Dell Marketing Strategies

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.

Since the beginning Dell has been selling customized computers. In 1988 Dell became a public company, turning the company more profitable by acquiring new investors. From 1990 to 1993, Dell used to sell computers in retail stores such as Wall Mart, Best Buy, Staples, etc. and because of low profit as results, in 1994, the company refocused its strategy to direct sales, eliminating retailers, wholesalers and consequently acquired satisfied customers by reducing cost and time for them and also the company. In 1997 the company became the low cost leader in pc vendors. During 2002-2007 the company had 7 elements as its strategy: making build-to-order manufacturing progressively more cost-efficient; partnering closely with suppliers to reduce cost of the supply chain; using direct sales techniques to gain customers; expanding into additional products and services and technical support; keeping R&D and engineering activities focused on better meeting the needs of customers, and using standardized technologies in all product offerings. As a conclusion, Dell has been always changing its strategy according to customer needs and in a way to make the company more profitable.

These are customized products at low prices, plus fast delivery and perfect customer service. With the direct business model, all of Dell's products are manufactured by customer’s order. This approach help Dell Computer Corporation become the world's largest leading manufacturer and direct distributor computer systems. A customer can call to branch or access to www.dell.com Dell to order your computer which you want. Within 5 days the computer will be delivered to the customer with the same computer configuration, Dell offers lower price about 10-15 % than the prices of competitors. Besides, a maintenance service of Dell is considered perfect. Dell is a leading company with reliable products and perfect service with 40% of world PC shipments in U.S’s owned computer makers. Distribution form one - one from customer’s needs helps Dell does not get bogged down with the computer that nobody wants. With direct model sale, Dell should not have to pay for intermediate distributor. Thus Dell offer prices below the average up to 12 % compared to competitors. Nearly 2/3 of Dell’s products are sold to government, large corporations and educational

"Market Attractiveness is the degree to which in opportunity fits with our goals and capabilities" whereas market position reveals how well we can do in this market or segment." (Piercy 2002) Dell is recognised for their products, true low-margin, high-asset-turn business that is much more concentrated on turning out a wide range of system desktop PCs, notebooks, etc.

By being in direct contact with the changing market, Dell is able to sense the altering customer demands and synchronize its operations through internal collaboration to meet these demands before its competitors. The market demands keep changing quickly which makes it difficult to foresee them. It is a challenge to meet these demands and hence Dell focuses on managing them by continuously rebalancing the demand and supply. If the demand exceeds supply, the company works with its suppliers and looks out for external options to meet the exceeding demands. It also focuses on demand shift through product promotion on its web portal in no time (Brian, 2004)

A company, either serving a few or all geographic segments, needs to put attention on variability of geographic needs and wants. After segmenting consumer market on geographic bases, companies localize their marketing efforts (product, advertising, promotion and sales efforts).

Due to a changing market environment and existing product life-circle there is a need for the company to revise its present business units and to think about further expansion. There is a shift in customer demand and therefore it is crucial for Dell to recognize in what ways best to satisfy the customers?needs.

Dell's value-chain strategy combines technologies from Intel, IBM, and Microsoft to serve customers efficiently and with state-of-the-art computer technology. Dell is able to introduce next generation products faster than its competitors can because its market-driven strategy is developed around a direct sales, built-to-order business design. This distinctive process capability is supported by effective supplier, distribution, and service partnerships with other companies. Dell's management understands its customers since company personnel are in close contact with buyers who make inquiries and place orders. Not only does Dell process some 500,000 telephone calls each week, but 65,000 corporate customers are linked to Dell through their own Dell Premier Pages on the Internet, and Dell's Internet based sales reached $50 million a day in 2000. Indeed, in 2001, Dell became leader in global market share. (market driven strategy ch 1, http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0072466650/46701/cra66650_ch01.pdf#search='dell%20external%20influences%20marketing%20strategy')

Geographic segmentation divides the market into different geographical units such as countries, states, regions, cities or neighbourhoods that the customer group resides.

▪ Communication. Maintenance of close ties with their most profitable corporate customers. By keeping open lines of communications, installing custom software, and keeping up with its customer’s business inventories for them, Dell is increasing customer loyalty and satisfaction. Dell has also built and maintained a Premier website for corporate customers. The website can be accessed by any customer subsidy worldwide, and not just a company’s purchasing agent. Through the website customers are able to purchase computers according to the automated policy (Kotler & Lane, 168).

Dell Inc. is an American exclusive multinational PC innovation organization situated in Round Rock, Texas, United States, that creates, offers, repairs, and backings PCs and related items and administrations. Eponymously named after its originator, Michael Dell, the organization is one of the biggest mechanical companies on the planet, utilizing more than 103,300 individuals around the world. Dell offers (PCs), servers, information stockpiling gadgets, system switches, programming, PC peripherals, HDTVs cameras printers MP3 players and hardware worked by different makers. The organization is understood for its advancements in store network administration and electronic trade, especially its immediate deals model and its work to-request design to request way to deal with assembling—conveying singular PCs arranged to client details. Dell was an immaculate equipment seller for quite a bit of its presence, however with the obtaining in 2009 of Perot Systems, Dell entered the business sector for IT administrations. The organization has subsequent to made extra acquisitions away and organizing frameworks, with the point of extending their portfolio from offering PCs just to conveying complete answers for big business clients.

Although Dell is an extremely successful company, there are areas of improvement and enhancement that should be considered. After a thorough analysis of Dell¡¯s IT tools, business model, IT infrastructure and competitive advantage, we have developed seven key suggestions. By implementing these recommendations, Dell can keep its high ranking in the competitive computer industry by increasing customer satisfaction, competitive advantage and superior value chain, without changing its principal operations to achieve these goals.

Dell was created on a simple concept: it’s Direct Business Model, which starts and ends with our customers. Michael Dell firmly believed that by selling computer systems directly to customers, Dell could best understand their needs and efficiently provide the most effective computing solutions to meet those needs. This direct business model eliminates retailers that add unnecessary time and cost, or can diminish Dell's

things about the needs of the companies for production, demands and forecasting is done with the analysis done by the IT sector. So it plays a vital role today. Dell experienced decline in the sales of their PC market as the demands of the market changed. It derived most of its revenue from the sales of the PC or from the products like monitors, displays, televisions etc. Hence, they were in bad scenario financially. So CEO, Michael Dell decided to go private and take help from the Silver Lake Venture Capitalist. He thought about the long term improvement for the company. Initially they may experience high expenses for operating cost. In long term in will be beneficial and it may provide opportunity for Dell to get