In this article, we will be discussing the reasons why Nokia Failed miserably. The ferocious and mighty telecom giant Nokia well known for its products hardware and battery life. For years, it enjoyed unrivaled dominance. User satisfaction with Nokia’s mobiles was globally recognized. The company launched the first internet-enabled phone in 1996 and by the start of the millennium, Nokia had launched a touch-screen mobile prototype as well.
This was the start of a revolution in the mobile phone industry. The Finnish giant was the largest cell phone maker in 1998. Nokia overtook Motorola, a move that was hard to predict. So what exactly happened if all was going well? It wasn’t a single factor but a myriad of reasons, most of which resulted from the resistance to change.
The Resistance To Smartphone Evolution
The Deal With Microsoft
Nokia's Failed Marketing Strategies
Moving Too Slow With The Industry
Overestimation Of Strength
Lack Of Innovation In Products
The Resistance To Smartphone Evolution
Nokia failed to take advantage of the Android bandwagon. When mobile phone manufacturers were busy improving and working on their smartphone segment, Nokia remained stubborn and soon Samsung launched its Android phone range that was cost-effective and user-friendly. The Nokia management was under the impression that people wouldn’t accept touch screen phones and continue with the QWERTY keypad layout.
This misapprehension was the start of its downfall. Nokia never considered Android as an advancement and neither wanted to adopt the Android operating system. After realizing the market trends, Nokia introduced its Symbian Operating System. However, it was too late by then with Apple and Samsung cemented their positions. It was difficult for the Symbian Operating System to make any inroads. This is the biggest reason why Nokia failed even after success.
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The Deal With Microsoft
Another reason for why Nokia failed was because Nokia declined the inappropriate deal with Microsoft. The company sold itself to Microsoft at a time when the Software behemoth was fraught with losses. Nokia being sold screamed its inability to survive on its own. Apple and Samsung were making significant strides in innovation and technical developments in parallel. It was too late for Nokia to adapt to the dynamic and rigorous changes in the market. Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia is considered to be one of the biggest blunders, fruitful for neither side.
Nokia's Failed Marketing Strategies
Generally, a startup fails because of bad market strategy same happened with Nokia, the company followed an unsuccessful strategy of umbrella branding. Apple was the first company to apply the umbrella branding with the iPhone at the top and subsequent models being launched year after year. Samsung followed the same route by launching the Samsung Galaxy series but Nokia failed to take cues. The user trust Nokia built over the years was gradually waning. The company was inefficient in its selling and distribution. Seeing the mess, Nokia decided to come up with some fascinating hardware and software innovations but these were already released by rivals, and therefore weren’t unique to the public. Failure in Nokia’s marketing and distribution strategies led to its elimination of the company from the mobile industry.
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Moving Too Slow With The Industry
One of the biggest reasons why Nokia failed was the slowness of Nokia with changing technology. Nokia was always famous for its hardware and didn’t pay much heed to its software lineup. Initially, the company overlooked technical innovation at the cost of avoiding risks associated with bringing innovation in phones. The business needed diversion but it was too late till Nokia realized this. Instead of being amongst the early initiators, Nokia transitioned when almost every major brand had already started producing awesome phones.
Overestimation Of Strength
Nokia failed to estimate its brand value and overestimated their brand value. The company believed that even after launching the late launch of its smartphones, people would still flock to stores and purchase Nokia phones. A misconception! Many don’t refrain from claiming that if Nokia adapts and accepts android or uses better software at its core, it would still retain market leadership. However, this is far from the truth as seen today. The company got stuck with its software system which has been a complete flop and is known to have several bugs and clunks. Nokia felt its previous glory would help alleviate any sort of trouble. Unfortunately, things didn’t play out that way.
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Lack Of Innovation In Products
Another big reason why Nokia failed was the lack of innovation in their products. While brands like Samsung and Apple came up with new advanced phones every year, Nokia simply launched the Windows phone with basic features. The Nokia Lumia series was a jumpstart measure but even that collapsed due to lack of innovation. The unattractive and dull features didn’t help. In the era of 4G, Nokia didn’t even have 3G enabled phones. Nokia also came up with the Asha series but by that time everything was over.
Wrong decisions and risk aversion brought the decline of the mobile giant. Nokia refrained from adopting the latest tech. Nokia's failure became a case study that made organizations realize the importance of continuous evolution and enhancements. The demise of what was once the world’s best mobile phone company to losing it all by 2013 is quite tragic. Nokia also strongly lacked leadership and guidance.
During this time, several other big tech brands ceased to exist. Unfortunately, Nokia didn’t learn any lessons from them. Nokia still has opportunities to re-enter the market as a strong contender since its erstwhile audience still has some belief. If the company is ready to revitalize and come in with an exciting lineup of products, then all hope’s not lost.
Link : https://startuptalky.com/reasons-why-nokia-failed/
Author :- Devashish Shrivastava
June 14, 2020 at 09:25PM
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