Dell Inc.

Dell's business strategy combines its direct customer model with a highly efficient manufacturing and supply chain management organization and an emphasis on standards-based technologies. This strategy enables Dell to provide customers with superior value; high-quality, relevant technology; customized systems; superior service and support; and products and services that are easy to buy and use.

Dell. Dell’s products—computers, servers and printers—are commodities. Dell tends not to develop the technologies underlying these products. Instead, it purchases the components from firms that develop the technologies (semiconductors and computer software). Dell’s direct-to-customer marketing strategy is not unique, but the extent to which Dell performs this strategy better than anyone else in the industry gives it a competitive advantage. Its size, purchasing power, quality control, and efficiency permit it to operate as a low-cost provider.

Dell Share holders bear the risk in the form of cost of potentially issuing the stock at below market values if the employees do convert the options into stock when the options are in-the-money. However, if the options expires out of the money, the shareholders realize equally better benefits. In this case, the firm obtains labor from employees without having paid for the labor by issuing shares. The employee stock options provides a cushioning from the full burnt

his part of the report will discuss about Apple’s marketing segmentation. Marketing segmentation is basically a strategy where it divides large markets into smaller segments in order to reach out to more consumers effectively and efficiently. Marketing segmentation can be divided into four segments, Geographical segmentation, Demographical segmentation, Behavioural segmentation and Psychographic segmentation.

In 2007, Dell decided to change the supply chain strategy to support the use of retailers for selling a standard configuration computer for customers. Customers could visit their local Wal-Mart or if in China, the local GOME retail store to pick from the standard computer models available (Chopra, 2012, Pg. 6). The changes Dell made to support the retailer to end customer model helps increase the revenues and provides a low cost solution at retail points of sale. Dell utilizes the retailer’s distribution and retail store facilities which keeps the costs low for Dell and also sees lower outbound transportation costs compared to the online supply chain model (Chopra, 2012, Pg. 21).

The segmentation has been done on the basis of buying behavior of the customers. Knowledge of segment buying behavior can help redirect marketing resources for profit gain.

As every customer has unique needs and expectations towards certain products, the ultimate goal of market segmentation is to organize customers into groups which allows targeting of customers with similar needs of and response to the products. The key is to minimize differentiation within each segment

Dell Computer Corporation was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell. From the early 1990s until the mid-2000s, Dell was ranked as a PC market leader relying on their distinctive marketing pattern “Direct Model” which undertook direct communication with customers and provided customized products. Recently, the PC industry is facing inconceivable worldwide competition, and Dell is gradually losing their competitive advantages by using its direct model in critical business segments. The company is facing shrinkage of growth, increasing competition, declining quality of customer service, and limitation of expansion. These issues have an enormous impact on Dell’s position as a technological giant in the PC industry.

• DELL sub divided its customer base into multiple categories, to identify unique opportunities and economies.

The first part of the process is segmentation “The purpose of market segmentation is to identify relatively homogeneous groups of consumers with similar consumption patterns” (Pervez &Cateora 2014.) segmentation is the application of grouping the customers into segments which may have the same common needs or that will respond similarly to a marketing activity. It is the ability to recognise the consumers which exist that have different needs. For example do the consumers prefer speed and performance or do the customers prefer safety and quality.

REF OF GROUP MEMBERS’: TABLE 1 : 5 C’s SITUATION ANALYSIS Factors Dell Company: Resources 1.4 Licensing, Distribution channel, Supply • Intellectual property, Human resources, Patent, Competences Brand acuity1 chain management 24 25 Techno structure • Just-in-Time; CRM; Engineer R&D, Acquisition

Dell provides number of products and services based on categories like business, professional, government, educational, entertainment, home

Market segmentation is the process of dividing the market into parts that are different from one another. It is the identification of potential customers who would buy your products. Different customers have different needs and it is not possible to satisfy these needs by treating all customers in a similar way. Most organisations do not have all the resources to satisfy the needs of all the customers. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the similar groups of customers and to serve one or two group with the available resources. When market segmentation is done well the members in each segment of the market are as similar to each other as possible inside a segment and are also as different as possible

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Despite companies segmentation practices, customers decide for themselves what their required needs are, once this was realized by Dow Corning, evident from their self-audit, and 5 years of customer surveys and discussions with sales force. They reviewed their segmentation to a needs-based segmentation scheme (Xiameter Case Study).