapter 7. Nokia's Business Marketing

Nokia is the biggest cell phone manufacturer and not many of us know that its area of production is also engaged in converging Internet and communications industries. Nokia is dedicated to creating products not only for consumers but also for businesses, organizations and governments.  It will be easier to describe it on the example of Nokia's subsidiary the NSN (Nokia Siemens Networks).

Nokia Siemens Networks is a global data networking and telecommunications equipment company. It sells its network systems, business solutions, services and products to over 600 Communications Service Providers world wide. NSN's business customers can be divided by the industry in which they operate. Nokia Siemens Networks sells its products to mining conglomerates, railway companies, gas and oil producers, big enterprises and cable companies. Since telecommunications is not their primarily business all of these companies rely on Nokia which has experienced and professional engineers that support them with complete end-to-end ICT systems packages that meet the needs of the industry.

Governments are a big segment of Nokia's business market. NSN provides support of advanced telecommunications solutions for defense and security agencies. Among its products company offers public safety solutions, border security control systems and Ethernet. In August of 2011 NSN technologies were even certified for sales to the US government.

Chapter 8. Nokia Market Segmentation

Market Segmentation is a process of dividing a market into meaningful, relatively similar, and identifiable segments or groups. It helps the marketer to distinguish what marketing mix will be more appealing for a particular group of consumers. Segmentation approach helps in more effective strategic planning, because it helps utilize necessary resources and power in order to reach the ultimate sales. 

Nokia is one of the few global corporations that has been successfully practicing multisegment targeting. Nokia segment groups are separated by various number of variables. 

Geographic Segmentation. In terms of geography company is using regional approach to be able to appeal to the local population and gain their respect and trust. Nokia keeps opening its flagship stores all over the Asian and Middle Eastern rural regions to be able to bring their customers all the latest innovations and provide them with quality support services. 

Demographic Segmentation. Nokia has many mobile and smartphone devices to appeal to all the age categories (from kids to seniors), all income categories, different family cycles (singles and married couple households), people of different religions and occupations. Unlike Apple Nokia has a distinct recognition of women as a major target market. Almost every serie of phones comes in pink or gold color. Nokia Roxo was designed for women and young teenage girls. "Treat her like a lady" - a logo that stated that Nokia wants women to have their own phone and not just use a unisex device.

Psycographic Segmentation. Nokia products indulge the tastes of people of working class and corporate  CEO's. Different models of mobile devices appeal to customers with various lifestyles. For example, Nokia N79 was marketed as a sports phone thanks to a wireless heart monitor implemented from Polar. The wireless Polar Bluetooth WearLink heart rate belt helps monitor a heart rate along with a speed and distance while you are enjoying your jog. 

Benefit Segmentation. Most of the Nokia consumers have strong loyalty to the companies products because they are able to find the best quality for their money. Among benefits Nokia has to offer great power life, various number of applications for different needs and wants, durable and practical design. 

Because of the large number of consumers Nokia has to keep its target market excited with new releases. In such multisegment strategy cannibalization occurs very often. To slow this process Nokia is trying  launch new products by the region rather then globally. 

Various segmentation strategies made Nokia into a global phone manufacturer. Ability to meet the expectations of different buyers is the ultimate goal for the company.

Chapter 11. Developing New Products

Innovation is a key to success for a company that is involved in technology industry. New products are expected and often demanded by the consumers. How to indulge a public is a question to be answered by the Research and Development groups. These people dedicate most of their time collecting and analyzing data and creating new products to satisfy the consumers needs and wants. Investing in R&D is a ticket to new markets and opportunities for every company.

Nokia has 13 research centers worldwide, with 4 of them in the United States located in Berkley, Palo Alto, Hollywood and Cambridge. Each of the centers concentrates on different aspects of research. For instance, research centers in Bangalore and Nairobi are focused on the studying of the emerging target markets of India and Africa. On the other hand the Nokia RC in Cambridge UK develops nanotechnologies for mobile communications and ambient intelligence. The Hollywood RC runs research of social media, mixed reality experiences, user interaction models and the convergence of the Internet.

Nokia had entered the world of nanotechnology few years ago and recently we were introduced with a new concept of flexible, bendable phones. Nokia Morph and Nokia Human Form concept are sneak peeks of the future phones. They have flexible control features, charged from solar energy, super durable and versatile. Nokia Human Form concept represents a revolutionary device that is meant to erase the bar between humans and technology.


The new concepts are all about mobility in the new environment. Transition to the mass production of nano engineered phones is around the corner and Nokia seems to be on the right pass.


Nokia is dedicating a lot of time and effort in developing of new, better and more unique devices. Innovation is a necessary tool in today's highly comparative world of mobile devices.

Holiday Season for Nokia

The holiday season has begun. People are buying gifts for Christmas and New Years. Stores are putting out bright and festive decorations.

Even Nokia has something to offer its customers. A new release of Holiday Themes, Ringtones and Games from Nokia is available to the public. You can download them online, free of charge, because upcoming season is all about gifts. Nokia decided to show its appreciation to its current customers and bring the spirit of the holidays to their phones. Along with the themes you can also download season's greetings e-cards at my-meego.com, customize and send them to your family and friends.

Chapter 16. Nokia IMC

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) - is a careful coordination of all promotional messages for a product or a service to assure the consistency of messages at every contact point where a company meets the consumer.

Lets talk about Nokia's latest product release in terms of IMC. Nokia Lumia was introduced to the world as a first Windows phone and a first of a kind result of the Nokia/Microsoft partnership. The pre-introduction stage started long before the new phone was launched. Right after the announcement of the partnership both companies used series of media conferences and press releases to engage into a communication about the new smartphone. Stephen Elopes interviews left everyone wondering since little to nothing was said about the particular features of the devise. The purpose was to keep the public wondering and the press to make educated assumptions about the future of the Nokia. The public relations move sure made everyone excited and created great expectations in hearts of many customers. 

On October 26th, 2011 the introduction of the Nokia Lumia finally unwrapped the mystery. The audience was informed about the details on the design, features and durability of a new phone. The next stage took its start - company launched the new adds, the blogs appeared on the web featuring Lumia 800 and now the phone is everywhere. All of the promotional messages cary the same idea - Nokia Lumia is easy, fast and fun to use and this principle applies to everything: business apps, office and mail, contact list, surfing the web, navigation tools etc.

"Conversations by Nokia" (http://conversations.nokia.com/) - is a website that was created this year to inform public of innovations and news in Nokia world. It is companies greatest marketing promotional and public relations tool. The potential consumer does not only read the posts, he or she is also encouraged to engage into a conversation with the staff. "We want to create stories you want to comment on and share with other people. We’re always listening to your ideas, opinions and, yes, any complaints. Keep the feedback coming. It helps us do things better" - quote of the website developers. And of course, the website features all the introductory videos of a new Windows 7 Phone (http://conversations.nokia.com/2011/11/04/nokia-lumia-800-video-review-round-up/). It has a user's diary that presents a more personalized look at the product.

Nokia Lumia is still at its introductory stage, the videos had hit the YouTube and you can already like its Facebook page powered by Wikipedia. So far it is a number one selling smartphone in France. 

Chapter 10. Nokia's Product Concepts

Nokia has built its legacy around cell phones and smart phone devices. It all started in 1982 when Nokia introduced Mobira Senator - the first mobile phone. Then little by little the company started introducing a whole lines of new phones. Original Series were followed by 1000 - 9000 series where the 1000 models represented the line of ultrabasic/most affordable phones and 9000 - the communicator series that grew into Eseries cell phones - so called business optimized smartphones, that were developed mostly in 2005-2011 time frame. Almost simultaneously three Modern groups of cell phones were introduced into the market: Cseries (cell phones optimized for social networking and sharing), Nseries (advanced smart phone series that also included Tablets), Xseries (with focus on young people interested in music and entertainments). 


The latest smartphone product line is Lumia Windows Phones. It was introduced by Nokia and Microsoft on October 26, 2011. The first WP was launched in Europe and companies have many expectations for this new product. Nokia Lumia 800 will enter the US market in 2012 and will be selling at the price of $585. As an alternative for a lower price company has also introduced Lumia 710 with little less features on one hand but more reasonable price of $376 on the other hand. 


Aside from tangible products Nokia's product mix also contains Internet services and Software solutions. Ovi is an Internet service platform that provides Games, Maps, Media, Messaging, Music etc. for mobile devices, computers and can be accessed through the web. The service is currently undergoing re-branding and will appear under company's main brand name. Among solutions Nokia has to offer several concepts such as Nokia PC Suite - a software package that helps to establish interface between your mobile device and a computer that runs Microsoft OS.  Nokia Sports Tracker is another good example of software that allows cellphone users who are dedicated runners, joggers and cyclers to track their route, speed and timing while engaged in their favorite sports activity.


In conclusion, Nokia Corporation offers tangible and intangible spectrum of products. All its products are classified as both business and consumer oriented.

Company's product mix includes cell phones, smart phones, laptops, Tablets, Internet services and Software solutions. 

Chapter 18. Sales Promotion and Personal Selling by Nokia.

Nokia just announced the results of this year's third quarter sales report.  The numbers showed that the net sales for this period were EUR 8 980 million. 57% of this figure represent sales of mobile and smart devices. Lets have a better look at what helps the company to generate such profits.

Nokia sells most of its products via retailers, wholesalers and online Internet stores. Company does not invest in opening of new retail stores either due to the lack of profit or recession hardship. The company pushes its products with the popular service carriers from Verison, T-Mobile and AT&T in the US to the Orange, Life :), MTS in Europe and to the Aircel and China Mobile in Asia. Even though the manufacturer is willing to provide the retailers with all the necessary training about the product it has little to no influence on the consumer. For instance lack of companies retail stores in the US makes it harder for Nokia to compete with the growing force of the Apple Inc.

Nevertheless, Nokia is engaged in different activities for promotion of its products. The most common tools used by Nokia are rebates, coupons and loyalty programs. Mail in rebate and free shipping are offered to customers who are renewing their contracts and subscribing to particular service providers. Customers can receive Nokia's coupons and promotional codes from such websites as retailmenot.com or goodshop.com. By buying Nokia's products you can also contribute to some cause. Company promises to donate 4.5 % of the sale to charities, which makes costumers feel involved in making this world into a better place to live.

Nokia's loyalty program invites its customers to join Nokia's Club and receive assistants with any questions and concerns and be first ones to receive news on the recently launched devices and the future plans on innovation of companies products.

Even though Nokia is saying that they are on a way of a good improvement since 2008 (year of introduction of IPhone) I believe that the lack of personal selling is the milestone for the company. They are one step away from launching Windows Phone and the product of such magnitude will require a lot of customer support, which can be provided only at specialized stores.