His article focuses on the reasons why Nokia fell after years of unrivaled supremacy in the mobile market. Nokia, the ruthless and powerful telecom behemoth, was well-known for its hardware and battery life.
It was the buzz of the town for years. Nokia’s mobile phones were well praised for their user happiness. Nokia introduced the first internet-enabled phone in 1996, and a touch-screen mobile prototype was revealed around the turn of the millennium.
This marked the beginning of a mobile phone revolution. In 1998, the Finnish behemoth was the world’s largest cell phone manufacturer. Nokia surpassed Motorola, which was a surprising move. So, what happened to Nokia that led to its demise? It wasn’t a single element, but a slew of them, the most of which sprang from Nokia’s aversion to change. We’ve compiled a list of the top six causes for Nokia’s demise.
- The Reluctance to Change When It Comes To Smartphones
Nokia was unable to capitalize on the Android craze. Nokia remained obstinate even as other smartphone makers improved and worked on their products. Samsung quickly released a line of Android-based phones that were both affordable and user-friendly.
Nokia’s executives believed that users would reject touch screen phones and instead go with the QWERTY keyboard layout. Its demise began with this misunderstanding. Nokia never saw Android as a step forward, and it had no intention of adopting the operating system.
Nokia released the Symbian operating system after recognizing market trends. However, Apple and Samsung had already solidified their positions, so it was too late. The Symbian operating system had a hard time gaining traction. This is the primary cause of Nokia’s demise.
- Microsoft’s Agreement
Nokia’s demise was further exacerbated by an ill-advised partnership with Microsoft. The firm was sold to Microsoft at a time when the software titan was in the midst of a loss-making period.
Nokia’s sales shouted the company’s incapacity to make a living on its own. Apple and Samsung, on the other hand, were making great progress in terms of innovation and technical advancements.
Nokia was too late to respond to the market’s fast and severe adjustments. Microsoft’s purchase of Nokia is widely regarded as one of its worst errors, with little benefit to either party.
- Nokia’s Marketing Strategies That Failed
A startup’s failure is usually due to a poor marketing plan, and Nokia was no exception. The corporation tried and failed to market itself as an umbrella company. Apple was the first corporation to use an umbrella branding strategy, with the iPhone at the helm. Year after year, it started introducing new versions to this umbrella. Samsung took the same path with the Samsung Galaxy series, while Nokia failed to follow suit.
Nokia’s user confidence had been progressively eroding over time. The company’s selling and distribution techniques were inefficient. As a result of the shambles, Nokia came up with several remarkable hardware and software advances. These, on the other hand, have previously been published by Nokia’s competitors and lacked originality. Nokia’s marketing and distribution strategy failed, and the company was forced out of the mobile business.
- Keeping Up With The Industry Is Too Slow
Nokia was never able to keep up with the advancements in technology and trends. Nokia has long been known for its hardware and has paid little attention to its software offerings. To minimize the hazards of introducing innovation to phones, the corporation first ignored technological developments.
The company needed a distraction, but by the time Nokia understood it, it was too late. Nokia moved when practically every major company had already started creating fantastic phones, rather than being among the early adopters.
- Overconfidence in one’s own abilities
Nokia overestimated the importance of its brand. People would still flock to retailers to buy Nokia-manufactured phones, the business predicted, despite the late arrival of its devices. A misunderstanding! People continue to expect that Nokia will maintain its market leadership provided it improves its core software. However, as we can see today, this is far from the case.
The corporation was trapped with its software system, which has a history of glitches and clunks. Nokia believed that reclaiming its former greatness would aid in the resolution of any problems. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.
- Lack of Product Innovation
Nokia’s problems were exacerbated by its products’ lack of innovation. While Samsung and Apple released improved phones every year, Nokia released the Windows phone with only the most basic functionality.
The Nokia Lumia series served as a stopgap fix, but it too failed owing to a lack of innovation. The unsightly and uninteresting features didn’t help matters. Nokia didn’t even have 3G-enabled phones in the 4G era. Nokia also released the Asha series, but it was already too late.
The mobile behemoth’s demise was precipitated by poor judgments and aversion to risk. Nokia hesitated from embracing cutting-edge technology. Nokia’s failure served as a case study, demonstrating the significance of constant improvement and development. The journey of what was once the finest mobile phone business in the world to losing everything by 2013 is heartbreaking
