Online Dell Marketing Strategies

Now, the ONLINE Dell marketing strategies are nothing different either. They do exactly what everybody else has to do.

• Targeting: They have to know who is buying computers and where online these people are going
• Tracking: They have to track advertising results and make adjustments
• Relationships: They build relationships with the people they advertise with

The internet is a powerful force in the business world for selling products. What makes it so powerful?

Targeting Online Marketing

Understanding who your market is and where they hang out is so much easier to find out. It becomes very easy to target your customer when you know, for example: That every person who goes to a website called NewComputerProducts.com is very likely to be interested in buying a computer or peripheral. So your marketing plan should call for contacting that website and setting up advertising or getting them to review your computer Instant Targeted Advertising.

Tracking Marketing Strategies

Tracking your marketing strategies has never been easier. In the offline world it is very hard to determine how effective a TV, radio or newspaper ad was. But online you can track exactly every aspect and then tweak it to improve your results. Plus, advertising campaigns can be changed on the fly. Try a new headline or graphic and see the results immediately. Track Your Visitors Footsteps and Increase Sales - Guaranteed

What one amazing tool can TEST, TRACK, and TWEAK your ads and salesletters to help you maximize and boost your profits by 100's - 1,000's of %? Oh, yeah! This tool will also do it all on it's own - 100% autopilot. MultiTrack Generator

Survey Your Customers

Ask your customer exactly what THEY want. It is so easy these days to apply a survey that questions your customers, then you adapt your business to give your customers exactly what they desire.

When you give them exactly what they want, your sales increase.

New Product Marketing Strategy

New product marketing strategy must follow a few basic steps. Who is your target customer and where do they hang out are two very important questions you must know about your new product before you try any marketing strategy.

Now, this article is way to short to help you with all aspects of marketing. So whether you want to have a Dell marketing strategy or have some great new product to market here is what I recommend.

All the solutions, questions and answers from the experts are already at your fingertips Internet Marketing Strategy

Wouldn't it be great to have Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Steve Jobs and Warren Buffet, some of the richest entrepenuers in the world, tell you how to make money? Of course it would. Well, if you want to learn from the absolute best in Internet Marketing Strategy then you want proven, market tested knowledge telling you what works.

Dell's Marketing Strategy Research Papers

Dell’s marketing strategy research papers point out that Dell Computer Corporation is defined by its direct model approach to selling, which is in turn dominated by the company’s intent to generate as many sales as possible on the Internet. Dell's marketing strategy sees the Internet as the purest and most efficient form of the direct model for sales, service, and support, as well as the most efficient means of customer communication both presently and in the future. Currently the company receives more than 2.6 million visits each week to its more than 80 country-specific sites. This resulted in more than $40 million in revenue per week being generated by the online marketing of Dell. The company touts its site as allowing existing and potential customers to access information regarding its products, configure computers to the customers liking, and then make the purchase. Dell sees this process as the most efficient method of selling because it allows the consumer to guide the process.

While the consumer is choosing and configuring their Dell computer, as well as after the purchase at the Internet site, the customer has access to volumes of support and technical information. Instead of sales people answering questions, the customer is left to find their own answer. This presupposes a base line of technical knowledge in the customer, which guides the information-gathering process. Without this base line of knowledge, the customer will have difficulty making sense of computer hardware jargon that defines the capabilities of PC units. In addition, such a technically unsophisticated customer may have difficulty in even formulating the questions that should be asked in order to evaluate if a particular Dell computer will meet their needs. Individuals who are making their first computer purchase are unlikely to have access to the Internet or the navigational expertise to find Dell’s site. The marketing model of Dell Computers, however, does not differentiate between types of customers, and instead treats each potential customer as if they have equal technical knowledge.

Read more: http://www.papermasters.com/dells-marketing-strategy.html#ixzz11UL5JTTW

Dell Marketing Environment Analysis

Overview
In dealing to marketing analysis that the elements of its marketing environment should be crucially be considered as they are most likely to influence the development of a suitable marketing mix as the micro environment of a business pertains to its resources, capabilities and competencies and on the other hand, the macro environment refers to the industrial as well as the competitive conditions as it involves tools for its market analysis and that such forces are important because it enhances and establishes growth and stability in business as it deals to economic profits and determines the strength of competition in order to acquire a stronger marketing position and increase in sales and market share and involves diverse strategies and objectives and will follow its corporate culture and governance per se. These marketing environment elements will influence the organization’s marketing mix in such a way that they will be able to provide an

Effective approach for the organization and that such marketing mix will describe product lines and its respective functions as the micro environment discusses and explains the importance of SWOT Analysis as a relevant tool for achieving appropriate and exact analysis of marketing in a particular organization while the macro level involves the PEST Analysis accordingly. The examination of these external drivers forms an integral part of marketing opportunity analysis as well as being the foundation for any strategizing in an organization.
Executive Summary:
This marketing analysis paper gives the readers an insight to the business strategies adopted by organizations and or companies to gain a competitive advantage and prosper in the highly advanced global business environment. The industry chosen for this analysis is the computer industry and thaat the focused company is the DELL Corp. to achieve success in the populated country with great potentials. DELL is a premier provider of products and services required for...

Executive Summary

This comprehensive analysis will be comparing Dell, a company that is thriving right now in sales and customer satisfaction and Gateway, another company that is doing well, but could make some definite improvements to their company.

We will be going through different parts of the marketing process to compare and contrast things such as marketing issues, products, pricing strategies, advertising, sales promotion, etc to compare and contrast the two companies. The main focus of this analysis is to show the different issues that each company faces and then to suggest ways that they can make themselves a better company.

Industry Description and Outlook

The computer industry has revolutionized the way of life for Americans.

It has changed our culture in ways that can never be undone. Socially, we communicate more through instant messengers and e-mail, but the industry is almost single-handedly blamed for creating the lack of face-to-face communication rampant in our country.

Computers have made the workplace more efficient, but some feel they have actually created more work. The computer has revolutionized our way of life. It has made it possible for me to type this paper with little or no misspellings or grammatical errors thanks to “spell check”; while I am simultaneously talking to my aunt, fiancé, and best friend on AIM; while also listening to “Love Shack” by the B-52’s on iTunes.

They have created chaos in our lives by the allowing us to over multi-task. But, they have also made our lives easier by giving us an amazing tool for our everyday lives. Life on your computer is endless: you can do anything but make yourself a pizza, but you can certainly find the recipe for any kind of pizza on the internet. The total impact of computers on our culture may never be realized. Our reliance on computers is a phenomenon not foreseen by the creators.

Although computers were only marketed towards government agencies and educational institutions when they were first created, they are now an everyday household item. The industry saw a major shift from selling specifically to the government and schools to selling to the everyday consumer. Companies had to create all new marketing strategies and products for their new found target market. This industry truly has become an industry for everyone in our society and around the world to enjoy.

The computer industry may have changed our lives and culture as we knew it, but it was the internet that completely changed the computer industry. New technologies had to be created to handle this new found way of communication.

Computers needed upgrades, and the people who did not have computers needed a computer to be on the internet. The computer business was booming. Soon everyone needed to be on the internet to do research papers, write an e-mail to grandma, or buy a new computer.

Computer companies started capitalizing on this new found channel for sales. Instead of selling computers out of magazines and other forms of print advertisement, companies moved to selling computer “direct from the manufacturer” through the internet.

This new phenomenon of the internet lowered the prices of personal computers by eliminating the middle man, and allowed customers more direct access to the manufacturer. Dell, Inc was the first major company to really seize the opportunity of selling via internet. More traditional channels are still used by the computer industry as a whole. (Lower 1)
Retail stores such as Best Buy and Circuit City have been built solely around the technology industry.

These retailers are still a main distribution channel for most computer companies. Telephone orders have been almost completely replaced by the onset of the internet, but are still a viable distribution channel for some manufacturers. Another recently discovered distribution channel is through the sell of Built-to-Order (BTO) or Configure-to-Order (CTO) computers. A customer simply “builds” their computer online or over the telephone, and it is shipped to their house. Dell was also the leader in this new concept. “Dell’s built-to-order boxes allow for lower inventories, lower costs, and higher profit margins-elements that leave it well armed for PC price wars and IT spending recessions” (Lower 1).

Due to the recent popularization of the idea of “global warming” or “climate change,” many companies are finding ways to reduce harmful emissions and dispose of their waste better, including recycling.

This is also known as “going green.” This resolve to be more environmentally friendly has not been lost on computer industry. Recently, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, AMD, IBM, and Sun Microsystems became what is known as the Green Grid. This pact was formed as a reaction to concerns about the industry’s high waste and power consumption.

Although at first the Green Grid was a surprise to the government, they are now working closely with the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency. (Merritt 1) The Environmental Protection Agency is currently creating the standards for a computer company to become part of the Energy Star Program. This is creating competition between the companies.

Head of the Austin Research Lab for IBM, Lorraine Herger, says “I don’t think anybody else can do energy conservation with the kind of depth and breadth that we can. Over the next few years, we are going to leave our competition in the dust” (Ladendorf 2). The competition is not to be outdone, though. Dell has already started researching a new line of energy-efficient servers (Ladendorf 3).

Recently, the computer industry has gotten a lesson in economics. While oil prices are rising and making shipping and manufacturing costs rise, companies have realized that outsourcing their products can be much more cost efficient.

In his article about the computer industry, Josh Lower has a lot to say about this subject, “Hardware sellers are increasingly turning to contract manufacturers, finding the outsourcing of the actual construction of the components cost-effective” (2).

While some companies are outsourcing to other American companies, some have found that the Asian manufacturers can made the product for even cheaper. Outsourcing to companies outside of the United States has caused much controversy within the American people and our government. When companies outsource to other countries, American jobs are lost. So, a industry that created a lot of jobs for the American economy is now also forcing people out of a job. (Abe 1)

Computers made in other countries are being sold for less than American made computers, and are undercutting the U.S. market. Acer, manufactured in Taiwan, is among the top three computer companies in the world, because it offers the same reliability and specifications at a cheaper price.

Because these companies can offer the same computer for a fraction of the cost of American made computers, the American computer market is seeing a drop in sales as people are discovering these other Asian companies. (Abe 1,2)

Another factor contributing to the recent slow in computer sales is the seemingly companion to the computer, the cell phone. People are using their cell phones for internet and other communication, and have essentially turned their cell phones into very tiny portable computers. Although the launch of Microsoft’s Windows Vista did boost sales temporarily, it did not help too much.

The United States is seeing a slow in economy overall, so a high priced item such as a computer will see their sales slow as well, since consumers are increasingly unable to buy such items.(RP News Wire)

The computer business has many competitors within itself, but there are two companies that are currently excelling in the computer industry, HP and Dell. They are frequently fighting for the top spot when it comes to market share. Currently, Dell tops HP’s market share with a 33.5%. Gateway has a 6.1% market share with Toshiba and Apple trailing with a 3.2% and 3.3% market share (Kanellos 1).

Overall, the computer industry has soared when it comes to units sold. The growth rate of the industry has only increased. From 1981-1985 there were 3.8 million units sold in the U.S. market. By 1995, a mere ten years later, that number had grown seventeen times to 64.3 million units sold. As of 2006, the industry had sold 580 million units (Anniversary Statistics). Although so many units have been sold, some consider the computer industry to still be in the growth stage of its life cycle. “The computer industry today is an example of an industry with a long growth stage due to upgrades in hardware, services, and add-on products and features” (Hillstrom).

Objectives

Dell’s overall mission takes a customer focused approach defined by four initiatives: “driving global growth, achieving product leadership, enhancing customer experience, and developing winning culture.” Dell gives attention to their product, their customer, their company culture, and their global markets. The company implements the vision of a direct business model.

They are based on the concept that “by selling computer systems directly to customers, Dell [can] best understand [the customer’s] needs and efficiently provide the most effective computing solutions to meet those needs” (Dell.com). Dell views their perspective to selling directly to the customer as an advantage by allowing them to build every system to order and offer customers richly-configured systems at competitive prices. Also, their direct business model eliminates retailers that add unnecessary time and cost, or can diminish Dell’s understanding of customer expectations.

Gateway, like Dell, holds customer satisfaction as one of their top goals. The company’s original objective is to help people improve their lives through technology. They focus on treating customers with respect and while maintaining great service, quality, and value. Gateway ranks among the industry’s top companies in customer loyalty; an accomplishment which the company and its employees prize highly.

In regards to technology, Dell produces a large variety of computer systems that are targeted and customized to customer requirements. In addition to their PCs they provide network servers, workstations, printers, and projectors. Its technology is designed to gather volumes of customer feedback allowing for teams of professional to deliver to the needs of customers. Their products are marketed and sold directly to customers. Dell’s market share holds both individual as well as business consumers.

As for Gateway, its advances into the technology arena were significant ones. It was the first PC company to offer systems with color monitors as a standard and the first to offer a standard three-year warranty. Also Gateway was a pioneer in commercially exploring the convergence of the PC and television. It was highly success in its launch of the highly Gateway® plasma TV and digital display. Gateway’s main products are the desktop, portable PC, and network servers. The company offers services like training and support to keep customer satisfaction high.

Dell and Gateway seem to have a lot in common in regards to wanting their customers to be satisfied. Their company objectives overlap in that regard but are very different in terms of the technology each company has chosen to focus on. Dell’s largest concern has always been their PCs.

But through the years, Gateway’s focus has shifted from PCs to new technology like when Gateway branched out to TV and digital displays. Both companies’ always need to pay attention to their financial records to keep their company making profits.
Dell has made a net revenue of 55.9 million for the year of 2006. Compared to its 49.2 million in 2005, they have made a fourteen percent increase in revenue.

Gateway’s net revenue was much less totaling 3.98 million. However, their total net income was 9.6 million, while Dell’s was 3.6 million. But if diluted EPS net income is taken into account, Dell wins out with 1.46 million, while Gateway comes away with only 0.03 million. Dell’s gross profit was 9.95 million with a profit margin of seventeen percent. Gateway’s gross profit was 255.4 million, with a profit margin of six percent, a two percent decrease from last year’s margin.

Both companies seem to be doing well in terms of profit margins. However, Gateway’s operating income was negative 18.9million; while Dell’s was a healthy 4.3 million with a margin of about eight percent. The companies’ non-operating incomes were vastly different. Dell’s was 255 million and Gateways was only 4.1 million. These numbers show Dell’s difference of strategy in business.

Perhaps due to their direct marketing, Dell’s unit shipments grew, increasing a full nineteen percent to 37 million, including 10 million that were made in the four quarter. Revenues per unit were $1,500. Their cost of goods was 45.9 million. Gateway’s was much less at 3.7 million.

Both Dell and Gateway have marketing objectives that they try to meet each year. These objectives are set in hopes of increasing sales and profits. Dell’s sales for the year of 2006 were 55.9 million, whereas Gateway’s were 3.98 million.

Some five years ago, Dell took their market definition to a whole new level making themselves a fiercer competition by selling their products and high-end services to large businesses and PC markets around the world. This move gave Dell huge increase in market share which resulted in a twofold increase in revenues.

In the year 2006, Dell sold 33 million worth of products in the United States and 22.8 million to its customers in other countries. The majority of Dell’s sales in the US (fifty one percent) have been to businesses. And thirty-eight percent of total sales were desktops. Mobile PCs, handhelds & music players made up twenty-five percent of total sales.

Gateway mostly sells to retail and international markets. They make up sixty-nine percent of Gateway’s market share. Professional and direct sales make up the rest of its market share. Like Dell, desktops are the major purchases of their consumers. Forty-seven percent of Gateway’s sales were desktops, notebooks, servers, and other products made up the rest of the sales for the company.

Dell and Gateway’s sales channels are not vastly different. Dell goes by a direct business model, selling to their customers directly by catalogs, retail stores, and online stores. Gateway sells their products through mostly through technology retailers and electronic chains. Also, like Dell, it sells its products online.

Dell’s market capabilities are 56.97 million dollars with Gateway’s market capabilities at 839.9 million dollars. Even though Gateway has greater market capability, their sales and profits are less than Dell’s. Dell’s price to earning ratio is 17.3 and Gateways is 75.3. These big differences in numbers between the companies come from their differences in implementing their marketing business models.

Market Analysis

US: For the first quarter of 2006, Dell had control over 26.8% while Gateway claimed 7.2% according to IDC researchers (8) . The US PC market has been reported to have grown at least 10.9% in 2007 (8). The shipment count for domestic PCs is about 16.6 million units (9). Dell still holds almost 20% more market share over Gateway in personal computers.

The market for PCs will only grow for both of them, but Dell has an obvious lead.

Global: As of the last fiscal quarter of 2006, the reported market share for Gateway Inc, is estimated to be around 6.4% (11), while Dell Inc held a market share of 32.1% (6) which was actually a decrease of 7.1% from the previous year (11). According to Gartner Inc preliminary research statistics, “the number of worldwide shipments for PCs totaled at 59.1 million units” (11).

The global trend appears to be a stable 5-7% increase of units shipped. At this rate, the total global market will increase to at least approximately 66.3 million units in just 2-3 years. This is just for PCs, not anything else such as services or servers for example. Dell accounts for almost 19 million of those PCs, as Gateway accounts for about 3.8 million units. Gateway does not have as strong of a global presence that Dell does, thus it loses in total market share severely.

The reported market for PCs grew 10.9% globally and 2.9% domestically in just the first quarter of 2007 (10). Both figures are almost 2% more than predicted by Gartner researchers.

If the market increases at this rate for the next 5 years and Dell keeps at a steady pace, not increasing drastically but no declining drastically either, it will hold on to its top 5 spot.

Gateway, we predict, will have a steady but minimal increase as Dell is not its only rival. HP and Toshiba and Apple computers are steady climbers, just to name a few.

Regarding the global target market, we estimate the market will increase steadily as it has in the next couple of years, but experience a slight decline in the next 2-3 years following. We observe that there will be a steady increase in the mobile and laptop computer markets and technology is perfected and mainstreamed even more. This is backed by the obvious increasing presence of Wi-Fi capability in many common areas even outside the consumer home.

Positioning Strategy Analysis

Dell’s unique selling proposition has always been defined by its direct business model. Its founder, Michael Dell, lead the way using the direct-sales approach for computers. Dell has a simple formula: “eliminate the middleman and sell for less” (Hoovers). Dell keeps it simple by providing customers with built-to-order boxes that help with lower inventories, lower costs, and higher profit margins.

Gateway’s positioning strategy differs from Dell’s. The company was named
“Gateway” in 2000 illustrating that they were the gateway into the 21st century.

Their USP is not in direct selling; rather it is in their technology. When the company first started, it offered fully configured PCs at a price near what other companies were charging for a non-fully configured system.

People started buying and the sales kept increasing. Gateway PCs were unique because they provided special features that customers appreciated.

Gateway distinguished itself from competitors with eye-catching ads including cows, and their cow-spotted boxes that give tribute to the company’s farm-start heritage. They are the only company that provides customers with emachines, a value-based technology that Gateway acquired in 2004. However, Gateway’s USP has been declining in perception in recent years. Dell and other competitors have been increasing their sales while Gateway’s are decreasing.

Consumers and end users like Dell’s strategy of direct selling because it keeps Dell’s product’s prices low. Lower than they would be if the “middleman” were involved. Dell’s customer focus gives them advantage with consumers. The customer feels connected to the brand, safe in their use of the product knowing that Dell support is available. Such customer satisfaction cannot be easily achieved by Dell’s competitors. Therefore, Dell’s direct selling business model gives Dell a distinct advantage over their competitors by ensuring they provide a sound, stable, quality product at low cost that consumers will want to buy.