Sakshi.............docx

4.0 Recommendation:Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. A lot of people of Dhaka City like the Dell-laptop for it high status, durability, high price and high memory. But Dell-laptop has some limitations which should be fixed to attract more consumers, to increase market share, and to build loyal customers. Dell-laptop has to do the following marketing strategies.

Advertising:Dell laptop should increase advertisement. Dell should introduce informative adds in the technology related magazine and daily newspaper. Dell should also focus on Billboard advertisement. Sometimes Dell can launch TV commercial.

Improvement of Features: According to customers opinion, it should improve its features. Otherwise it will not survive in the competitive market and lose the young customer segment.

Should be affordable: DELL Laptop price should be more affordable. Many people cannot purchase their laptop because of high price.

Increase in product line: They should introducelaptops in its store. They have to expand their product line, have to bring new products.

Convenience:Baskin-Robbins is not availableto the customers. It has only twoauthorized delear in Dhaka which is located at IDB Vhabon. It has to contract with more delear in Dhaka city for the convenience of customers. As its target market is Upper middle class and Middle class people, it can launch delearship in Gulshan, Uttara, Baridharaetc to catch the target market.

5.0 Conclusion:Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation. Though it has lots of limitations, it is liked by many customers due to high status and durability.

6.0 BIBLIOGRAPHYBooks: Consumer Behavior, Del I Hawkins, Rojer J. Best, Kenneth A. Coney, Ninth Edition. Principles of Marketing, Philip Kotler, Gray Armstrong, Eleventh Edition. Marketing Management, Philip Kotler, Millennium Edition.

Website:1. www.dell.com2. http://www.naaptol.com3. www.aponalo.com4. www.wikipedia.org

1. Introduction1.1 OriginsEast West University is afoundation that upholds eastern cultures and values, and evocativelyfusions eastern and western thought and innovation. To do this it offers undergraduate degree on different major subjects like Marketing, Finance, HRM, Economics etc. Consumer behavior (MKT 410) is one of the courses of Marketing major. Precisely it teachesus how individuals feel, think and act in the market place.While doing the course we have learned the factors of persuading a buyers decisions, learning, attitude, memory, self-concept and so many other vital things. To implement all of those or in other way to practically experience those issues Mr. FarhanFaruqui, course teacher of Consumer Behavior has given us this term paper on Dell Laptop.1.2 ObjectivesBy doing the report, we will be able to know the target markets profile of Dell Laptop, their buying purposes and preference. We will also be able to know the current market situation of the laptop products. We will be exploring the facts how individuals get influenced towards laptops, what they feel about different laptops and what are the comparisons.This report will also let us know the possible commendations for Dell Laptop.1.3 ScopeThe report is prepared concentrating on Dell Laptop. The area of the survey was only in Dhaka city. So, all the estimationshave been made based on the city area. It is a comprehensive report based on structured questionnaire survey, data calculation, peoples opinion, our perception and knowledge, and books of Consumer Behavior.1.4 LimitationWhile preparing the report we had to face some problems. 1. For the sake of official secrecy, the concerned officials did not provide enough information. 2. Time shortage was one of the major problems.3. Then lacking of information among customer were another major problems. In many case we found some people who do not have any idea about Dell Laptop. Many people did not cooperate because they were not interested.4. As because the questionnaire was in English many people could not understand the questions and thus could not answer well.1.5 MethodologyNature of the study: ExploratorySource of information: Both primary and secondary.Primary Source: Primary source were random entities. The following factors were considered to collect information: Sampling method: Convenient Sampling Information Collection instrument: Structured questionnaire for the respondents. Sample Size: 60 individuals.Secondary Sources: Secondary information was collected from the internet.Analysis of information: Statistical technique through MS Excel was used to analyze the collected data. Sum, Countif, Average, weighted average were used here.Presentation of Information: Collected and calculated information are presented in graphical forms.

Gender: Usually marketers target their products towards a specific portion of the market based on several analyses. Here we tried to find out the sensitivity and the variation between the male and female respondents. For that we have divided our total sample in two groups- male and female.We conducted our survey based on 60 peoples opinion. Among these people, 60% were male and 40% were female.

Figure: Gender of overall laptop market&Dell laptopFrom the survey result we found that among these 60% of male, 68% are the customers of DELL Laptop and among the 40% of female, 32% are the users of DELL Laptop.According to our findings it is very clear that the majority customers of DELL Laptop are male.Probable Strategy: They should focus more on female customers, because most of the consumers of DELL Laptop are male. DELL Laptop should associate its product more with female consumers by using renowned female personalities in its marketing activities. DELL Laptop should advertise its product more to their target market. They can make Television Commercials or Radio advertisements and play it in between the programs which are made for young people specially females. They should introduce more vibrant colors. Example- Orange, green and purple. They can use Iconic Rote. For example, they can us e key-board by proposing female ergonomic key-board. They can also use Vicarious Learning by showing in the ads corporate women are using DELL Laptop, for targeting corporate women.

Age:Age is one of the most important factors to identify the consumers behavior towards DELL Laptop. Age carries with it culturally defined behavioral and attitudinal norms. It affects our self-concepts and lifestyles. To find out the responsiveness about the DELL Laptop, we asked questions to different age group of our sample to find out the variation of consumer behavior in different age.We have surveyed people of different age groups. Among our surveyed people, 55% of people are within the 16-25 age groups. It is clear that 16-25 age group people are majority in number.

Figure:Age of overall laptop market&Dell laptopFrom our survey we also found that 48% of people who are the consumers of DELL Laptop are within the age group of 16-25. The age group of both 26-35 and 36-45 age groups should also be considerable in number as the pie chart shows 28% and 16% of these groups people useDELL Laptop. From this survey we can say that most of the consumers of DELL Laptop are young teenagers, university students and young professionals. Probable Strategy They should focus on consumers who are under 16 years old. They can associate DELL Laptop with child celebrities like Justin Bieber, Henna Montana. They can introduce special featured Laptop by using cartoon characters image on the case of Laptop. They can arrange quiz competition on information of DELL Laptop in schools for creating depth and awareness of DELL Laptop with a view to persuading to buy DELL Laptop. They can offer discounts to whoever can show valid student ID Card. They can offer preloaded games in the Laptop. They can also provide free school bag with DELL Laptop. They can arrange special fairs in schools. They can make special school packages with schools who like to offer DELL Laptops to their students for educational purposes. They should also extensively focus on their big market that is 16-25 age group because a large portion of this market hasnt captured. They can offer a special type of Laptop for different type of target customer in the age group of 16-25 like gaming laptop for who like to play game, studio laptop with high multimedia feature for who like to listen music. High configuration laptop for who are studying engineering section like CSC, EEE, ETE.

Education: Education has a strong influence on ones tastes and preferences. It also influences how one thinks, makes decisions, and relates to others. However, education seldom provides a complete explanation for consumption patterns. Those with a limited education are generally at disadvantage not only in earning money but in spending it wisely.According to our survey results, most of our surveyed people (49%) are Masters/MBA.

Figure:Education of overall laptop market&Dell laptop

From the pie chart above, we can see that 56% of DELL Laptop customers level of education is Masters/MBA and 32% customers level of education is UnderGraduate. So we can say that educated people mostly prefer DELL Laptops.

Probable Strategy: As most of the customers are educated so DELL Laptops should use green materials to manufacture its products. They should safely dispose off laptop batteries so that is causes least harm to the environment for the well aware and environmentally concerned consumers of DELL Laptops. Advertisement should be more informative and should focus on the features and the configurations of DELL Laptops They should offer licensed version anti-virus and essential office tools software They should practice social marketingwhich is the most preferable criteria for educated people.Occupation:

Most of the occupation predetermines the individuals income level. Ones occupation provides status and income. In addition, the type of work one does and the types of individuals one works with over time also directly influence ones values, lifestyle, and all aspects of the consumption process. In our questionnaire we have asked question to identify which professions respondents are appropriate target customer of DELL Laptops.Among our surveyed people, the largest portions (54%) of participants are students.

Figure:occupation of overall laptop market&Dell laptop

From our survey result we found that 40% of people who usesDELL Laptops are students, 32% are private employees, and 16% are Government employees in occupation. So, the company should focus on students more as they are biggest market and has biggest portion that has been not covered.

Strategy: As most of the customers are students, DELL Laptops should increase the number of laptop models with different design and casing and should offer student discount. Have to focus on offering special packages for schools, colleges and universities. Colorful advertisement and association with young generation celebrities will help to attract the students and increase the sales. They can sponsor events in schools, colleges and universities like talent competition and game tournaments to attract the attention of the students who are the largest segment. For private employees and business people they can emphasize more on the quality and high features and configured DELL Laptops as they can afford high price laptops also.

3.1.2. Social Factors:Social factors denote the social status of the target market by considering social class and other factors.Social Class:Income is highly influential in determining social class. To identify the respondents social class we asked them about their individual income to find their actual position in the society. The survey represents that most of the participants are in the family income range of 40,001-50,000 or 30,001-40,000.

Figure:Income of overall laptop market&Dell laptop

From our survey we found out that 40% of people who purchase and useDELL Laptops, their family income are in between TK.30,001-40,000 and 20% users of DELL Laptops their family income are in betweenTK.40,001-50,000. So we can see that the consumers of DELL Laptops are middle class and upper middle class.

Probable Strategy: Primarily they should focus more on middle class and upper middle class people as they prefer DELL Laptops. They can use price skimming pricing strategy to capture all layer of middle class. They can go to the cost leadership strategyby reducing augmented features as the countrys economic factors are little bit vulnerable. Can offer installment method to grab lower middle class customer. Secondarily, upper class of the society is the big portion of the laptop market. Marketer can also attract upper class of the society by proposing high quality and numbers of feature by charging extra price. They can charge high price compare to competitors by proposing same features to provide message towards the upper class customers that purchasing DELL is part of status.

3.1.3. Other Findings:

We have found some other information like source of information, influential factors, and ranks based on consumer perceptions which are described below: Most influencing factor at the time of purchase Laptop

From our survey we found out that most of our participants are influenced by friends (32%) at the time of purchasing Laptops.

Figure: Influencing factors of laptop market

The pie chart above has shown that 32% of our participants are influenced by their friends to purchase the laptop productsand 24% people are influenced by themself and 15% by marketing activities.

Probable Strategy: DELL should maintain the level of quality to satisfy their existing customers as they are the reference people for them to the new potential consumers. DELL can launch special package in the Friends Day. For example, if two friends buy two laptops they will be provided PENDRIVE and SPECIAL SOFTWARE. They can arrange case competition whereby the participant will be provided special gifts if they suggest their friends. For creating loyal customers DELL Laptops should focus on after sales service as they can work as reference people if they become satisfied. As most customers are spontaneously involved in purchasing DELL Laptops, marketer can use classical conditioning by using the image of expertise personality like MostofaJobbar associating DELL Laptops in advertisement. They can also use Iconic Rote by proposing that, We offer high processing ram. Dell can provide special training program to sales personals for selling DELL Laptops. The highest seller of the month will get a trip.

Source of knowing about DELL Laptop

From our survey result, we came to know that 33% of people heard about DELL Laptops from their Friends/ Relatives and Associate, 20% of the people got information from Websites and 17% from Magazines.

Figure:Source of laptop market

Probable Strategy: DELL should maintain the level of quality to satisfy their existing customers as they are the source of information for new potential consumers which will work as the word of mouth. DELL can offer special discount for siblings. They should target different social networking sites and blog for their online advertisement to grab online customer. DELL can develop their own website which will be improved, informative and easily understandable. They should regularly update their website. DELL should target life style and technology related magazine for their advertisement. They can buy full page magazine to isolate their print ad. Their ad should contain more color as color is more important than size. TV commercials can transmit very clear information to people due to its movement and exposure. Baskin-Robbins has to apply its classical conditioning ads more on different TV channels.Rank based on Consumers Perception

Figure:Rank of favorite laptop

This chart has been developed based on consumers perception about DELL Laptop. In developing this chart we have used a 5 Space Ranking Tool. According to this chart, DELL has the highest probability of being ranked no.1 which is strongly supported by the consumers who favored it as their second choice.Probable Strategy: As HP/Compaq is close to be Rank-1 according to consumers perception, DELL should doSWOT analysis of HP/Compaq. DELL should increase the life time of battery and after sales service in which HP/Compaq is stronger than DELL. DELL should arrange seminar where they will ask for advice about customization of DELL by providing gift to the respondent.

3.1.4. Self-Concept:

PersonalityPersonality is the totality of the individuals thought having reference to him as an object. This analysis shows that the personal characteristics of those people who have taken part in this survey.

Figure:personality of respondent.

From the table we can see that people who stand on average. They tend to be more delicate, excitable, dominating, youthful and formal. First, DELLhas to give persuasive advertisement by highlighting all the features.This graph has been developed based on consumers perception about themselves. We used a 5 space ranking tool o measure those perception. In this graph, the more close the rankings are towards rank 5 the more the surveyors are tend to be Delicate, Calm, Submissive, Adult, and Informal. On the other hand, the more close the ranks toward rank 1 states that the people are tend to be more Rugged, Excitable, Dominating, Youthful, and Formal. The ranks show the extremism of individual attributes.

Probable Strategy: As most of the customers of laptops are Delicate, DELL can introduce persuasive ad in the Magazine as well as Newspaper which is considered important media source for delicate people. In the same time, delicate people are looking for source reliability of advertisement. DELL can use reliable and expertise celebrity endorsement for their advertisement like Saied Akbar. Excitable people love colorful ads, excitable offering, exciting events like sports. So DELL can introduce colorful ad, exciting offering like buy one laptop get one Speaker free. DELL can also sponsor the T20 game. As youth people love to follow opinion leader, DELL can use the image of opinion leader like Dr. Muhammad ZafarIqbal. As youth people fond of stylish and fashionable case, DELL can offer stylish and fashionable case by conducting research and development. As youth people are interested in buying gaming and studio laptop, so DELL can offer those. DELL can also arrange laptop fare by targeting youth people. Dell can arrange seminar on IT revolution which can promote DELL. As formal people are quality concerned rather than price, DELL can offer quality features like durability, high configuration, and friendly licensed operating system.

3.1.5. Psychological Factors:

Conditioning:Conditioning refers to learning based on association of a stimulus (information) and response (behavior or feeling). There are two basic forms of conditioned learning-classical and operant.

Classical Conditioning: The process of using an established relationship between a stimulus and response to bring about learning of the same response to a different stimulus is called classical conditioning.

UCR (Positive response/Emotion)UCS(Image of Dr. Muhammad ZafarIqbal)

CS (DELL)CR (Conditioned Response)

UCS= Unconditional StimulusUCR= Unconditional ResponseCS= Conditional stimulusCR= Conditioned ResponseFigure: Classical Conditioning of DELL Laptop

Operant Conditioning: A response that is given reinforcement is more likely to be repeated when the same situation arises in the future. Reinforcement plays a much larger role in operant conditioning than it does in classical conditioning. Since no automatic stimulus-response relationship is involved, the subject must first be induced to engage in the desired behavior. Then this behavior must be reinforced. Operant conditioning often involves the actual usage of the product.

DELL Laptop(special discount)Desired Response(Consumption)Reinforcement(augmented features)Increases Probability of Response to Stimulus

Figure: Operant Conditioning of DELL Laptop

Through operant condition DELL Laptop can grab more customers. For example, they can introducespecial discount program in special occasions. After purchasing DELL Laptop at special discount consumer start liking for its augmented features. Then consumer tend to buy DELL Laptop at full price whenever they demand for laptop.3.2. MemoryMemory is the total accumulation of prior learning experiences. It consists of two inter related components: Short-Term Memory Long-Term MemoryShort-Term Memory:Short term memory is that portion of total memory that is currently activated or in use. It is often referred to as working memory. It is an active, dynamic process not a static structure.Maintenance Rehearsal:This is the application of short term memory. Maintenance Rehearsal is the continual repetition of a piece of information in order to hold it in current memory for use in problem solving or transferable to long term memory.Strategy DELL can launch TV commercial specially before IT related program and they can hire space in front of IDB building, Manik Mia Avenue, Mohakhali Flyover, in front of Ruposi Bangla to create repeated rehearsal in their memory which will help to increase the likings of DELL Laptop.Long-Term MemoryLong-Term Memory is viewed as an unlimited, permanent storage. Long-Term Memory carries numerous types of information such as concepts, decision, rules, process, affective states and so forth. In case of long term memory product stays for a long term and consumer can recall after a certain period of time.Semantic Memory:Semantic Memory is the basic knowledge or feelings about a concept. It represents the persons understanding of an object or event at its simplest level.After hearing DELL Laptop, the attributes come in the mind of the peopleareHigh Status, Durability, High Price, High Memory. These attributes work as semantic memory to the peoples mind. (According to our survey we found 29% people saidHigh Status, 21% said Durability, 15% said High Price, and 13% said High Memory come in their mind after hearing the name DELL Laptop).

Semantic Memory/ Schema:It is what a consumer thinks and feels when the brand name is mentioned. It is the source of personal experiences and opinions through which customers can differentiate DELL Laptop differently. DELL Laptop contains several characteristics, usage situations, episodes and affective reactions.While surveying the customers, we found several memory events about DELL Laptop which are given below:

The Success of Dell, Inc.

a. Success Factor ProfileThe overall success of Dells usage of information systems is apparent when an analysis of the companys past and present performance is performed. The company has been growing solidly since 1990. From 1992 to 1997, the company grew 30% per year.

Over the last 13 years, Dell has grown from $389 million in net sales to $35 billon[footnoteRef:1]. Net income rose from $149 million in 1990 to $2.12 billion in 2003. As the chart above details, this growth has been almost uninterrupted. These figures be attributed to many factors, yet the implementation of a clear vision by senior and middle management, combined with an IT-supported direct business model, are obvious reasons. [1: 1Jump Company Research and Business Tool. World Market Watch, Inc. http://www.1jump.com]

An analysis of Dells income over the last 13 years yields similar conclusions. Growing from $5 million in net income to $2.2 billion proves the successful vision of the direct model. The only drop in net income is largely due to aggressive price wars by every vendor in the industry, combined with an economic turndown. Large and small customers continue to buy PC Hardware direct from a reputable vendor. An intense advertising campaign has increased brand awareness. The top-rated support service by Dell and its partners has given the company a positive view of the company.

As the link between an IT-enabled direct model and Dells company success has been made, the major accomplishments by Dell can be summarized:

Customer Integration: Allowing customers of all types to customize the hardware and software on PCs purchased at Dell added significant value to the purchasing experience. Creating an interface for premiere customers to track purchases, create reports based on purchase history, and access account support services made Dell an attractive alternative for end users and corporations alike.

Vendor Reduction and Integration: Cutting the number of component vendors allowed a much more streamlined process of contract negotiations between Dell and its suppliers. Allowing suppliers to interact with Dell, check the going rate of component bidding, and forecast Dells inventory needs made Dells relationship with its suppliers far more interwoven.

Process Outsourcing: Dell wisely outsourced many of its non-critical processes to outside vendors. It chose top-quality partners in service and support, allowing customers to get door-to-door customer support or product replacement.

Increased Product Line: Expansion into PC-related product lines has allowed Dell to move into many of the emerging niche markets. New products, including PDAs, digital audio players, and PC peripherals has allowed Dell to maintain revenue growth, increase brand awareness, and further exploit the cost advantages to selling products directly.

Process reengineering: Dell redesigned the PCs they made in order to increase the effectiveness of their fabrication personnel. Ideas that made for shorter build time include: redesigning the system so that only five different types of screw are used, using shorter cable lengths for ease of assembly, using fiber optics for PC software downloads, and reducing the number of PC touches by humans 50%.

To conclude, many of the actions taken by management in the name of building customer and supplier relationships, and increasing production efficiencies, have yielded positive results. These undertakings by senior management have enabled Dell to consistently compete in one of the most competitive markets in the world.

b. Have the Above factors Properly Positioned Dell for the Future?

Analysts estimate that 300 million PCs will be shipped, on an annual basis, by 2010[footnoteRef:2]. While that number roughly doubles the total market for computers in the year 2003, the average revenue per unit will continue to fall. This fact, and a continuation of aggressive price strategies by major worldwide PC vendors, leaves the future uncertain for everyone in this market. [2: Study: Future PC sales growth to be jagged http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2002/05/06/daily20.html]

While Dell has taken great strides in positioning themselves to lead the PC industry in inventory velocity, production efficiencies, and partner relationships, it can be counted on that major competitors will take similar actions to even the playing field. Dell has wisely moved into other PC-related product markets, in an effort to maintain revenue growth and brand awareness. The ability for Dell to acknowledge and compete in emerging niche PC component markets is absolutely critical to their ability to maintain the type of performance the company has enjoyed over the last 13 years. However, any missteps by moving into unprofitable market segments can seriously jeopardize the future sustainability of the direct model. In conclusion, Dell has enjoyed a tremendously positive trend in growth for the least 10+ years. Today the company ranks as the #1 global vendor of PC systems. The future is bright for Dell, so long as the company is able to focus on new profitable markets that customers are willing to buy direct from a vendor.

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