Executive Summary The laptop industry has been growing at a rapid rate over the last few years. Some of the major players of the laptop industry are Hewlett-Packard, Dell, HCL Info Systems, Compaq, Toshiba and so on. The leader among these is Hewlett-Packard with a market share of 18.2% and Dell is in the third position with 9.7%. In this study we tried to find out about the consumer’s perception of Dell and one of its main features customization. We conducted a survey using questionnaires with a sample size of 60 comprising of students, IT professionals and non IT professionals. Our research revealed that Dell is mainly popular among its consumers because of its assured quality and customized features. As one of the highlights of Dell laptops, customization is hugely popular among the consumers especially in the age group of 18-30 years. 1
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Executive Summary
The laptop industry has been growing at a rapid rate over the last few years. Some of the major players of the laptop industry are Hewlett-Packard, Dell, HCL Info Systems, Compaq, Toshiba and so on. The leader among these is Hewlett-Packard with a market share of 18.2% and Dell is in the third position with 9.7%.
In this study we tried to find out about the consumer’s perception of Dell and one of its main features customization.
We conducted a survey using questionnaires with a sample size of 60 comprising of students, IT professionals and non IT professionals.
Our research revealed that Dell is mainly popular among its consumers because of its assured quality and customized features.
As one of the highlights of Dell laptops, customization is hugely popular among the consumers especially in the age group of 18-30 years.
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Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
This study aims at identifying the positioning of Dell laptops among the different sections of the
consumers. With big sellers such as Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Apple etc as competitors, we tried to
evaluate the positioning of Dell laptops in the minds of the consumers and the level of satisfaction of
the consumers with the laptops and services provided by Dell. As customization is one of the
highlights of the Dell laptops, we attempted to find out the customer’s preference of customization in
laptops as compared to laptops with standard configuration.
About Dell
Dell Inc is a multinational technology corporation that develops, manufactures, sells, and supports
personal computers and other computer-related products. While a student at the University of Texas
at Austin in 1984, Michael Dell founded the company as PC's Limited with capital of $1000.
Operating from Michael Dell's off-campus dormitory room at Dobie Center, the startup aimed to sell
IBM PC-compatible computers built from stock components. Michael Dell started trading in the
belief that by selling personal computer-systems directly to customers, PC's Limited could better
understand customers' needs and provide the most effective computing solutions to meet those needs.
In 1985, the company produced the first computer of its own design — the "Turbo PC", sold for
US$795 — which contained an Intel 8088-compatible processor running at a speed of 8 MHz. PC's
Limited advertised the systems in national computer-magazines for sale directly to consumers, and
custom-assembled each ordered unit according to a selection of options. This offered buyers prices
lower than those of retail brands, but with greater convenience than assembling the components
themselves. Although not the first company to use this model, PC's Limited became one of the first
to succeed with it. The company changed its name to "Dell Computer Corporation" in 1988. In 1989,
Dell Computer set up its first on-site-service programs in order to compensate for the lack of local
retailers prepared to act as service centers.During the 1980s and 1990s Dell became the largest seller
of PCs and servers for a certain time period. At present it holds the third position in the computer
sales industry behind HP and HCL Info Systems.
In the 1980s Dell became a pioneer in the “configure to order” approach to manufacturing –
delivering individual PCs configured to customer specifications. The company sells its products and
services directly to customers through sales representatives, telephone-based sales, and online at
www.dell.com, as well as through various indirect sales channels.
The main objective of this research is to evaluate customer satisfaction with Dell laptops and their
preference in configuration of the laptops with respect to customization.
The data collected from a predefined sample size is analyzed using statistical analysis tool SPSS 17.0
to test the following hypotheses –
Consumers prefer Dell laptops over other brands.
Consumers prefer customized laptops over standardized ones.
Among different age groups youth prefer customization the most.
The required data for the study is collected through:
Sampling – A sample size of 60 was selected in such a way that 40% of them were students, 40%
IT professionals and 20% among them were non IT professionals.
Primary Data – This includes structured questionnaires that consist of both open ended and
closed ended questions. The questions are framed in such a way that it helps us to get an insight
into the consumer behavior before purchasing a laptop and also customer preferences among
different laptop brands and the configuration of the laptops.
Field Work – To achieve an unbiased response, questionnaires were distributed outside colleges
and offices and also among customers in the computer and electronic stores.
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Chapter 6
Data Analysis
The data is analyzed using statistical analysis tool SPSS 17.0 using data collected through
questionnaires from a sample size of 60.
Crosstabs
Case Processing Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total
N Percent N Percent N Percent
ownership of laptops * type
preference
54 90.0% 6 10.0% 60 100.0%
Chi-Square Tests
Value Df
Asymp. Sig. (2-
sided)
Exact Sig. (2-
sided)
Exact Sig. (1-
sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 1.732a 1 .188
Continuity Correctionb .073 1 .786
Likelihood Ratio 2.019 1 .155
Fisher's Exact Test .370 .370
Linear-by-Linear Association 1.700 1 .192
N of Valid Cases 54
a. 2 cells (50.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .37.
b. Computed only for a 2x2 table
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From the above graph, we can infer that majority of the consumers who owns laptop, prefers customization.
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Case Processing Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total
N Percent N Percent N Percent
ownership of laptops * brand
usage
55 91.7% 5 8.3% 60 100.0%
Chi-Square Tests
Value
Pearson Chi-Square .a
N of Valid Cases 49
a. No statistics are computed
because ownership of laptops is a
constant.
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From this graph, we can infer that we can infer that the consumers who have used Dell laptop atleast once , finds it to be better than the other laptop brands.
Case Processing Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total
N Percent N Percent N Percent
brand usage * type
preference
54 90.0% 6 10.0% 60 100.0%
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Chi-Square Tests
Value Df
Asymp. Sig. (2-
sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 11.175a 4 .025
Likelihood Ratio 11.510 4 .021
Linear-by-Linear Association 7.947 1 .005
N of Valid Cases 54
a. 4 cells (40.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum
expected count is 1.11.
From the above bar chart, we can infer that majority of the consumers among any brand prefer their laptops to be customized.
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Case Processing Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total
N Percent N Percent N Percent
brand usage * age of the
respondent
55 91.7% 5 8.3% 60 100.0%
type preference * age of the
respondent
54 90.0% 6 10.0% 60 100.0%
Brand usage * age of the respondent
Chi-Square Tests
Value Df
Asymp. Sig. (2-
sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 6.943a 12 .861
Likelihood Ratio 7.542 12 .820
Linear-by-Linear Association 1.320 1 .251
N of Valid Cases 55
a. 14 cells (70.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum
expected count is .05.
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From this bar chart, we can infer that Dell has been able to become a major player in the laptop industry and is highly popular among different sections of the laptop users.
Type preference * age of the respondent
Chi-Square Tests
Value Df
Asymp. Sig. (2-
sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 2.513a 3 .473
Likelihood Ratio 2.802 3 .423
Linear-by-Linear Association 2.036 1 .154
N of Valid Cases 54
a. 4 cells (50.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum
expected count is .37.
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From this bar chart we can see that the youth, that is in the age group of 18 to 30 years prefer customization more than standardization.
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Chapter 7
Summary of Findings
Analysis of the data collected from the sample reveals that-
1. Dell has been able to position itself in the minds of the consumers as a major player in the laptop industry.
2. Consumers are overall satisfied with the products and services offered by Dell.
3. Most of the consumers who have used Dell prefer it over other laptop brands.
4. Customization is hugely popular among laptop users and especially among consumers in the age group 18 to 30 years.
5. Consumers who don’t own a laptop but may buy one in the future prefer standardization.
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Chapter 8
Conclusion
The laptop industry has been recording an exponential growth and with it many new brands are entering the market. Dell has been going steady with a good market share and it has positioned itself as a quality product in the minds of the consumers.
As a pioneer of customization, Dell has been projecting it as one of the highlights of its products. Among the tech savvy youth of today, customization is hugely popular so many prefer to go for Dell laptops so this marketing tactic of projecting customization has been a very successful one.
From this study, we can conclude that customization and quality can be termed as two major key factors in the success of Dell laptops among different sections of the consumers.