Literature Review on

“Nokia’s Marketing Strategy in India”

INDEX

Topics Page No.

1. Introd
uction
4
2. About
the
compa
ny
Nokia
5

3. Nokia
in
India
7
4. SWOT
Analys
is 10
5. Market
ing
Strateg
y 12
5.1 Product 13
5.2 Pricing 16
5.3 Place 18
5.4 Promotion 21
6. Produc
t Life
Cycle
27
7. Conclu
sion
30
8. Recom
menda
tions
32
9. Biblio
graphy
34
 Introduction

Day by day, mobile phones are turning into more of necessity then a luxury.
The benefits of the mobile phone are far too many. Ease of communication, the
anywhere, anytime contact - with friends, relations, colleagues and in theory at
least the efficiency brought to busy lives (Web 21). Nokia’s growth in India has
been substantial. They have led the market with 70% share for long time now.
What is interesting is that there is further scope of improvement in sales. It is a
high technology market and India being developing country, will see more and
more subscribers to this technology in the future.
This research aims at studying the strategies applied by Nokia in India, the
product life cycle of nokia products and the conclusions drawn therein.

About Nokia

Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) is one of the world's largest telecommunications

equipment manufacturers. With headquarters in Keilaniemi of Espoo, Finland, this
Finnish telecommunications company is best known today for its leading range of
mobile phones. Nokia also produces mobile phone infrastructure and other
telecommunications equipment for applications such as traditional voice telephony,
ISDN, broadband access, professional mobile radio, voice over IP, wireless LAN and a
line of satellite receivers.
 Nokia provides mobile communication equipment for every major market and
protocol, including GSM, CDMA, and WCDMA. Nokia was established in 1865 as a
wood-pulp mill by Fredrik Idestam on the banks of Nokia rapids. Finnish Rubber
Works established its factories in the beginning of 20th century nearby and began using
Nokia as its brand. Shortly after World War I Finnish Rubber Works acquired Nokia
wood mills as well as Finnish Cable Works, a producer of telephone and telegraph
cables. All three companies were merged as Nokia Corporation in 1967. The name
Nokia originated from the river which flowed through the town of the same name
(Nokia).

In the 1970s Nokia became more involved in the telecommunications industry by

developing the Nokia DX 200, a digital switch for telephone exchanges. In the
1980s, Nokia offered a series of personal computers called MikroMikko [1],
however, these operations were sold to International Computers, Ltd. (ICL), which
was later merged with Fujitsu-Siemens AG.

Nokia also began developing mobile phones for the NMT network; unfortunately,
the company ran afoul of serious financial problems in the 1990s and streamlined its
manufacturing of mobile phones, mobile phone infrastructure, and other
telecommunications areas, divesting itself of other items, such as televisions and
personal computers. In 2004, Nokia resorted to similar streamlining practices with
layoffs and organizational restructuring, although on a significantly smaller scale.
Recently, Nokia joined other mobile phone manufacturers to embrace Taiwanese
Original Device Manufacturers.

Nokia’s Vision:
Their ‘Connecting People’ tagline states their vision to create a world where
everybody is connected every moment, everywhere and at any time. Their goal
is to build great mobile products that enable billions of people worldwide to
enjoy more of what life has to offer. Their challenge is to achieve this in an
increasingly dynamic and competitive environment.
Nokia in India
Nokia has been the pioneer of mobile telephony in India, the existence here is
from 1994. As noted above, the first ever GSM call in India was made on a
Nokia 2110 on its own network. Although the conditions in Indian telecom
industry were not very conducive, Nokia maintained an aggressive strategy.
Import of mobile phones was not easy and the tariff applied on them was as
high as 27%. Consumers too were not interested in purchasing mobile phones as
call rates were as high as Rs16 per minute ($0.40).
Another problem faced by Nokia was highly competitive environment in the
industry. Powerful global players like Motorola, Siemens, Sony and
Ericsson already had their presence in India in consumer durables, electronics
and engineering sectors, and hence were aware conditions
prevailing in Indian market.
The industry got a new life in 1999, when the Government of India
announced a new telecom policy. The plan was to provide telephones on
demand by 2002. A major point of the policy was to allow unrestricted private
entry into almost all mobile service sectors. The mobile service providers were
allowed to share their infrastructures with other operators. It also helped the
private operators to break even faster by allowing them to migrate from fixed
license to one-time entry fee with revenue sharing.

However, by 2001, there was steady increase in the demand for mobile services.
The private companies concentrated on providing basic telephonic services to
consumers. By 2002, the industry was on a high, and with the popularity of
mobile phones the customers started demanding better services and lower
prices. This led to new innovations and come out with better products.
 Nokia’s manufacturing facility in Chennai, Tamil Nadu (South India)
exports half its production to more than 59 countries. Nokia has invested $250
million since its launch in 2006. However, overcoming all odds, Nokia India
came out as the market leader with 49.3% share in 2010 and still continues to
lead with 39%in 2011 (Indu P., 2005) (Web 4). Asia is the fastest growing
market for Nokia. Competitors such as Samsung, Motorola and Sony Ericsson
have captured huge market shares. The consumer is going for high technology
at reasonable prices. They respect any provider who gives the best combination
of both. Nokia has retained the top spot for quite some time in India

Nokia's key strategy has always been to lead the market on the
basis of technology as it has always held. The difference it holds is the
capability to be more sensitive to the people with lower purchasing power
which hold the major share of these growing and developing countries market.

The Korean mobile phone company Samsung is quickly growing its market
share during the last few years. It reported a revenue growth of 21.7% during
last year as against Nokia’s flat revenue growth. Nokia’s revenue during 2011
was Rs 12929 cr against Rs 12900 cr during 2010.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths:
 Experience – 142 years of History
 Strong Financial Support for R&D
 Largest Network of Selling and Distribution
 Strong Customer Relation
 Wide Range of Product for all class
 High Resale Value compared to other competitors
 Durability
 Long Battery Life
 User Friendly
 Global Expansion

Weakness:
 NGage is a flop
 Low Voice Quality
 Less Stylish in low priced products.
 Heavy Sets
 Market Skimming Prices of High Sets
 Unlike I-Phone, N97 is complex, tough and not user friendly.

Opportunities:
 Increase their presence in the CDMA market, is still dominated by LG,
also concentrate on 3G and Edge
 New growth markets where cell phone adoption still has room to go,
including India and other countries.
 Other Hand Held Devices
 Improvise on Quality of Camera
 Mini Notebooks

Threats:
 China Mobiles – it has made exact copy of Nokia N96
  Cheap and Wide Range Models from Motorola
 I-phone Apple – A fierce competitor for Nokia N97.

Marketing Strategy
Marketing strategy of a company in a new country plays a vital role in
determining its future in that country. Knowing that Indian market is very
different from other markets it was already operating in, Nokia came up with an
India–specific strategy or a glocal strategy. It adapted to the Indian conditions
by launching new products and enhancing the products with features designed
specifically for local customers, as well as promotional campaigns targeted at
Indian audience to gain a foothold in the market. To capture the widespread
Indian market, it developed an extensive distribution network which also helped
it take its products to rural markets in India. Here, to discuss the strategy, we
consider the simple concept of 4 P’s, namely; product (customization), price,
place (distribution) and promotion.
PRODUCT:
1998 was 51st year of Indian independence, hence Nokia provided the ring tone
of National son “Saare Jahan se Achha ye Hindustan Hamara” in 5110 model.
The introductory offer for this model also had inter-changeable covers. The
success of 5110 initiated Nokia to focus on feature-specific localization. In1999,
Hindi (national language, and mother tongue of 43% Indians) user interface was
provided in Nokia 3210. Also, Nokia also tied up with Sony music for top 20 hit
songs as ring tones. Nokia 3210, became an instant hit. The model 3610 was
launched with an enhancing Hindi text messaging facility in 2001.
The most successful customization came in 2003 when Nokia came with
1100 and 1108 specifically designed for Indian market. It had features of anti-
slip grip, dust resistance and torchlight. Since, in India people don’t know
English in villages, Nokia came up with “Saral Mobile Sandesh” (SMS in
Hindi). Nokia sales increased from 58.2% in July 2003 to 59.6% in July 2004.
Nokia was also the first handset manufacturer to launch games
download in India in 2003. It had spearheaded the industry in online distribution
of tones, graphics and game downloads. These services did not just increase
their sale of mobile phones but were also fruitful as they made huge profits by
selling the games. In 2005, Nokia also launched games based on Indian
mythology namely ‘Makhan chor’ and

‘Swayamvar’. Both were arcade games involving two most of the famous
characters namely, Lord Krishna and Arjun.
Another feature that Nokia came up with attract youth was one which
enabled the customer to slide in his or her photograph or for that matter the
loved ones,' in the picture frame behind the phone. This was a part of Nokia
2112 model (CDMA), wherein the message is clear-personalize your phone.
Earlier they had a similar feature in GSM handset Nokia 2100. "We have made
a personality statement through the campaign. The feel of the campaign is such
that it would evoke a 'sense of being,'" said Sanjay Behl, Head of Marketing,
Nokia India. Menon, M. (2005)
Nokia also tied up with Bharti cellular in 2005 to customize its handsets
through which its users could access multimedia services by using an additional
key on the mobile phone. Also since many FM channels were introduced in
India in early 2000’s, Nokia banked on the opportunity by coming with FM
phones attracting a lot of youth. Later on in 2005, Nokia came with SMS
services in other Indian languages including Marathi, Tamil, Bengali and
Kannada.

In November 2007, Nokia came with Bollywood classic movie

‘Sholay’ preloaded in N95 8GBand N81. This gave opportunity to
cinema buffs to now watch the movie Sholay on the go. The N series is a
multimedia sub-brand of Nokia. "It is one of the biggest blockbusters

that the Hindi film industry has churned out. There could have been no
better option than this flick, which is liked by every age group equally," said
Vineet Taneja, business director of multimedia, Nokia India. (Web 11)
In another attempt to give India handsets which will enable them to use
more features, Nokia is in process of making cheap GPRS enabled handset. In
this handset, the users can surf the net at a very reasonable price. Again
targeting the low and middle income class, who are interested in using the new
facilities available. "We are planning to bring internet access to all the masses
in India through our low-cost handsets... the company is working diligently
towards it," said Nokia's Senior Vice President - Entry Business Unit (Mobile
Phones Business Group) Soren Peterson in an interview. (Web 13)

PRICING:
Pricing of the phones was of prime importance for success in India. Being a
developing country, the purchasing power of the people was not high as
compared to other developed countries. Research unveiled that phones of lower
price range (below Rs8000 or $200 approx.) amounted for 65% of the total sales
in India. Nokia depended majorly on rural market, therefore, pricing was a
major success factor for the company. Nokia did achieve success in India, in
spite of the fact, that its handsets were not the cheapest in the market.
Nokia 1100, which was specially launched for India, was priced at Rs.
4000. This price, although was at a premium as compared to entry level phones,
but was enhanced with several special features which were not available in
other phones of the same price. The head of marketing at Nokia India, Sanjay
Behl said, “The phone is a combination of product benefits and pricing” (Web
14). This model further became the best selling model ever in India. It also
increased the brand preference of Nokia from 66% to 77% within 9 months of
its launch. This show how nature of Indian consumer is value sensitive. The
major strategical move by Nokia in this regard was that it charged a lower price
in India than most of other countries for the same model.

Nokia's current pricing strategy is based on 2 main theories:

1. Penetration pricing- although this strategy is usually for
companies that are trying to gain instant market share in a new
market, companies who are already well known in the market still
do it with new products that carry new technologies so they can
take more market share from their competitors.

2. Competitor based pricing- this is used when there is a lot of

competition in the market and a company is looking to take another
companies market share by offering the same or similar products
for a lower price, this happens a lot in the communications market
and this strategy is used by every mobile phone producing company
that is still in business.
Nokia's pricing strategy has proven very effective, this is down to
the fact that they first sell their products for high prices and have
very limited sales but make big profits on each sale, they then lower
the price of their product and have lots more sales but they make less
profit, but they still make a large profit due to the amount of sales,
the other reason that they are so successful is that they offer high
quality products and they sell them for the same price and sometimes
even lower prices than the competition and have now built up the
highest market share, they currently have 37.2% of the mobile phone
market share.

PLACE:
Mobile phones in India are considered as to be consumer durable, hence they
are not just sold through exclusive telecom retailers but also through general
retailers. Nokia designed modelled its distribution strategy on lines of FMCG
business.
An important reason for the success of mobile phones in India was
limited reach of the landline phones in several parts of the country. By mid
2005 the mobile phone sales in smaller towns and cities was higher than those
of the metropolitans. The sales in these urban markets were beginning to
saturate. The distribution in these small towns called for non traditional
channels. Nokia strengthened their distribution network, and selected
distributors from FMCG line or experience holders for durables or automobiles.
In fact, about a fifth of the mobile phone sales in India were consumer durables
or service providers’ shops.
In 1995, Nokia tied up with HCL Infinet for sales and distribution
of its phones and appointed them as Nokia distributor for GSM handsets in
India. HCL Infinet provided a complete range of Nokia’s GSM mobile phones,
data products and mobile services. The retail network they developed was very
strong and dedicated. They came up with Nokia Professional Centres (NPCs),
Nokia Priority Dealers (NPDs) and redistribution stockiest all over India. NPCs
were one stop shops for the complete range of Nokia mobile phones, batteries,

chargers, accessories, covers, hands free kits and car kits amongst
others. It also provided the after sales services for Nokia’s handsets. NPCs were
multi brand retails outlets with 60% of their area dedicated to Nokia. While
redistribution stockists were for supplying handsets across India.
 HCL also came with Nokia Care Centres (NCCs) for providing solutions to
mobile related problems. These were spread all over the country and provided
phone repairing software up-gradation services. They also displayed complete
range mobile phones, data products and complete mobile phones accessories.
Another effective concept that Nokia up with in 2005, was that of
Nokia Concept Store in Bangalore in south India. It was located in the city
centre, MG Road. “This concept store is being set up with an objective to
provide Indian consumer with a truly enhanced mobility experience through its
cast and exciting range of Nokia products and mobile accessories. We are keen
to lead a unique mobile retailing experience for consumers through these touch
points” Sanjay Behl, Head Marketing, Nokia India (Web 15). Details as per
Nokia website are given below.
Nokia Concept Store in Bangalore was the country's first concept store in
India to provide customers a complete experiential mobile experience. The store
measures approximately 2,000 square feet and is

designed to reflect the design ethic of the Nokia brand. The layout and
design of the store follows the same pattern as Nokia Concept Stores around the
world to guarantee an easy and informative shopping experience. With a
simple-to-navigate setup, open doorways and low-glare lighting, the store
provides a relaxed and satisfying customer experience. The high-tech display
terminals and dedicated areas for Imaging, Smart, Multimedia, Business and
Entry phones make it easy for the public to keep up to date on the latest
technologies and trends in the mobile industry.
Nokia today has eight Nokia 'Concept stores' in Bangalore, Delhi,
Jaipur, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Chennai and Indore” (Web 12).
Nokia kept its promise of enhancing the mobile experience of its customers. In
October 2007, they launched the first 'global format' Nokia Concept Store in
Western India at Indore. The state-of-the-art Nokia Concept Store will provide
mobile phone consumers in Indore a world class interactive and informative
shopping experience, allowing them to get a first-hand experience before
making a purchase decision.
Nokia’s vast distribution network covered almost every city or town where
mobile network was available.
PROMOTION:
Nokia entered India with one for mobile services to start, and had to establish its
non-popular brand. To build credentials the company used both print and
television campaigns. In the early days, print media concentrated on Nokia’s
status, global R&D and international awards won to establish brand awareness.
Even after the market grew, Nokia’s advertisements concentrated on product
attributes.
Gaining acceptance of Indian consumer is not as simple as other
countries. India is a multicultural country, where people have strong believe in
their mythology, nationality and cultures and to add to it, their purchasing
power was not as high as other countries where Nokia was operating. Hence, to
achieve approval of the mobile consumers in India, Nokia decided to localize its
products heavily. For the purpose of developing the products specifically for
markets with high population and low penetration, Nokia developed a team
called Mobile Entry Business Unit.
Until 2003, Nokia used all their international advertisements with slight
modifications in India. For instance, the advertisement for NGAGE showed two
young persons getting bored stuck in traffic jam and then they show them
combat with super natural powers. It showed how NGAGE could help them
pass their time. But it did not have a very good affect on the Indian audience as
they could not relate themselves to the people over there. There was needed to
make special advertisements for India.

Nokia India marked its special presence in advertisement world with

‘Made for India’ ad campaign on the launch of Nokia 1100 . This was the fourth
advertisement created in India but created maximum stir in the industry. The
advertisement showed that the Nokia 1100 was launched first in India and
addressed all the concerns of Indian consumers. The advertisement made a clear
deviation from hitherto hip urban-focused advertisements that Nokia are known
for. It aimed at highlighting the broad appeal of mobile phones across all socio-
economic segments of India. The aim was to highlight Nokia’s Indian image.
Analysts believed that Nokia would lose the top end consumers who
attached lot of importance to mobile phones as a style statement. Sanjeev
Sharma, Managing Director, Nokia Mobile Phones India, said “No, not in the
least does the latest piece o communication create dissonance in the minds of
consumers with regard to Nokia’s brand image. The technology driven ads have
created a rub-off on the entire Nokia range. And fashion and lifestyle products
create a desire at all levels, be it the first-time urban or rural user.” (Dixit,
2004). The advertisement was a success, and Nokia 1100 went on to become
best seller not just in India but also worldwide.
The major reason for handset was, Nokia was expecting exponential
growth in small towns and rural areas. The company planned to build brand
loyalty amongst this segment.

They conducted research to get to know the needs and concerns of the users of
this segment. As Sanjeev Sharma said, “One of the things we found out was that
the torch is of high value. Besides that a major concern was dust… People
feared that dust might penetrate through the gaps of their keypad, and that
explains the extensive use of handset covers in India. Another major concern
was the grip of the phone, because of the climatic conditions in this country
people usually have sweaty palms, and therefore the, what if the handset slips?”

One advertisement that Nokia made in 2000 was a public interest advertisement,
urging users to switch off their cell phones while watching movies. It showed a
clip where hero picks up an argument with person sitting in front row in a
movie theatre. One of the advertisements was for Nokia 2280 which was
offered in bundle with reliance mobile connection. This was a simple one which
educated the audience of availability of cheap handset with bundled airtime.
Cricket is considered a religion in India. Nokia has had a strong
association with the sport through its advertisements. In an advertisement
released during cricketing season of 2003, a cricket fan was watching cricket
with his daughter and a prospective groom walks in, the father throws the ball to
him, which he is unable to catch. The dejected young lad starts to walk away,
just then the television gets blank. The enthusiast fan is frantically trying to find
the score. The boy

gets a message of latest score update on his Nokia mobile phone, impressing the
father. The advertisement targeted the middle class youth of India. Recently,
Nokia sponsored the ICC World Twenty20 2007 in South Africa. To its luck,
India won the world cup and this format of the game was an instant hit in India.
Nokia also telecast its advertisements during big sports events like FIFA world
cup, ICC world cup etc. To get the maximum eyeballs for all the
advertisements, they make sure that the ad-films are interesting and
sophisticated.
Nokia also does on-line marketing a lot. You can see Nokia pop-ups or
as-boxed on various websites whenever they launch a new product. They also
have tie-ups with many online retailing websites. These websites market and
sell Nokia products as a part of the deal. Recently launched x2 was heavily
advertised online on various websites. Nokia have tie-up with Google and other
advertising agencies.

Another successful, India-specific campaign was the one where

phones with Saral Mobile Sandesh (Hindi SMS) were promoted. It targeted the
rural India, where mobile penetration is low. The advertisement showed a
postman giving a mobile to a girl which was sent to her by her brother so that
she can exchange Hindi SMSes with her brother. It was an audience specific
advertisement and encouraged the use of Hindi SMS amongst the rural
population.

Nokia was not the market leader in coloured handsets. To regain its share, it
came up with advertisement ‘Har Jeb mei Rang’ (colour in every pocket) for
Nokia 2600. It was a very colourful advertisement, showing colours spreading
out of Nokia phone. It showed the idea of color spreading happiness in every
life. Nokia came up with some good advertisements around the end of 2007.
One of them starring the superstar of Hindi cinema, Shah Rukh Khan calling
Nokia as his friend
and companion for 10 years.

Nokia followed model-specific advertising for most part.

Different advertisements were made for each model of Nokia, making it easy to
target the specific audience, which will demand that model. Even different
media was used according to the audience. Nokia even faced the problem of
brand identification in the early stages as there were no specific signs
suggesting that it was an advertisement from Nokia. Nokia India sets a national
record certified by the Limca Book of Records 2012 for organizing the largest
gathering of twins in India at a single venue. ‘Nokia’s Twins Day Out’, a first-
of-its-kind festival organised to unveil Nokia’s new dual SIM phones Nokia C2-
00 and Nokia X1-01 – saw the presence of 63 pairs of twins of different age
groups under one roof on June4, 2011 in New Delhi.

Nokia ran a digital and radio campaign for about four weeks inviting the twins
in the city to launch the new Nokia dual SIM phones and become Nokia’s
Brand Ambassadors for a day. The festival saw the presence of twins aged
between 15 months to 48 years enjoying themselves as they participated in
games and various fun activities organized by Nokia. The event was especially
designed and themed around ‘the twin power’.
PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE OF NOKIA PRODUCTS
 Development: When mobile phones were first introduced they were low
quality technology (bad reception, poor reliability and had a short battery
life), high priced (around £100 for a basic model) and consumers had to
be persuaded to buy mobile telephones, as they were not yet established
as a necessity. When products are first released, companies can expect
high promotion fee's as the public are probably not yet familiar with the
product. Also when mobile phones were first released they were bulky
and hard
to use, as product design and development are a key figure in success,
Nokia had to design phones that were smaller and simpler for consumers
to use. As people had paid a lot for earlier, more primitive products they
were obviously not going to pay the same high prices for later products so
Nokia had to develop phones that could be sold for less and would last
longer, this is where companies can expect to pay high production costs.
Nokia typically gives a seven day window to its exclusive stores
which showcase the product and create the required hype.

 Growth: Sales are high and margin contributions are quite good. The
product would probably be the category leader and demand would be
high. In the growth stage of the product life cycle,

companies can expect advertising and promotional costs to be as

high as in the introduction stage as more companies will enter the market
and competition for market share will increase. Advertising is a proven
way of promoting technological advanced within a market. The growth
 stage is also the stage that companies will start to make a profit, based on
good market research and a strong sense of branding and a successful
marketing scheme. In the growth stage profit isn't the only thing that will
start to develop, as there are more companies in the market it is obvious
that more technology will be developed and that will drive prices higher,
this is how companies start to make profits. Consumers have accepted
the product, in Nokia's case, mobile phones, as a necessity they will be
more willing to pay higher prices for new phones that emerge in the
market.

 Maturity: When a product enters the maturity stage, advertising and

promotional prices should decrease, as consumers are more aware of the
product and will research new additions to the market instead of being
told what is new. During this stage Nokia creates a product platform
depending on the success of the product and would introduce an
extension with mere cosmetic changes but at different price points.

 Decline: At this point phone sales will be decreasing and promotion and
advertising costs will start to rise again as companies fight for the
remaining market share and struggle
to make a profit. Once the new introduction has increased in terms of
volume and value contribution, its predecessor would eventually be
phased out. If a company has entered decline it needs to look at the
S.W.O.T forms of analysing their market strategy
However Nokia also prolongs a products maturity stage by introducing new
packaging, colour or even enhancements and accessories
 Product Life Cycle of Nokia in India

CONCLUSION:
 With the launch of Nokia in the Indian Market it followed an aggressive
marketing campaign through constant advertisements on television and
newspapers. Its tag line “Connecting People” states connecting people
near and far in various geographical locations with the help of a Nokia
mobile. An impressive strategy by Nokia was to flood the Indian mobile
market with various mobile models so that Indian mobile enthusiasts can
find mobile handsets which suit their requirements and life style. With the
help of this strategy Nokia captured the Indian market and became the
household name and one of the most preferred brands in the
country. Unique Taglines of Nokia mobiles
 I – capture moments – first Nokia handset 7650i to feature camera, “I”
referred to camera 
 Made in India – used for the handset Nokia 1100 and this was the first
mobile to feature a torch on a mobile’s top the advertising strategy was
aimed at the low end consumer 
 Mobile Phones no longer for talking – this campaign was used for the re-
launch of handset Nokia 6600 it simply defined all gaps mobiles have
bridged in terms of technology advancements, distance coverage and
 entertainment and conveyed that mobiles are no longer a device only to
talk. 
 A New Life – this was used for Nokia N series (handsets) and became an
instant hit 

 Nokia’s strategy combined focusing on mobile market, establishing

crucial distribution partnerships, making early investments in
manufacturing and brand building and constantly came up with
innovative products.
 Nokia followed the “First Mover Advantage” strategy and constantly
bought mobiles with new designs, features and technology and targeted
the right customer segment, it provided value-for-money to its users and a
robust brand loyalty for Nokia mobiles was witnessed. Key feature of all
Nokia mobile was standardized operation in mobile without any
complexity in functions which made the mobile user friendly.
 Nokia was ahead of its Competitors since its inception rivals like Sony
Ericsson, Motorola and Samsung were not able to penetrate the mobile
market due to complex mobile function and lack of promotional activity
thus succumbing to Nokia’s aggressive marketing strategy and letting
Nokia successfully capture the Indian mobile market.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
I have found out some areas where Nokia should emphasise more so that it
continues to be the market leader and have an edge over its competitors. These
include further focus on – 

1) Product competitiveness: -
 The products of Nokia should be superior or at least at par with the
competitors’ regarding technology, designing and features etc.
 2) Customer satisfaction: -
 Nokia should come up with more value added products and effective after-sales
services i.e., service centres should be well-equipped to handle customer
concerns and there should be proper co-ordination between them. It should
focus on customization to gain greater customer satisfaction.

3) Research and Development: -

In order to retain the position of a market leader Nokia should incorporate the
latest technological innovations into their handsets and should put stress on
further development.

4) Demand and Supply: -

A strong demand and supply network should be established for smooth
availability of products to the customers. So that the customers get the product
as and when they require it.

5) End to End capability: -

Stress should be given on end to end capability by integrating mobile devices
applications and infrastructure. Efficient, manufacturing, logistics and high
quality products and services should be maintained