Products

Scope and brands The corporation markets specific brand names to different market segments. Its Business/Corporate class represent brands where the company advertising emphasizes long life-cycles, reliability, and serviceability. Such brands include:

OptiPlex (office desktop computer systems) Vostro (office/small business desktop and notebook systems) n Series (desktop and notebook computers shipped with Linux or FreeDOS installed) Latitude (business-focused notebooks) Precision (workstation systems and high-performance notebooks),[50] PowerEdge (business servers) PowerVault (direct-attach and network-attached storage) PowerConnect (network switches) Dell Compellent (storage area networks) EqualLogic (enterprise class iSCSI SANs)

Dell's Home Office/Consumer class emphasizes value, performance, and expandability. These brands include:

Inspiron (budget desktop and notebook computers) Studio (mainstream desktop and laptop computers) XPS (high-end desktop and notebook computers) Studio XPS (high-end design-focus of XPS systems and extreme multimedia capability) Alienware (high-performance gaming systems) Adamo (high-end luxury laptop) Dell EMR (electronic medical records)

Dell's Peripherals class includes USB keydrives, LCD televisions, and printers; Dell monitors includes LCD TVs, plasma TVs and projectors for HDTV and monitors. Dell UltraSharp is further a high-end brand ofmonitors. Dell service and support brands include the Dell Solution Station (extended domestic support services, previously "Dell on Call"), Dell Support Center (extended support services abroad), Dell Business Support (a commercial service-contract that provides an industrycertified technician with a lower call-volume than in normal queues), Dell Everdream Desktop Management ("Software as a Service" remote-desktop management),[51] and Your Tech Team (a support-queue available to home users who purchased their systems either through Dell's website or through Dell phone-centers). Discontinued products and brands include Axim (PDA; discontinued April 9, 2007),[52] Dimension (home and small office desktop computers; discontinued July 2007), Dell Digital Jukebox (MP3 player; discontinued August 2006), Dell PowerApp (application-based servers), and Dell Omniplex (desktop and tower computers previously supported to run server and desktop operating systems).

PROMOTION ( u startu ima priu, pa je probaj ubaciti negdje ) Most people dont know that one the key marketing strategies that has made Dell Computer so unbelievably successful had nothing to do with the computer business. Dell actually discovered it as a 12-year old kid in Houston, during one of their hot, sweltering, humid, and disgusting summers. (No offense to anyone in Houston, Im just not a big fan of hot, humid summers.) Anyway, he decided one summer to be a paper boy. He wanted to make some extra money, and, as an entrepreneurial kid, that means running a paper route. He went down to the paper where he received a bundle of papers and a list of names to call or visit. The names were randomly picked people who did not have a subscription to the paper. Dells job was to begin calling everyone on the list and get some subscriptions sold. He sold one here and he sold one there, but he pretty soon began to notice a pattern. There were two categories of people who were much more likely to buy a subscription from him than anyone else. First, people who had just moved into a new home. And second, people who had just married. It makes sense right? They are going through life changes that dramatically increase the likelihood of them wanting and needing a paper subscription. Most kids and most adult businesspeople would say, thats neat and stop there. But Dell took the next step. He began to ask how can I target these people and only these people, so that Im spending my time, resources, and my energy where I know its going to pay off best? The answer came when he discovered public information available at the local courthouse could give him access to exactly who he wanted to target. He gathered a small army of 12years-old kids and sent them all down to the courthouse on a regular basis. They wrote down everyone who had purchased a new home and everyone who had applied for a marriage license. Michael Dell then spent his time selling to those people predisposed to buying. He didnt try to be all things to all people, he narrowly and specifically defined who he wanted to spend his limited time and energy on, he had a much smaller list of potential buyers, and he did an enormous amount of business (for a paper boy!) because of it. When summer ended and Dell went back to school, he was actually making more money from his paper route than the teachers in his school. Most people look at Dell Computer today and think they are being all things to all people. It is an illusion created by their size. The success of Dell lies in large part with market segmentation and specialization strategies that Michael Dell learned that hot Houston summer, pioneered at Dell Computer, and that the company still does today.

Dell advertisements have appeared in several types of media including television, the Internet, magazines, catalogs and newspapers. Some of Dell Inc's marketing strategies include lowering prices at all times of the year, offering free bonus products (such as Dell printers), and offering free shipping in order to encourage more sales and to stave off competitors. In 2006, Dell cut its prices in an effort to maintain its 19.2% market share. However, this also cut profit-margins by more than half, from 8.7 to 4.3 percent. To maintain its low prices, Dell continues to accept most purchases of its products via the Internet and through the telephone network, and to move its customer-care division to India and El Salvador.[68] A popular United States television and print ad campaign in the early 2000s featured the actor Ben Curtis playing the part of "Steven", a lightly mischievous blond-haired youth who came to the assistance of bereft computer purchasers. Each television advertisement usually ended with Steven's catch-phrase: "Dude, you're gettin' a Dell!" A subsequent advertising campaign featured interns at Dell headquarters (with Curtis' character appearing in a small cameo at the end of one of the first commercials in this particular campaign). A Dell advertising campaign for the XPS line of gaming computers featured in print in the September 2006 issue of Wired. It used as a tagline the common term in Internet and gamer slang: "FTW", meaning "For The Win". However, Dell Inc. soon[when?] dropped the campaign. In the first-person shooter game F.E.A.R. Extraction Point, several computers visible on desks within the game have recognizable Dell XPS model characteristics, sometimes even including the Dell logo on the monitors. In 2007, Dell switched advertising agencies in the US from BBDO to Working Mother Media. In July 2007, Dell released new advertising created by Working Mother to support the Inspiron and XPS lines. The ads featured music from the Flaming Lips and Devo who reformed especially to record the song in the ad "Work it Out". Also in 2007, Dell began using the slogan "Yours is here" to say that it customizes computers to fit customers' requirements

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United States In the early 1990s, Dell sold its products through Best Buy, Costco and Sam's Club stores in the United States. Dell stopped this practice in 1994, citing low profit-margins on the business. In 2003, Dell briefly sold products in Sears stores in the U.S. In 2007, Dell started shipping its products to major retailers in the U.S. once again, starting with Sam's Club and Wal-Mart. Staples, the largest office-supply retailer in the U.S., and Best Buy, the largest electronics retailer in the U.S., became Dell retail partners later that same year. ]Kiosks Starting in 2002, Dell opened kiosk locations in shopping malls across the United States in order to give personal service to customers who preferred this method of shopping to using the Internet or the telephone-system. Despite the added expense, prices at the kiosks match or beat prices available through other retail channels. Starting in 2005, Dell expanded kiosk locations to include shopping malls across Australia,Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong. On January 30, 2008, Dell shut down all 140 kiosks in the U.S. due to expansion into retail stores.[73] By June 3, 2010, Dell had also shut down all of its mall kiosks in Australia.[74] Stores In 2006, Dell Inc. opened one full store, 3,000-square-foot (280 m2) in area, at NorthPark Center in Dallas, Texas. It operates the retail outlet seven days a week to display about 36 models, including PCs and televisions. As at the kiosks, customers can only see demonstration-computers and place orders through agents. Dell then delivers purchased items just as if the customer had placed the order by phone or over the Internet. In addition to showcasing products, the stores also support on-site warranties and nonwarranty service ("Dell Solution Station"). Services offered include repairing computer videocards and removing spyware from hard drives. On February 14, 2008, Dell closed the Service Center in its Dallas NorthPark store and laid off all the technical staff there.[citation needed] Elsewhere As of the end of February 2008, Dell products shipped to one of the largest office-supply retailers in Canada, Staples Business Depot. In April 2008, Future Shop and Best Buy began carrying a subset of Dell products, such as certain desktops, laptops, printers, and monitors. Since some shoppers in certain markets show reluctance to purchase technological products through the phone or the Internet, Dell has looked into opening retail operations in some countries in Central Europe and Russia. In April 2007, Dell opened a retail store in Budapest. In October of the same year, Dell opened a retail store in Moscow. In the UK, HMV's flagship Trocadero store has sold Dell XPS PCs since December 2007. From January 2008 the UK stores of DSGi have sold Dell products (in particular, through Currys and PC World stores). As of 2008, the large supermarket-chain Tesco has sold Dell laptops and desktops in outlets throughout the UK.

In May 2008, Dell reached an agreement with office supply chain, Officeworks (part of Coles Group), to stock a few modified models in the Inspiron desktop and notebook range. These models have slightly different model numbers, but almost replicate the ones available from the Dell Store. Dell continued its retail push in the Australian market with its partnership with Harris Technology (another part of Coles Group) in November of the same year. In addition, Dell expanded its retail distributions in Australia through an agreement with discount electrical retailer, The Good Guys, known for "Slashing Prices". Dell agreed to distribute a variety of makes of both desktops and notebooks, including Studio and XPS systems in late 2008. Dell and Dick Smith Electronics (owned by Woolworths Limited) reached an agreement to expand within Dick Smith's 400 stores throughout Australia and New Zealand in May 2009 (1 year since Officeworks owned by Coles Group reached a deal). The retailer has agreed to distribute a variety of Inspiron and Studionotebooks, with minimal Studio desktops from the Dell range. As of 2009, Dell continues to run and operate its various kiosks in 18 shopping centres throughout Australia. On March 31, 2010 Dell announced to Australian Kiosk employees that they were shutting down the Australian/New Zealand Dell kiosk program. In Germany, Dell is selling selected smartphones and notebooks via Media Markt and Saturn, as well as some shopping websites

PRICE Dell continues to wrestle with pricing conflicts between what solution providers pay for systems and the price customers get quoted when buying from Dell Direct. With Dells deal with Ingram Micro and Tech Data, will solution providers find similar pricing conflicts with distributors? Channel Insider puts Dells pricing scheme to the test. PDF Version Has Dell learned its lesson about pricing products for the channel? Since the computer manufacturer re-entered the channel nearly 18 months ago, its dodged issues of conflict for what it offers registered partners for prices on products and what customers can find by shopping direct on Dells Web site. Now Dell is engaging the channel through distribution. In a deal signed two weeks ago with Ingram Micro and Tech Data, Dell is offering 14 desktop and notebook units from its business-class Vostro line through distribution giants Ingram Micro and Tech Data. Dell says solution providers can buy direct from Dell or through distribution. The benefit of buying through a distributor is having one source for comparative brand pricing, a broad line of products for building holistic solutions and credit. Distribution, in theory, often offers better pricing than what manufacturers charge end users, but slightly more than what solution providers can get direct from suppliers.

Dells pricing conflicts with the channel are nothing new. Dells 2002 attempt at a white box program proved disastrous. The company offered solution providers unbadged Dell PCs for resale, but there were a lot of problems with the model. First, the white box versions were often more expensive than Dell-branded systems. Second, the removal of the Dell label made the systems less desirable to customers. And third, Dell only offered a limited selection of low-end PCs to its partners. Has Dell learned from the past and is the company really looking to equip its partners with competitively priced systems that cant be under-sold by Dell.com and the company's many competitors? Channel Insider checked out the prices of the new Vostro systems sold through distribution against the prices of comparable systems available direct from Dell and from Dell competitors. Dells foray into the distribution model consists of the companys Vostro product line, with approximately 14 desktops and notebooks available. The Vostro product line is aimed at business users and sport mid-level features and performance. Vostro should have particular appeal to the small business user due to affordable pricing and competitive software bundles. Dells price leader via distribution is the Dell Vostro 220 desktop, which has an MSRP of $469.99. Tech Data is offering the Vostro 220 (P/N 464-2127) for $451.21. That system comes with a Core 2 Duo E7300 (2.66 GHz) CPU, 1 GB Ram, 160 GB Hard Drive, DVDRW (R DL) optical drive, GMA X4500HD video, Gigabit Ethernet and Windows Vista Business with an XP Pro downgrade available. An equivalent system available from Dell Direct prices at $478, just a few dollars more than the MSRP of the distribution-level system. Interestingly, building that configuration at Dell.com generates a warning that 1 GB of RAM isnt enough for Windows Vista Business edition. While on the surface, it looks like Dell is taking the right approach in regards to pricing for the channel, but one needs to consider Dells frequent specials and offers. For example, Dell.com is currently offering a Desktop Deal Vostro 220s equipped much the same as the distribution system, with 2 GBs RAM and a 19-inch LCD monitor included for $559. Solution providers buying through distribution are going to find it difficult, if not impossible, to compete with that offering. Those looking to compete with Dells pricing may turn to Lenovo or Hewlett-Packard for similarly equipped systems. Lenovos ThinkCentre A57 9702, when equipped similarly to the Vostro, costs about $470; an HP Compaq Business Desktop dx2400 costs about $540. This shows that on the bottom end, Dell can beat most other vendors when it comes to basic pricing.

On the other hand, system builders may be able to under-sell Dell by carefully choosing components. For example, a system builder should be able to build a comparable system for about $435 using an Intel E7300 CPU, Intel DG31 Motherboard, Antec case/PSU, Maxtor 160 GB hard drive, Corsair RAM, Lite-on Optical drive, generic keyboard, mouse and Windows Vista Business Edition. Comparing notebook computers is a little easier. Here, Dell offers a Vostro 1510 Notebook (P/N 464-3400) for $747.55 through Tech Data. That unit has a MSRP of $892 and features a 2.1 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 CPU, a 15.4-inch display, 2 GBs RAM, 160 GB hard drive, DVDRW optical drive, GMA X3100 graphics, gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g wireless, biometric fingerprint reader and Windows Vista Business with XP Pro downgrade available. On Dells Web site, the T8100 CPU is not offered on the Vostro 1510, forcing buyers to select the T7250 CPU. That said, the Dell Direct Vostro systems come with 3 GBs RAM and can be configured pretty much the same otherwise. Dell.com prices the similarly configured Vostro 1510 at $780, slightly more expensive than the distribution version of the notebook. At this time, Dell did not have any Dell Deals on the Vostro 1510, meaning that until a special offer develops, the best place for a solution provider to buy the Vostro 1510 is through distribution. Of course, Dell is not the only notebook manufacturer. Toshiba offers a similarly equipped Satellite Pro S300 for $799 and Lenovo offers an SL500, with a P7370 Intel CPU (2.0Ghz) for about $680a bit cheaper than Dell, albeit with a slightly slower processor. In our tests, Dells pricing against both distribution and competitors either doesnt conflict or is within a reasonable variance. Even so, solution providers will have to pay careful attention to Dells specials when pricing systems. Those not looking to sell Dell products may have some work cut out for them, where it may be difficult to beat Dells prices feature by feature.