This is what I get for taking a few days rest on the weekend. Darla has found a fantastic freakin blog called Phoneboy, by a guy who works at Nokia, though apparently not directly with handsets. However, he’s recently had the freakin amazing opportunity to ask some top-brass about the lack of presence in the US market, spurred by Tommi’s post (quoting my rant about the same thing).
What’s fascinating is that he was given the same BS about Carrier Customization and blah blah blah. I realize that there’s some truth to that, American carriers are notorious for requiring nasty customization, to the extreme with Verizon, who puts their own whole UI on the phones. However, I think that excuse totally misses the point, and that’s what Phoneboy thought as well. What’s funny is that the conclusion he comes to is the EXACT same thing that I wished for as my 2007 New Years’ Wish, and to my knowledge he doesn’t even read my blog. In fact NO ONE read my blog back then, lol. Read on for my recipe using the 4 P’s of Marketing to save Nokia’s US market share….
Here’s the big one: Nokia keeps saying they have to work with the Carriers. The problem with that statement is that obviously, SOMETHING’S not working. So I (and Phoneboy) suggest that Nokia go with the direct-to-consumer retail route. However, the argument here is that they might trash their relationship with the carriers by doing that.
My response is WHO CARES? In my opinion, the relationship with the carriers was already trashed by the fact that they can’t get a phone out. And once they do, for instance, the E62, Cingular went and crippled the java, so you can’t run popular apps like Google Maps Mobile without having to *constantly* tell the phone it’s ok for the app to access the internet. What a waste.
So we’re back to alternative distribution methods. If you look back at my New Years’ post, I point out that Nokia is the best situated of all the manufacturers for a direct-to-consumer retail stance. And they still are.
So here’s my suggested recipe for getting Nokia’s market share back to #1 in the US, using the 4 P’s of Marketing (Product, Price, Place (distribution) and Promotion):
1. Promotion – First and foremost is going to have to be consumer education. You need to teach consumers that it’s ok to not buy their phone from the Carrier, and that (as long as they have a SIM card) they can just pop it in and ALL their services will work. Now, you might say, "wait, that’s going to draw people away from the CDMA carriers." Correct, but seeing as how Qualcomm is currently the enemy, and the CDMA carriers COULD have used R-UIMs and didn’t, I’d say that’s more their problem than Nokia’s.
So back the consumer education. This needs to be TV ads, print, and actual demonstrations (including knowledgable salespeople) at the soon-to-be-mentioned retail outlets. This is the "Promotion" part of the recipe.
2. Place – Retail Outlets – you absolutely cannot advertise something that’s not currently (or soon) available to purchase. It’s just dumb. That’s why when Apple announces something new (usually) they also say "and this is available on our online store immediately, with retail to follow soon." You have to have your product out there for people to purchase. Given this, here’s the five "Places":
1. Flagship Stores – there’s already 2 of these and they’re big successes. Let’s see some more. If you want to keep with the high-end locations, fine. But let’s get some more built.
2. Experience Centers – I’ve harped on this before. These things have such wasted potential. I should take some pictures of them. They’ve got a row of phones in the middle, all live and powered up for you to play with. And they’ve got a full PC all wired up so you can demo the XpressPrint feature. Only problems are:
a. outdated phones – the one in the Dallas Galleria still has the 6170 on display. Really? That’s what you want to showcase?
b. no storage – easy fix, install some cabinets under the bar or along one wall
c. no cash drawer – easy fix, install one under the CPU of the PC.
3. CompUSA – yes, they’re closing a bunch of stores, but they’re keeping alot open, as well. Boost the presence in there from a little cardboard setup with the N90 and the 770 I.T. on it to something more. And train the employees, please.
4. Online – make any FCC approved phone available to order from the NokiaUSA.com website. And make your accessories available on there, too.
5. Vending Machines – Yes, vending machines. Motorola sells Qs through them, you can stock your N-series and E-series (and whatever else). Apple has them in Nordstrom stores, and they’re frequently sold out. That’s a good sign. That’s super cheap distribution right there.
The other 2 P’s (Product and Price) are kinda already set. You’ve got your product, and you know it’s good. That’s why you’re doing the other 3 P’s. Pricing, well, that’s going to depend on which phone you’re promoting.
It’s not like the US isn’t a good market for high-end consumer electronics. We buy so many Plasma TVs, laptops, car stereos, home theatre equipment, all that crap. The only reason that cellphones aren’t on that list is because we need one manufacturer to step up to the plate and put just a little marketing behind it. Once one does it, you can guarantee it’ll snowball, and soon it’ll be just like the landline business. You’ll go to the Nokia Store to buy your phone, then get home and call at&t and tell them you need a SIM card for it. Done and done.
