Marketing Management

Pricing Strategy

When it comes to the pricing of the Nokia Lumia 720, various strategies can be implemented all at the same time. For instance, the cost of production can be determined and then a certain percentage added to the price to ensure profits. Alternatively, a price which is commensurate to the value of the smartphone can be adopted. However, on the introduction of Nokia Lumia 720 into the market skimming is recommended. This targets early adopters whose need for the phone supersedes economizing. This will allow the Nokia Company to get back some of its production cost at the onset. Thereafter pricing that allow for penetration in the market can be adopted. Hence prices can be taken a little lower to allow for more buying of the product. Again, these prices should not go too low as this might “leave money on the table.” Premium pricing of the smartphone is advised since customers will attach some value to it which is connected to its price. Premium pricing can go hand in hand with psychological pricing (Jeannet & Hennessey, 1995). Therefore, costs are put at figures that are almost a given flat value such as $299. This always manages to get more buyers than the actual flat figure.

It is crucial to employ discriminative pricing. Not all economies have the same buying power. For instance, Italians have a higher buying power than Kenyans and pricing the smartphone higher in Italy than in Kenya would be a smart move.

Breakeven Analysis

Here, we will look at how many Nokia Lumia phones should be sold at a given price that will just meet the cost of production, research, marketing and distribution. At this point, the production company is not making profits or losses.

Distribution Strategy

The Nokia Corporation has its headquarters in Finland. If its product the Nokia Lumia is to reach customers all over the globe, then it has to inevitably set up distribution channels. The corporation has branches in countries where the products are sold including Nokia India, Nokia Kenya among others. This distribution strategy encompasses direct distribution. This can be used to distribute the Nokia Lumia 720. This will ensure that the owner of the brand distributes the product which retains loyalty. Nevertheless, this will not ensure maximum market penetration as the corporation on itself cannot access all the cracks and crevices of the market. For instance, in the countries where it is based, the corporation can team up with mobile service providers because they have customer care offices all over the country to distribute the Nokia Lumia 720.

Integrated Marketing Communication Plan and Marketing Theme

The Nokia Lumia 720 is a product of the Nokia Corporation based in Finland. The corporation has over the years produced handsets for various classes of users and is currently the leading handset provider. The Nokia Lumia 720 is a sleek Windows smartphone that was rolled out in 2013 (Nokia, 1997). Its distribution has already hit key markets such as the UK, Italy, and Australia. It is expected to hit more markets in the near future. This smartphone targets the techno-savvy people, the middle class, and young people. It faces competition from other brands from Samsung, LG, Sony Ericson and the likes who are also smartphones producers. The marketing theme focuses on the message that will appeal to customers. Accordingly, the capability of the brand Nokia Lumia 720 takes center stage during advertisements.

Implementation Schedule

The implementation of the marketing strategy will comprise of documentation of activities to be undertaken. On that similar document, a column of levels of the tasks’ accomplishment will exist. This will be in the form of percentage. Another column will show the status of the tasks: for instance, the task is ongoing, completed, or cancelled. Lastly there will be a provision for notes about the task. This implementation schedule provides a blue print in the evaluation of the marketing strategy’s success.

The Marketing Budget

The marketing budget should be estimated in such way that the number of handsets sold can cater for the cost of direct sales, marketing expense and the cost of research and production (Gilmore, 2003). The cost of direct sales and the marketing expense should not eat up all the profit margin. Thus, the marketing budget should be within the projected sales.

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