Dell - Direct Marketing
BRIEF SUMMARY
The desire to unseat its closest rival Hewlett-Packard in market share war in Australia has driven Dell dramatic change in the service strategy. Dell was successful by selling machines directly to customers – mostly business – by phone or over the internet. However, some analysts believed that its new strategy of selling through retailer is an uphill struggle (Koenig, 2008). As Barry Jaruzelski, a partner at the consulting firm Booz & Company said: “Now that so much of the market is consumers, they have been forced into places that traditionally they didn’t want to go, which is retail” (Koenig, 2008).
Twice in this year has Dell stepped out of its direct business model. The first one is when Dell sealed with Officework and partnership with gizmo marked the second time. In the article named “Dell signs on gizmo to lend a helping hand,” Mitchell (2008) mentions about how the strategy of alliance with Gizmo, an Australian service oriented company, benefits both sides and their customers. Three main points can be drawn from the article:
• The availability and guarantee quality of the current service offered by Dell, i.e. the vendor’s on-site, next business day warranty service.
• The different levels of support creating an integrated service which offer their customer best-in-class services.
• The continuing evolution of Dell to expand the market share in Australia.
In the perspective of service marketing, what concepts can be connected with this event? In term of satisfying consumer, which theory can be used to explain the better service for Dell from this combination? And in the light of the resource based view theory, can Dell “steal the crown from HP” by playing in the ground that is not its core competence? The answers for those questions will be gradually opened during the discussion in the next two parts. CONCEPTS AND IMPLICATIONS
In order to reach a deeper understand of reasons behind the article, this section will go a little further,
The desire to unseat its closest rival Hewlett-Packard in market share war in Australia has driven Dell dramatic change in the service strategy. Dell was successful by selling machines directly to customers – mostly business – by phone or over the internet. However, some analysts believed that its new strategy of selling through retailer is an uphill struggle (Koenig, 2008). As Barry Jaruzelski, a partner at the consulting firm Booz & Company said: “Now that so much of the market is consumers, they have been forced into places that traditionally they didn’t want to go, which is retail” (Koenig, 2008).
Twice in this year has Dell stepped out of its direct business model. The first one is when Dell sealed with Officework and partnership with gizmo marked the second time. In the article named “Dell signs on gizmo to lend a helping hand,” Mitchell (2008) mentions about how the strategy of alliance with Gizmo, an Australian service oriented company, benefits both sides and their customers. Three main points can be drawn from the article:
• The availability and guarantee quality of the current service offered by Dell, i.e. the vendor’s on-site, next business day warranty service.
• The different levels of support creating an integrated service which offer their customer best-in-class services.
• The continuing evolution of Dell to expand the market share in Australia.
In the perspective of service marketing, what concepts can be connected with this event? In term of satisfying consumer, which theory can be used to explain the better service for Dell from this combination? And in the light of the resource based view theory, can Dell “steal the crown from HP” by playing in the ground that is not its core competence? The answers for those questions will be gradually opened during the discussion in the next two parts. CONCEPTS AND IMPLICATIONS
In order to reach a deeper understand of reasons behind the article, this section will go a little further,
References: Dell signs on gizmo to lend a helping hand. (2008, August 01). Australian IT news. Retrieved August 10, 2008, from http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,,24111419-15306,00.html Dell profit, sales jump in Q1. (2008, May 30). Australian IT news. Retrieved August 10, 2008, from http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,,23782313-15306,00.html Officeworks to sell Dell PCs. (2008, May 01). Australian IT news. Retrieved August 10, 2008, from http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,,23626962-15306,00.html Dell seals Aussie retail partner. (2008, April 30). Australian IT news. Retrieved August 10, 2008, from http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,,23622041-15306,00.html Kotler, P., Brown, L., Adam, S., Burton, S., Armstrong, G. (2002). Marketing (7th ed.). Australia: Pearson. McColl-Kennedy, J.R. (Ed), 2003, Services marketing: A managerial approach. QLD: John Wiley & Sons. Refining and extending the business model with information technology: Dell computer corporation. (1999, May 19). Australian IT news. Retrieved August 10, 2008, from http://www.crito.uci.edu/itr/publications/pdf/dell-feb00.pdf Zaharove-Reutt, A. (2008, July 31). iTWire Discussion. Retrieved August 11, 2008, from file:///N:/Documents/Semester%203/SERVICES%20MARKETING/viewtopic.php.htm Zeithmal, V., Bitner, M. & Gemler, D. (2006). Services marketing: Integrating customer focus across the firm (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.