1. Includes a link to the article.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2009/tc2009093_577532.htm
2. Includes a short summary of the article.
After Finnish’s recent unimpressive profits and its shares loss in the smart phone market, Nokia promotes their new Booklet 3G mini-laptop, which is also their first product in the laptops market. The product includes distinguishing features such as being energy efficient, no cooling fan (which makes it quieter), and it also allows people with no bank accounts to carry out transactions. However, its market share in the US remains low, and its services and products are not as easy to use as the ones made by its main competitor- Apple.
3. Identifies the topic(s) from our syllabus that the article covers.
1.5 External Environments, 4.1 The Role of Marketing, 4.2 Marketing Planning, 4.3 Product, 4.5 Promotion
4. Applies one business tool/theory/technique to the organization.
4.3 Product, 4.1 The Role of Marketing, 1.1 Nature of Business Activity
The article is primarily about Nokia developing a new product in order to earn more profit after their smart phone’s unimpressive profits. Therefore, they are introducing a new product line, which is laptop, into their product mix, with 3G mini-laptop (which is a tangible product) as their first product in the line. By introducing a new product line, Nokia may meet the needs and wants of more customers, acquiring a greater customer base and thus gaining a greater profit margin. Nokia also used product differentiation to make its product stand out from other rival firm's products, by adding some distinguishing features such as being energy efficient, no cooling fan and allowing people with no bank accounts to carry transactions to their 3G laptop. Its quality of the product and the customer relations management differentiates the product from other rival firm's products (such as those of Apple). There are several advantages to produc differentiation, such as price advantages (product differentiation allows the firm to sell its product at a premium price), and distribution advantages (since retail space is limited, businesses will only stock the best selling brand, so product differentiation improves its placement of the firm's product). Its biggest challenge is probably to gain market share from its competitors such as Apple or Dell, who has already established a firm customer base in the laptop market.
