Quality Management of Nokia Lumia - Case Study Example

Quality management-Nokia Lumia 800 Name of the Student: Name of the Instructor: Name of the course: Code of the course: Submission date: Executive summary The mobile phone industry has witnessed extensive expansion in the recent decades. This is epitomized by the fact that diverse products have been instigated into the market with both established firms like Samsung and new entrants competing to gain elevated market share which is fundamental for sustainable competitive advantage. This fact is best exemplified by Nokia which has been proactive in launching new products in the market aimed at regaining its declining market share in regard to smartphone production. This is evidenced by the launching of October, 2011 of Nokia Lumia 800 through a partnership with Microsoft to deliver industry leading smartphone embedded with extensive quality while using the windows phone operating system. Nonetheless, it is imperative to be cognizant of the fact that the robust channels and methods of communicating quality to the consumers have played an integral role in heightening the popularity of this product. This has been through robust advertisement mechanisms as exemplified by widespread use of the internet as well as the print media. Nokia has also extensively utilized the product’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP) through popularizing the slogan of ‘Easier, Faster Runner’ to communicate the quality of this product by the seller/suppliers. Events and the pricing strategy as well as packaging have also been key in communicating the sense of quality of Nokia Lumia 800. Table of Contents Executive summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Quality management-Nokia Lumia 800 4 Introduction 4 Advertisement 5 Use of a product’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP) 7 Pricing strategy 7 Events 9 Packaging 9 Product comparison 10 Conclusion 11 Referencing 11 Quality management-Nokia Lumia 800 Introduction It is an apparent fact that mobile technology has played a big role in changing the world. In fact, it has been pointed out that this technology has transformed the world more profoundly and quickly that any other innovation. A recent study cited in Lambeek (2009, p. 1) revealed that adding an extra amount of 10 mobile phones per 100 persons in a country which is typically developing elevates the economic growth in terms of Gross Domestic product by 0.8% per person. This has not only culminated in the massive growth of this industry but also elevated the level of competition among the players therein, all seeking to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. This has been the case for Nokia which has a simple mission of connecting people. According to Nokia website (2012, p.1), the main goal of the company is to build robust mobile products which will facilitate people all around the world to enjoy great efficiency and convenience. The primary challenge for this company is to achieve the aforementioned goal in an environment which is characterized by massive dynamism and competition. Perhaps one of the most novel innovations in the recent past by Nokia, in the efforts to attain the above goal has been the instigation of Nokia Lumia 800. This has been with the primary objective of generating creative products with unequalled scale in terms of brand identity, breadth of the product as well as geographical reach. With current presence in diverse countries around the globe, the introduction of Nokia Lumia 800 has played a fundamental role in not only increasing the connectivity of people but also countering the competition from other players in the market by Nokia. Nonetheless, it is imperative to be cognizant of the fact that its eventual success has been heavily embedded on how the quality of this product has been communicated by the sellers/suppliers in terms of advertising, sales channels, packaging, supplier-provided information on the internet among other tenets. Against this backdrop, this paper is a profound effort to explore the diverse ways in which the quality of Nokia Lumia 800 has been conveyed by the seller/suppliers. This is analyzed in the subsequent section. Advertisement This entails the mechanisms that Nokia has utilized to inform the consumers about Nokia Lumia 800 in relation to features, quality, price, outlets, quality, and merits above other brands in the market. The two predominant channels of advertisement which have used in this endeavors have been the internet and print media. In regard to the internet, Yannopoulo (2011, p.5) inferred that the internet has a massive influence on the pricing strategy of a firm in regard to increased suppliers, research in pricing, provision of more information to consumers among other merits. The Nokia website has been fundamental in informing the consumers about the quality and features, prices and international outlets of Nokia Lumia 800. Other user-generated content like YouTube and blogs have also played a major role, mostly while considering the segregated market among the youths. It is also imperative to note that the use of the internet in advertising has also increased the convenience of online shoppers by providing them with the quality information they need when purchasing the product. This is supported by Coughlan, Anderson, Stern and El-Ansary (2001, p. 17) who cited that one of the biggest merits associated with electronic shopping is that by allowing the consumers to shop in the comfort of their home, this increases the level of convenience and the communication of quality to consumers by the seller. Similarly, print media coupled with word of mouth has been fundamental in disseminating information to consumers in regard to Nokia Lumia 800. The print advertisement has entailed the use of printed material like newspapers, flyers and magazines which have given the seller/suppliers an ideal chance to explain the where, why and when the consumers can purchase the product, both at the national and regional level. On the other hand, word of mouth promotion has been spearheaded by the satisfied customers who inform prospective consumers about the merits of Nokia Lumia 800 above other competing products in the market. Use of a product’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP) In instances when diverse manufacturers want to communicate value to the consumers, they usually choose the message strategies suiting their market and works best for them. In this regard, Tanner and Raymond (2011, p. 244) determined that smart organizations usually determine the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) of a product, or generally, the particular merits that the consumers will remember, thus communicating quality and value to them. Nokia Lumia 800’s slogan of ‘Easier, Faster Runner’ is a good example of an ideal example of a unique selling proposition that Nokia has used. This is coupled with ‘One glance to see what everyone has been upto’ which communicates the efficiency and convenience of this product. The use of this USP has played an integral role in prompting the consumers to think about the wide alley of things that they can do when they use the Nokia Lumia 800 in terms of features and quality as opposed to other products in the market. This has been prudent in communicating the quality of the product to the consumers by the supplier/seller. Pricing strategy Nokia has utilized a pricing strategy combination to communicate the quality of Nokia Lumia 800 to the consumers. These are explored below. Value-based pricing: This is founded on the perception of the buyer in regard to the value as opposed to the cost of the product. This perception is determined by all thefeatures of the product which include those not related to price, for instance, prestige and quality. This has triggered the willingness of the buyer to pay for the product in consideration of the latter aspects as opposed to the price. This has been key in communicating the quality of Nokia Lumia 800 to the consumers. Discount: This is founded on the reduction of the advertised price aimed at increasing the popularity of the product in the market. In partnership with mobile phone providers (store finder), Nokia has outlined diverse locations where the consumers can find outstanding deals and discounts on the latest Nokia phone and accessories, including Nokia Lumia 800. These mobile phone providers have a wide global market share in diverse regions in the world, and thus ideal platforms for information dissemination by the supplier to the consumers. On the other hand, Nokia has formed a formidable strategic partnership with Microsoft with the sole aim of regaining the lost ground in the smartphone market. Based on the widespread reputation of Microsoft in software production, Nokia has been successful in creating a perception of quality applications in Nokia Lumia 800 after extensive utility of robust languages like c-sharp in Nokia Lumia 800 mobile applications development. Nokia has thus utilized the Microsoft platform to inform the consumers about the quality of Nokia Lumia 800 in suiting the specific consumer needs by expounding on the efficiency and convenience of the mobile applications embedded therein. Thus, partnering with Microsoft to deliver industry leading smartphones embedded with extensive quality while using the windows phone OS saw great success with the launch of Nokia Lumia 800 (Nokia Sustainability Report, 2011, p. 4). Interplay between the above factors has seen the increased popularity of Nokia Lumia 800 in diverse market segments. Events Diverse events have also played a fundamental role in communicating the quality of Nokia Lumia 800 to the consumers. This is best epitomized by Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (27th February-1st January, 2012). According to Nokia website (2012, p. 1), this event was prudent in showing the developers on how to take the subsequent steps with the Nokia Lumia ranges through designing and developing apps for more extensive reach. This event was a vital channel of showing different developers the unique features and quality of Nokia Lumia 800 which will be eventually be trickled down to prospective consumers. Other agendas in this event included GSMA mWomen Seminar: Targeting the Women’s Segment in Emerging Markets, Mobile OS and Application among others. This event was fundamental in communicating the quality of Nokia Lumia 800 among other products from Nokia to diverse stakeholders and market segments. Packaging Diverse literature, for instance, Kotler, (2004) and Kotler et al., (2005) have pointed to the fact that packaging as a tool of communication is becoming more and more imperative based on the factors related to heightening self-service at the different point-of-sale and the increasing complexity of needs of service in relation to the products. Nokia has greatly embraced a creative strategy in the packaging of Nokia Lumia 800 which has communicated the perception of quality to the consumers by the supplier/seller. This product is wrapped in a durable, attractive package which depicts a sense of quality of the product and thus the consumers are assured of great value for their money. Product comparison This will be based on rating scale of the quality of Nokia Lumia 800 with three other competing products in the industry. The competing products are Samsung Omnia, Motorola ATRIX 2 and Huawei Ascend D Ite. This rating scale will be from 1-5 under three quality determining factors. Nokia Lumia 800 Processing speed 1 2 3 4 5 Internal storage capacity 1 2 3 4 5 Battery capacity 1 2 3 4 5 Samsung Omnia Processing speed 1 2 3 4 5 Internal storage capacity 1 2 3 4 5 Battery capacity 1 2 3 4 5 Motorola ATRIX 2 Processing speed 1 2 3 4 5 Internal storage capacity 1 2 3 4 5 Battery capacity 1 2 3 4 5 Huawei Ascend D Ite Processing speed 1 2 3 4 5 Internal storage capacity 1 2 3 4 5 Battery capacity 1 2 3 4 5 Conclusion From the above discourse, it is apparent that suppliers/seller of Nokia Lumia 800 has used diverse strategies to communicate the quality of the product in the market. The robust advertisement strategies exemplified by heightened internet use in websites, user-generated content like YouTube and blogs as well as the print media have played an integral role in communicating the quality of the product. In addition, this product is endowed with an attractive and durable packaging method which portrays a sense of quality in the product. This is coupled with diverse corporate events and pricing strategies which have greatly boosted the quality popularity of Nokia Lumia 800 in the market. Referencing Coughlan, AT., Anderson, E., Stern, LW. & El-Ansary AI, 2001, Marketing Channels, 6th edn, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Kotler, P., 2004, Marketing Management, (11th ed.), Pearson – Prentice Hall, Milano. Kotler, P., Wong V., Saunders & Armstrong G., 2005, Principles of Marketing, Pearson-Prentice Hall London. Lambeek, A., 2009, ‘Mobile technology: Driving change andopportunity in developing countries’, International Trade Forum, no. 3, pp. 26-27. Nokia website, 2012, Retrieved 31st July, 2012, . Nokia Sustainability Report, 2011, ‘Nokia Sustainability Report 2011 Overview’Retrieved 31st July, 2012, Tanner, J. & Raymond, M. 2011, Principles of Marketing and Business Communication, Flat World Knowledge, Inc., Irvington, NY. Yannopoulo, P., 2011, Impact of the Internet on Marketing Strategy Formulation, International Journal of Business and Social Science, vol. 2, no. 18, pp. 1-7. . Read More