Nokia is getting ready to re-enter the smartphone race. This is going to be a very interesting story to watch. Will it succeed? Nokia and BlackBerry once led the wireless handset and smartphone space. Then Apple iPhone and Google Android jumped in and quickly transformed the industry. So what’s new and different at Nokia that could make it successful this time around? What does it need to do?
After being acquired by Microsoft, we all thought Nokia was no longer in the wireless handset business. Apparently we were wrong. A few months ago the company introduced its new Google Android-based tablet the N1. Since then we’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Now it sounds like Nokia is getting ready to re-enter the handset space with a new smartphone.
Sure, I would like to see Nokia to succeed. In fact I would like to see all competitors succeed, including Microsoft, BlackBerry, Motorola, HTC and many others. However, none of these competitors are seeing any meaningful success in the wireless smartphone space as of yet. Apple and Google have nearly 90% market share, with the remaining 10% or so split among other competitors.
After leading the handset marketplace for a long time, both Nokia and BlackBerry quickly dropped from the No. 1 spot to single-digit market share. During the last several years Microsoft also has not been able to shake things up and grow the company, although it is still trying. The smartphone market is a tough cookie.
Advice from Kagan
So now that Nokia is planning to get back into the wireless handset business with smartphones and tablets, let me offer some advice to help it succeed in this perilous space.
One, the name of the company must be thought through and must be current. Will it remain Nokia? There are plenty of reasons both for and against. Everyone knows the Nokia brand, however, the brand that everyone knows is also older and tired. It’s based on yesterday’s handset world, not today’s smartphone environment.
Keeping the Nokia name will bring name recognition if the company can successfully update and refresh the brand. The customer should not think of the old Nokia when they hear the name, instead they should think of the new Nokia. That is one very important key.
Remember, AT&T did a good job of that when SBC Communications acquired AT&T, BellSouth and Cingular. Keeping the Nokia brand name could work if it is reinvented and “youthenized.”
Two, Nokia must come to the table with new technology, new thinking, a new operating system and lots of apps. Every bit of it must be brand spanking new. All the technology must work great and do something different from iPhone or Android to capture the attention of the marketplace – or at least in a new way that a segment of customers prefer.
It’s got to be more than different. It’s got to be compelling. The Nokia Lumia was not good enough. This has to be new and big and successful.
I believe the marketplace would support more than two brands, however the new brands must have a compelling reason. So a new and killer OS, hot features, lots of apps and a new brand are a must.
Three, Nokia must understand the new and different marketplace. It must be able to come at this market with a fever pitch attracting users and getting the analyst community and the media to love it and put their stamp of approval on it.
A great relationship with the analyst and media community is key. If they aren’t behind the new Nokia, it’s over before it begins.
If Nokia can indeed do these things and more, then it stands a chance. However, like I always say about other great smartphones, it takes much more than a good device. It takes an emotional connection with the customer. If the customer likes you or even loves you, then you’ve got it made. However there are lots of other smartphones who have simply not broken out.
Second chance for Nokia
This is a chance for Nokia to start once again in the marketplace and reinvent itself. It was once the leader, but went into a cocoon when Apple and Google took over. Now Nokia is about ready to break out as either a beautiful butterfly or a plain old moth.
We’ll have to wait and see what happens next. There’s no way to tell yet which way it will go. It all depends on how well Nokia does everything it needs to do. This is no time to be complacent, it is the time to break the old mold and recreate its brand image in the new marketplace.
I believe Nokia can get this right and can start to grow in the smartphone space if it does everything right and gets the world behind it.
However, this is a tall order – what I thought of all the other competitors who are still trying. Can Nokia do it? We’ll soon see. Good luck.
