Brand Awareness

MARKET RESEARCH ON BRAND AWARENESS FOR BRANDED P.C

SUMITTED BY:SHRIKANT S PANIKAR (Roll No # 46) SIDDHARTH VYAS (Roll No # 47) SHAKTI KUMAR SINGH (Roll No # 45) SUNIL KUMAR (Roll No # 48)

IN FULFILLMENT OF PGDM (MARKETING)

SINHGAD INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND RESEARCH S. No. 40/4A+4B1, NEAR PMC OCTRIO POST KONDHWA – SASWAD ROAD KONDHWA (BK) PUNE-48 SINHGAD INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND RESEARCH, KONDHWA (BK)

DECLARATION

We hereby declare that the project titled “To Determine the Brand Awareness for Branded P.C” is an original piece of research work carried out by us under the guidance and supervision of Mr. Pankaj Nandurkar. The information has been collected from genuine & authentic sources. The work has been submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement of PGDM (MRKT).

Place:

Signature:

Date: students:

Name of the SHRIKANT S PANIKAR SIDHARTH VYAS SHAKTI KUMAR SINGH SUNIL KUMAR

Acknowledgement

We would like to acknowledge all the help and guidelines received by our Respected and Well informed Marketing Faculty at SIBAR (Sinhgad Institute of Business Management and Research) as this Marketing Research would not have been possible without they expert guidance.

In short we would like to thank the following for all their Efforts and Support:

 Mr Pankaj Nandurkar

 Mr Vishal Bhole

(Marketing Research Faculty at SIBAR)

(Marketing Faculty at SIBAR)

 All our Teammates and Colleagues.

Executive summary Results of a controlled experiment on the role of brand awareness in the consumer choice process showed that brand awareness was a dominant choice heuristic among awarenessgroup subjects. Subjects with no brand awareness tended to sample more brands and selected the high-quality brand on the final choice significantly more often than those with brand awareness. Thus, when quality differences exist among competing brands, consumers may "pay a price" for employing simple choice heuristics such as brand awareness in the interest of economizing time and effort. However, building brand awareness is a viable strategy for advertising aimed at increasing brand-choice probabilities. Brand awareness can be measured by showing a consumer the brand and asking whether or not they knew of it beforehand. However, in common market research practice a variety of recognition and recall measures of brand awareness are employed all of which test the brand name's association to a product category cue, this came about because most market research in the 20th Century was conducted by post or telephone, actually showing the brand to consumers usually required more expensive face-to-face interviews (until web-based interviews became possible). This has led many textbooks to conceptualize brand awareness simply as its measures, that is, knowledge that the brand is a member of a particular product category. Brand awareness consists of both brand recognition, which is the ability of consumers to confirm that they have previously been exposed to your brand, and brand recall, which reflects the ability of consumers to name your brand when given the product category, category need, or some other similar cue. Aided awareness occurs when you show or read a list of brands and the person expresses familiarity with your brand only after they hear or see it. Top-of-mind awareness occurs when you ask a person to name brands within a product category and your brand pops up first on the list. Primary objective: To research whether Brand awareness in Branded PC’s affects the sales or helps the Retailer in making a sale. Secondary objective: To research and see which Brand is ahead in “Top-of-the-Mind Awareness” among Branded PC’s.

Table of Contents 1. Introduction.

2. Objectives.

3. Research Methodology.

4. Company Profile.

5. Data Presentation. 5.1 Data Collection.

5.2 Data Analysis.

6. Conclusions

7. Limitations / Future scope.

8. Recommendations.

9. Bibliography

10. Annexure

1. Introduction The research Project is on the topic of “Brand Awareness of Branded PC’s (Personal Computers)”. Now first let us look at the definition of a Brand: The definition of brand: A brand is an identifiable entity that makes specific promises of value. In its simplest form, a brand is nothing more and nothing less than the promises of value you or your product makes. These promises can be implied or explicitly stated, but none-the-less, value of some type is promised. Now let us further define Brand Awareness: Brand awareness is when people recognize your brand as yours. This does not necessarily mean they prefer your brand (brand preference), attach a high value to, or associate any superior attributes to your brand, it just means they recognize your brand and can identify it under different conditions. Brand awareness consists of both brand recognition, which is the ability of consumers to confirm that they have previously been exposed to your brand, and brand recall, which reflects the ability of consumers to name your brand when given the product category, category need, or some other similar cue. Aided awareness occurs when you show or read a list of brands and the person expresses familiarity with your brand only after they hear or see it. Top-of-mind awareness occurs when you ask a person to name brands within a product category and your brand pops up first on the list. When you think about facial tissue, gelatins, and adhesive bandages, do the brands Kleenex®, Jell-O®, and Band-Aid® come to mind? These brands enjoy strong top-of-mind awareness in their respective categories.

The Purpose of this research to evaluate the amount of Brand Awareness enjoyed by different brands of PC’s in the market.

Historical & Technical Background of Brands Brands identify the source of market of a product and allow consumers-either individuals or organizations-to assign responsibility to a particular manufacturer or distributor. Consumers may evaluate the identical product differently depending on how it is branded. Consumers learn about brands through past experiences with the product and its marketing program. They find out which brands satisfy their needs and which ones do not. As consumers’ lives become more complicated, rushed,and time-starved,the ability of a brand to simplify decisions making and reduce risk is invaluable.

Brands also perform valuable functions for firms. First, they simplify product handling or tracing. Brands help to organize inventory and accounting records. A brand also offers the firm legal protection for unique features or aspects of the product. The brand name can be protected through registered trademarks; manufacturing processes can be protected through patents; and packaging can be protected through copyrights and designs.These intellectual property rights ensure that the firm can safely invest in the brand and reap the benefits of a valuable asset.

Brands can signal a certain level of quality so that satisfied buyers can easily choose the product again. Brand loyalty provides predictability and security of demand for the firm and creates barriers to entry that make it difficult for other firms to enter the market. Loyalty also can translate into a willingness to pay a higher price—often 20 to 25 percent more. Although competitors may easily duplicate manufacturing processes and product designs, they cannot easily match lasting impressions in the minds of individuals and organizations from years of marketing activity and product experience. In this sense, branding can be seen as a powerful means to secure a competitive advantage. To firms, brands thus represent enormously valuable pieces of legal property that can influence consumer behavior, be sought and sold, provide the security of sustained future revenues to their owner. Large earning multiple have been paid for brands in mergers or acquisitions, starting with the boom years of the mid-1980s. The price premium is often justified on the basis of assumptions of the extra profits that could be extracted and sustained from the brands, as well as the tremendous difficulty and expense of creating similar brands from scratch. Wall Street believes that strong brands result in better earnings and profit performance for firms, which, in turn, creates greater value for shareholders. Much of the recent interest in brands by senior management has been result of these bottom-line financial considerations. “Marketing Memo: The brand Report card” lists 10 key characteristics based on a review of the world’s strongest brands.

Scope of study Is to check that does Brand Awareness among Branded PC’s affects the sales or creates a specific image about the brand which helps the Brand in gaining an advantage over the competitors. As the Research Methodology used for this research would be Personal Interview or Telephonic Interviews of the Targeted Masses using a set of questionnaires designed to get the response which would help in achieving the objective of the research. The Limitations faced in this research would be that it would be constituted on the data gathered from an already decided Target audience, which would be very small (namely 30-50 consumers). Hence we would not be able to come to a strong recommendation as the number of the responses would be limited. However, on the other hand the data gathered would be very accurate and not vague, which would help us come to conclusion which in turn will help us to reach the objective of this research.

Importance/Relevance of the Market Research The importance of this market research would be, that it will help us to determine which computer Brands enjoy different benefits due to their Brand Awareness in the mind of the consumers. Our research work will help us define how does brand awareness helps the customer to pick or choose that specific brand and get a clear picture as in is Brand Awareness really important part of the marketing strategy or is it just a burden on the marketing system. Brand awareness is an important way of promoting commodity-related products. This is because for these products, there are very few factors that differentiate one product from its competitors. Therefore, the product that maintains the highest brand awareness compared to its competitors will usually get the most sales, our research findings will help us in determining those factors.

We would also be able to gauge which brand enjoys the top spot in “Top-of-the-Mind Awareness” among Branded PC’s.

2. Objectives Primary objective: To research whether Brand awareness in Branded PC’s affects the sales or helps the Retailer in making a sale.

The following point would be addressed: 1. Brand Awareness for Branded PC’s in consumer minds. 2. Effect on sale.

Secondary objective: To research and see which Brand is ahead in “Top-of-the-Mind Awareness” among Branded PC’s. The Following points would be addressed: 1. To check which Brand enjoys the top spot in ‘Top-of-the-mind’ Brand Awareness. 2.

Impact of the same on sales.

3. Research Methodology

Step.1 The decision alternative and the research objectives -Marketing management must be careful not to define the problem too broadly or too narrowly for the marketing researcher. Not all research projects can be specific. Some research is exploratory- its goal is to shed light on the real nature of the

roblem and to suggest possible solutions or new ideas.

Step-2 Develop the Research Plan The second step of marketing research calls for developing the most efficient plan for gathering the needed information .The marketing manager needs to know the cost of the Research plan before approving it. Designing a research plan calls for decision on data sources, research approaches, research instruments, sampling plan, and contact methods.

DATA SOURCES- The researcher gather secondary data, primary data, or both. Secondary Data are data that were collected for another purpose and already exists Somewhere. Primary Data are data freshly gathered for a specific purpose or for a specific

esearch Project. Researchers usually start their investigation by examining some of the rich variety of secondary data to see whether the problem can be partly or wholly solved without collecting costly primary data. Secondary data provide a starting point and offer the advantages of lower cost and ready availability. When the needed data do not exists or are dated, inaccurate, or unreliable, the researcher will have to collect primary data. Most marketing research projects involve some primary data collection. The Normal procedure is to interview some people individually or in group.

RESEARCH APPROACHES- Primary data can be collected in 5 ways 1. OBSERVATIONAL RESEARCH-Data can be gathered by observing the relevant actors Consumers can be unobtrusively observed as they shop or as they consume products. 2. FOCUS GROUP RESEARCH-A focus group is a gathering of 6 to 10 people who are Carefully selected based on certain demographic, psychographic, or other

onsiderations and brought together to discuss at length various topics of interest. Participants are normally paid a small sum for attending. 3. SURVEY RESEARCH-Companies undertake surveys to learn about people knowledge, beliefs, preferences, and satisfaction, and to measure these magnitude in the general population. 4. BEHAVIORAL DATA-Customers leave traces of their purchasing behavior in store scanning data, catalog purchases, and customer database. Much can be learned by analyzing these data. Customer’s actual purchase reflects preferences and often are more reliable than statements they offer to market researchers. 5. EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH-The most scientifically valid research is experiment-tal research. The purpose of this research is to capture cause and effect relationships by eliminating competing explanations of the observed finding. Experiments call for selecting matched groups of subjects, subjecting them to different treatments, controlling extraneous variables and checking whether observed response differences are statistically significant.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS QUESTIONNAIRES-A questionnaire consists of a set of questions presented to

espondent. Because of its flexibility, the questionnaire is by far the most common instrument

sed to collect primary data. In preparing a questionnaire, the researcher carefully chooses the questions and their form, wording, and sequence. The form of the question can influence the response. Marketing researchers distinguish between closed-end and open-end questions. Closed-end questions specify all the possible answer and provide answer that are easier to interpret and tabulate. Open-end questions allow respondents to answer in their own words and often reveal more about how people think.

QUALITATIVE MEASURES-Some marketers prefer more qualitative methods for

gauging consumer opinion because consumer action do not always match their

nswers to survey questions. Qualitative research technique is relatively unstructured

measurement approaches that permit a range of possible responses, and they are a creative means of ascertaining consumer perception that may otherwise be difficult to

ncover. the range of possible qualitative research technique is limited only by the creativity of the marketing research.

MECHANICAL DEVICES-Mechanical devices are occasionally used in marketing research. E.g.-galvanometer can measure the interest of emotions around by exposure to a specific ad or picture. The techistoscope flashes an ad to a subject with and exposure interval that may range from less than one hundredth of a second to several seconds. After each exposure, the respondent describes everything he or she recalls.

SAMPLING PLAN 1. Sampling unit: Who is to be surveyed? The marketing researcher must define the target population that will be sampled. Once the sampling unit is determined, a sampling must be developed so that everyone in the target population has an equal or known chance Of being sampled. 2. Sample size: How many people should be surveyed? Large samples give more reliable result than small samples. However, it is not necessary to sample the entire target population or even a substantial portion to achieve reliable results. Samples of less than I % of a population can often provide good reliability, with a credible sampling procedure. 3. Sampling prodcdure: How should the respondents be chosen? To obtain a representative sample, a probability sample of the population should be drawn. Probability sampling allows the calculation of confidence limits for sampling error non-probability samples are very useful in many circumstance ,even though they do not allow sampling error to be measured

CONTACT METHOD Mail Questionnaire: The mail questionnaire is the best way to reach people who would not give personal interviews or whose responses might be biased or distorted by the interviewers, Mail questionnaires require simple and clearly worded questions. Unfortunately: the response rate is usually low or slow Telephone Interview: It is the best method for gathering information quickly. The Interviewer is also able to clarify questions if respondents do not understand them. The Response rate is typically higher than in the case of mailed questionnaires. The main drawback is that the interviews have to be short and not too personal. Personal interview: It is the most versatile method. The interviewer can ask more questions and record additional observations about the respondents, such as dress and body language. At the same time, personal interviewing is the most expensive method and requires most more administrative planning and supervision than the other three. It is also subject to interviewer bias or distortion. Online interview: There are so many ways to use net to do research. A company can include a questionnaire on its website and offer an incentive to answer the questionnaire, or it can place a banner on some frequently visited site such as yahoo, inviting people to answer some questions and possibly win a prize.

STEP 3.Collect The Information The data collection phase of marketing research is generally the most expensive and the most prone to error. In the case of surveys, four major problem arise. Some respondents will not be at home and must be contacted again . Other respondents will refuse to cooperate. Still others will give biased or dishonest answers. Finally some interviewers will be biased or dishonest. Getting the right respondent is critical.

STEP 4. Analyze the Information The next to last step in the process is to extract finding from the collected data. The researcher tabulates the data and develop frequency distribution. Averages and measures of dispersion are computed for the major variables. The researcher will also apply some advanced statistical techniques and decision models in the hope of discovering additional findings. STEP 5. Present the Finding As the last step, the researcher presents the findings. The researcher should present Finding that are relevant to the major marketing decisions facing management.

Step 6. Make the Decision A growing number of organizations are using a marketing decision support system to help their marketing managers make better marketing decisions.

In our research we would be using the Research Approach of ‘Survey Research’ with the help of the Research instrument in the form of ‘Questionnaires’ and the Contact Method used will be ‘Personal Interview’.

4. Company Profiles

Company Profiles for some of the leading companies in the field of Branded PC’s

Type Public (NASDAQ: DELL) & (SEHK: 4331) Founded Austin, Texas (November 4, 1984) (as "PC's Limited"). IPO on June 22, 1988, at $8.50/share: approximately 3 years and 7 months after founding Founder Michael S. Dell Headquarters Round Rock, Texas United States Area served Worldwide Key people Michael S. Dell (Chairman & (CEO)

Industry Technology Products Desktops Servers Notebooks Peripherals Printers Market cap US$ 45.09 Billion (2008)[2] Revenue ▲ US$ 61.133 Billion (2008)[3] Operating income ▲ US$ 3.440 billion (2008)[3] Net income ▲ US$ 2.947 billion (2008)[3] Total assets ▲ US$ 27.561 billion (2008)[3] Total equity ▼ US$ 3.735 billion (2008)[3] Employees 82,700 (2008) Subsidiaries Alienware ASAP Software Equal Logic Website Dell.com

Contd…. The multinational technology company Dell, Inc. develops, manufactures, sells, and supports personal computers and other computer-related products. Based in Round Rock, Texas, Dell employs more than 88,000 people worldwide.

Dell grew during the 1980s and 1990s to become (for a time) the largest seller of PCs and servers. As of 2008 it held the second spot in computer-sales within the industry behind the Hewlett-Packard Company. The company currently sells personal computers, servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals and televisions. In 2006, Fortune magazine ranked Dell as the 25th-largest company in the Fortune 500 list, 8th on its annual "Top 20" list of the most-admired companies in the United States. In 2007 Dell ranked 34th and 8th respectively on the equivalent lists for the year. A 2006 publication identified Dell as one of 38 high-performance companies in the S&P 500 which had consistently out-performed the market over the previous 15 years History Background and origins

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 dorm-room at Dobie Center [1], 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. Michael Dell dropped out of school in order to focus full-time on his fledgling business, after getting about $300,000 in expansion-capital from his family. 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 buyer’s 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 grossed more than $73 million in its first year.

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. Also in 1987, the company set up its first operations in the United Kingdom; eleven more international operations followed within the next four years. In June 1988, Dell's market capitalization grew by $30 million to $80 million from its initial public offering of 3.5 million shares at $8.50 a share. In 1990, Dell Computer Corporation tried selling its products indirectly through warehouse clubs and computer

superstores, but met with little success, and the company re-focused on its more successful direct-to-consumer sales model. In 1992, Fortune magazine included Dell Computer Corporation in its list of the world's 500 largest companies. In 1996, Dell began selling computers via its web site. In 1999, Dell overtook Compaq to become the largest seller of personal computers in the United States of America with $25 billion in revenue reported in January 2000. In 2002, Dell attempted to expand by tapping into the multimedia and home-entertainment markets with the introduction of televisions, handhelds, and digital audio players. Dell has also produced Dell-brand printers for home and small-office use. In 2003, at the annual company meeting, the stockholders approved changing the company name to "Dell Inc." to recognize the company's expansion beyond computers. In 2004, the company announced that it would build a new assembly-plant near WinstonSalem, North Carolina; the city and county provided Dell with $37.2 million in incentive packages; the state provided approximately $250 million in incentives and tax breaks. In July, Michael Dell stepped aside as Chief Executive Officer while retaining his position as Chairman of the Board. Kevin Rollins, who had held a number of executive posts at Dell, became the new CEO. In 2005, the share of sales coming from international markets increased, as revealed in the company's press releases for the first two quarters of its fiscal 2005 year. In February 2005 Dell appeared in first place in a ranking of the "Most Admired Companies" published by Fortune magazine. In November 2005 Business Week magazine published an article titled "It's Bad to Worse at Dell" about shortfalls in projected earnings and sales, with a worsethan-predicted third-quarter financial performance — a bad omen for a company that had routinely underestimated its earnings. Dell acknowledged that faulty capacitors on the motherboards of the Optiplex GX270 and GX280 had already cost the company $300 million. The CEO, Kevin Rollins, attributed the bad performance partially to Dell's focus on low-end PCs.

In 2006, Dell purchased the computer hardware manufacturer Alienware. Dell Inc.'s plan anticipated Alienware continuing to operate independently under its existing management. Alienware expected to benefit from Dell's efficient manufacturing system. On January 31, 2007, Kevin B. Rollins, CEO of the company since 2004, resigned as both CEO and as a director, and Michael Dell resumed his former role as CEO. Investors and many shareholders had called for Rollins' resignation because of poor company performance.

At the same time, the company announced that, for the fourth time in five quarters, earnings would fail to reach consensus analyst-estimates. In February 2007 Dell became the subject of formal investigations by the US SEC and the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The company has not formally filed financial reports for either the third or fourth fiscal quarter of 2006, and several classaction lawsuits have arisen in the wake of its recent financial performance. Dell Inc's lack of formal financial disclosure would normally subject the company to de-listing from the NASDAQ, but the exchange has granted Dell a waiver, allowing the stock to trade normally. On March 1, 2007, the company issued a preliminary quarterly earnings report which showed gross sales of $14.4 billion, down 5% year-over-year, and net income of $687 million (30 cents per share), down 33%. Net earnings would have declined even more if not for the effects of eliminated employee bonuses, which accounted for six cents per share. NASDAQ extended the company's deadline for filing financials to May 4.

Personnel On January 31, 2007 Michael Dell returned to the company as CEO. As chairman of the board, Mr. Dell had significant input into the company's operations during Rollins' years as CEO. However with the return of Michael Dell as CEO, the company saw immediate changes in operations, the exodus of many senior vice-presidents and new blood brought in from outside the company.

Departures announced include: • • • • • • • •

Kevin Rollins, CEO[34] James Schneider, CFO[34] John Medica, senior vice president, consumer products[35] Joe Marengi, senior vice president, Americas[35] John Hamlin, senior vice president, worldwide online operations[36] Paul McKinnon, senior vice president, human resources[35] Rosenda Parra, senior vice president/general manager, home and small business group[37] Glenn E. Neland, senior vice president, procurement[38]

Additions announced include: • • • • •

Michael Dell, CEO and co-Chairman of the Board (previously Chairman of the Board) Don Carty, CFO and co-Chairman of the Board (previously Board member) Michael R. Cannon, former CEO of Solectron, as President, Global Operations[39] Ron Garriques, who formerly headed Motorola's mobile phone unit, as President, Global Consumer Group[40] Stephen F. Schuckenbrock, Senior Vice President, Global Services[38]

Mr. Dell announced a number of initiatives and plans (part of the "Dell 2.0" initiative) to improve the company's financial performance. These include: • • • •

elimination of 2006 bonuses for employees with some discretionary awards reduction in the number of managers reporting directly to Mr. Dell from 20 to 12 in a noted departure from previous years, "build, partner, and buy" to increase services capabilities reduction of "bureaucracy"

On April 23, 2008, Dell announced the closure of one of its biggest Canadian call-centers in Kanata, Ontario — terminating approximately 1100 employees, with 500 of those redundancies effective on the spot, and with the official closure of the center scheduled for the summer. (The call-center had opened in 2006 after the city of Ottawa won a bid to host it. Less then a year later, Dell Inc planned to double its workforce to nearly 3,000 workers and to add a new building. Journalists cited a high Canadian dollar and suggested high pay-rates as among the reasons for the cuts. The company had also announced the shutdown of its Edmonton, Alberta office, losing 900 jobs. In total, Dell announced the ending of about 8,800 jobs in 2007-2008 — 10% of its workforce.

Products Scope and brands

The corporation markets specific brand names to different market segments: •

Business Class: including OptiPlex, Latitude, and Precision, where the company's advertising emphasizes long life-cycles, reliability and serviceability: • •

OptiPlex - office desktop computer systems n Series - desktop and notebook computers shipped with Linux or FreeDOS installed • Vostro - small-business desktop and notebook systems • Latitude - commercially-focused notebooks

•

Precision - workstation systems and high-performance notebooks. (Some of them including Linux pre-installed.[43]) • PowerEdge - business servers • PowerVault - direct-attach and some network-attached storage (NAS) • PowerConnect - network switches • Dell EMC - storage area networks (SANs) • EqualLogic - enterprise class iSCSI SANs •

Home/Consumer Class: including Inspiron and XPS brands, emphasizing value, performance and expandability: • • • •

•

Peripherals: Dell has also diversified its product line to include peripheral products such as USB keydrives, LCD televisions, and printers. •

•

Inspiron - consumer desktop and notebook systems Studio - medium-end consumer slim hybrid desktop and laptop systems XPS - enthusiast and high-performance desktop and notebook systems Alienware (XPS Extreme) - high-performance gaming systems

Dell monitors LCD TVs, plasma TVs and projectors for HDTV and monitors

Services and support: •

Dell On Call - extended support services (mainly for the removal of spyware and computer viruses) • Dell Support Center - extended support services (similar to "Dell On Call") for customers in the EMEA. The Solution Centers also support hardware for customers outside of warranty.

•

Dell Business Support - a commercial service-contract that provides an industry-certified technician with a lower call-volume than in normal queues; it covers hardware- and some software-support. • Your Tech Team - a new support-queue available to home users who purchased their systems through either Dell's website or Dell phone-centers. These customers gain access to a specialized queue currently located in Tampa, Florida. Customers can requesting a technician with whom they have worked previously, and the technicians can troubleshoot a wider range of problems — including some that would fall under the "Dell on Call" category. Data backup and virus removal remain out-of-scope for this queue.

Dell also offers Red Hat and SUSE Linux for servers; as well as "bare-bones" computers without pre-installed software (available on n Series by default and by request on XPS and Inspiron systems) at significantly lower prices. Due to Dell's licensing contract with Microsoft, Dell allegedly[citation needed] cannot offer those systems on their website and customers have to request them explicitly. (Dell does offer those systems on their web site at

http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/precn_n? c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&redirect=1 ). Dell has to ship such systems with a FreeDOS disk included in the box and must issue a so-called "Windows refund" or a merchandise credit after sale of the system at the "regular" retail price. •

Discontinued products/brands: •

Axim - PDAs using Microsoft's Windows Mobile (discontinued on April 9, 2007 ) • Dimension - home and "small office, home office" desktop computers (discontinued July 2007; replaced by Inspiron desktops) • Dell Digital Jukebox - MP3 players (discontinued August 2006) • Dell PowerApp - application-based severs • Dell Omniplex - 486- and Pentium-based desktop and tower computers previously supported to run server and desktop operating systems. [44]

Commercial aspects Traditional business-model

Traditionally, Dell has sold all its products — whether to end-use consumers or to corporate customers — using a direct-sales model via the Internet and the telephone-network. Dell maintains a negative cash conversion cycle (CCC) through use of this model: in other words, Dell Inc. receives payment for the products before it has to pay for the materials.

Dell also practices just-in-time (JIT) inventory-management, profiting from its attendant benefits. Dell's JIT approach utilizes the "pull" system by building computers only after customers place orders and by requesting materials from suppliers as needed. In this way Dell mirrors Toyota by following Toyota Way Principle #3 ("Use 'pull' systems to avoid overproduction"). Since the days of the original dominance of telephone-ordering, the Internet has significantly enhanced Dell’s business model, making it easier for customers and potential customers to contact Dell directly. This model also has enabled Dell to provide very customizable systems at an affordable rate, since Dell's manufacturing arm builds specifically for each customer. Other computermanufacturers, including Gateway and Hewlett-Packard, have attempted to adapt similar business-models, but due to timing and/or retail-channel pressures they have not achieved the same results as Dell. A Dell executive writes

Analysts say: They (Dell) have a negative 45 days CCC, which means that their sales are converted in hard cash 45 days BEFORE the sale. I say: They have a negative 45 days CCC, which means that their sales are converted in hard cash 45 days BEFORE Dell needs to pay for purchase invoices to vendors. Dell has also sold at retail, as explained in the "Marketing" section of this article. Organization A board of directors of nine people runs the company. Michael Dell, the founder of the company, serves on the board. Other board members include Don Carty, William Gray, Judy Lewent, Klaus Luft, Alex Mandl, Michael A. Miles, and Sam Nunn. Shareholders elect the nine board members at meetings, and those board members who do not get a majority of votes must submit a resignation to the board, which will subsequently choose whether or not to accept the resignation. The board of directors usually sets up five committees which have oversight over specific matters. These committees include the Audit Committee, which handles accounting issues, including auditing and reporting; the Compensation Committee, which approves compensation for the CEO and other employees of the company; the Finance Committee, which handles financial matters such as proposed mergers and acquisitions; the Governance and Nominating Committee, which handles various corporate matters (including nomination of the board); and the Antitrust Compliance Committee, which attempts to prevent company practices from violating antitrust laws.

The corporate structure and management of Dell extends beyond the board of directors. The Dell Global Executive Management Committee sets the strategic direction for how the corporation keeps customers at the forefront, from designing and manufacturing computer systems to offering products that meet customers' requirements to providing sufficient service and support. Dell has regional senior vice presidents for countries other than the United States, including David Marmonti for EMEA and Stephen J. Felice for Asia/Japan. As of 2007, other officers included Martin Garvin (senior vice president for worldwide procurement) and Susan E. Sheskey (vice president and chief information officer). Marketing 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. 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 kid 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 Magazine. It used as a tagline the common term in Internet and gamer slang: "FTW", meaning "For The Win". However, Dell Inc. soon 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 Mother. In July 2007, Dell released new advertising created by Mother to support the Inspiron and XPS lines. The ads featured music from the Flaming Lips and Devo who re-formed especially to record the song in the ad "Work it Out".

Type Public (NYSE: HPQ) Founded Palo Alto, California (1939) Founder Bill Hewlett, Co-founder David Packard Headquarters

Palo Alto, California, USA

Key people Mark V. Hurd, Chairman, CEO and President Cathie Lesjak, CFO and EVP Ann Livermore, EVP TSG

Randall D. Mott, CIO and EVP Michael Holston, General Counsel and EVP Industry Computer Systems Computer Peripherals Computer Software Consulting IT Services Market cap $124.57B USD (2008)[1] Revenue ▲$104.3 billion USD (2007) Net income ▲$7.3 billion USD (2007) Employees 172,000 (2008)[2] Divisions Snapfish, HP Labs, ProCurve, Compaq, EDS Website www.hp.com www.hpshopping.com www.Compaq.com www.EDS.com www.voodooPC.com www.lightscribe.com

HP is a technology company that operates in more than 170 countries around the world. We explore how technology and services can help people and companies address their problems and challenges, and realize their possibilities, aspirations and dreams. We apply new thinking and ideas to create more simple, valuable and trusted experiences with technology, continuously improving the way our customers live and work. No other company offers as complete a technology product portfolio as HP. We provide infrastructure and business offerings that span from handheld devices to some of the world's most powerful supercomputer installations. We offer consumers a wide range of products and services from digital photography to digital entertainment and from computing to home printing. This comprehensive portfolio helps us match the right products, services and solutions to our customers' specific needs. Management •

Chairman of the Board, CEO, and President: Mark Hurd (March 29, 2005 - current, appointed Chairman September 22, 2006)

History • • •

Co-founder: David Packard (President: 1947; Chairman: 1964–1969; Chairman 1971—1993) Co-founder: William Hewlett (Vice President: 1947; Executive Vice President: 1957; President: 1964; CEO: 1969; Chairman of the Executive Committee 1978; Vice Chairman 1983—1987) CEO: John A. Young (1978—October 31, 1992)

• • • • • •

CEO: Lewis Platt (November 1, 1992—July 18, 1999; Chairman 1993—July 18, 1999) Chairman: Richard Hackborn (January, 2000—September 22, 2000; Lead Independent Director September 22, 2006—) CEO: Carly Fiorina (July 19, 1999—February 9, 2005; Chairwoman September 22, 2000— February 9, 2005) Interim CEO: Robert Wayman (February 9, 2005—March 28, 2005) Chairwoman: Patricia C. Dunn (February 9, 2005—September 22, 2006). CEO: Mark Hurd (CEO: April 1, 2005—; Chairman: September 22, 2006—)

Technology and products

"The new Hewlett-Packard 9100A personal computer" is "ready, willing, and able ... to relieve you of waiting to get on the big computer."

A HP Compaq computer and a Hewlett-Packard Deskjet 5740 printer owned by the Houston Independent School District

A modern HP Pavilion Laptop

A modern HP digital camera; the HP Photosmart R817.

A camera that uses the SDIO interface

HP has successful lines of printers, scanners, digital cameras, calculators, PDAs, servers, workstation computers, and computers for home and small business use computers; many of the computers came from the 2002 merger with Compaq. HP today promotes itself as supplying not just hardware and software, but also a full range of services to design, implement and support IT infrastructure.

The three business segments: Enterprise Storage and Servers (ESS), HP Services (HPS), and HP Software are structured beneath the broader Technology Solutions Group (TSG).

Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) According to HP's 2005 U.S. SEC 10-K filing,[15] HP's Imaging and Printing Group is "the leading imaging and printing systems provider in the world for printer hardware, printing supplies and scanning devices, providing solutions across customer segments from individual consumers to small and medium businesses to large enterprises." This division is currently headed by Vyomesh Joshi. Products and technology associated with the Imaging and Printing Group include: • • • • • • • • •

Inkjet and LaserJet printers, consumables and related products Officejet all-in-one multifunction printer/scanner/faxes Large Format Printers Indigo Digital Press HP Web Jetadmin printer management software HP Output Management suite of software, including HP Output Server LightScribe optical recording technology that laser-etches labels on disks HP Photosmart digital cameras and photo printers HP SPaM Hosted within IPG, SPaM is an internal consulting group that supports all HP businesses on mission-critical strategic and operation decisions.

Personal Systems Group (PSG) HP's Personal Systems Group claims to be "one of the leading vendors of personal computers ("PCs") in the world based on unit volume shipped and annual revenue." Personal Systems Group products/technology include: • • • • • •

Business PCs and accessories Consumer PCs and accessories including the HP Pavilion, Compaq Presario and VoodooPC series Workstations for Unix, Windows and Linux systems Handheld Computing including iPAQ Pocket PC handheld computing devices (from Compaq) Digital "Connected" Entertainment including HP MediaSmart TVs, HP MediaSmart Servers, HP MediaVaults, and DVD+RW drives. HP resold the Apple iPod until November 2005. Home Storage Servers

Type Public (NASDAQ: AAPL, LSE: 0HDZ, FWB: APC) Founded California, United States (April 1, 1976, as Apple Computer, Inc.) Headquarters

1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California

Key people Steve Jobs, CEO & Co-founder Steve Wozniak, Co-founder Timothy D. Cook, COO Peter Oppenheimer, CFO Philip W. Schiller, SVP Marketing Jonathan Ive, SVP Industrial Design Tony Fadell, SVP iPod Division Ron Johnson, SVP Retail Sina Tamaddon, SVP Applications Bertrand Serlet, SVP Software Engineering Scott Forstall, SVP iPhone software Industry Computer hardware Computer software Consumer electronics Products Mac iPod iPhone Apple TV Mac OS X Mac OS X Server iLife iWork Cinema Display AirPort Revenue US$24.01 billion ▲ (TTM FY 2007)[1] Operating income US$4.41 billion ▲

(18.37% operating margin)[1] Net income US$3.50 billion ▲ (TTM FY 2007) (14.56% profit margin)[1] Employees Approximately 28,000 (July 3, 2008) Website Apple.com

History

Apple was established on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne,[9] to sell the Apple I personal computer kit. They were hand-built by Wozniak [10] [11] and first shown to the public at the Homebrew Computer Club. [12] The Apple I was sold as a motherboard (with CPU, RAM, and basic textual-video chips)—less than what is today considered a complete personal computer.[13] The Apple I went on sale in July 1976 and was market-priced at US$666.66. Apple was incorporated January 3, 1977 without Wayne, who sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800. Mike Markkula provided essential business expertise and funding of US$250,000 during the incorporation of Apple. The Apple II was introduced on April 16, 1977 at the first West Coast Computer Faire. It differed from its major rivals, the TRS-80 and Commodore PET, because it came with color graphics and an open architecture. While early models used ordinary cassette tapes as storage devices, they were superseded by the introduction of a 5 1/4 inch floppy disk drive and interface, the Disk II. The Apple II was chosen to be the desktop platform for the first "killer app" of the business world—the VisiCalc spreadsheet program. VisiCalc created a business market for the Apple II, and gave home users an additional reason to buy an Apple II—compatibility with the office. According to Brian Bagnall, Apple exaggerated its sales figures and was a distant third place to Commodore and Tandy until VisiCalc came along. By the end of the 1970s, Apple had a staff of computer designers and a production line. The Apple II was succeeded by the Apple III in May 1980 as the company competed with IBM and Microsoft in the business and corporate computing market. Jobs and several Apple employees including Jef Raskin visited Xerox PARC in December 1979 to see the Xerox Alto. Xerox granted Apple engineers three days of access to the PARC facilities in return for US$1 million in pre-IPO Apple stock. [26] Jobs was immediately convinced that all future computers would use a GUI, and development of a GUI began for the Apple Lisa

Headquarters

Apple Inc., 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA.

Apple Inc.'s world corporate headquarters are located in the middle of Silicon Valley, at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California. This Apple campus has six buildings which total 850,000 sq ft (79,000 m²) and was built in 1993 by Sobrato Development Cos.[111] In 2006, Apple announced its intention to build a second campus on 50 acres assembled from various contiguous plots. The new campus, also in Cupertino, will be about one mile (1.6 km) east of the current campus.[112] CEOs • • • • • •

1977–1981: Michael "Scotty" Scott 1981–1983: A. C. "Mike" Markkula 1983–1993: John Sculley 1993–1996: Michael Spindler 1996–1997: Gil Amelio 1997–Present: Steve Jobs (Interim CEO 1997-2000)

Current Board of Directors • • • • • • • •

Bill Campbell, Chairman of Intuit Inc. Millard Drexler, Chairman and CEO of J.Crew Al Gore, Former Vice President of the United States Steve Jobs, CEO and Co-founder of Apple; also a director of The Walt Disney Company Andrea Jung, Chairman and CEO of Avon Products Arthur D. Levinson, Chairman and CEO of Genentech Eric E. Schmidt, Chairman and CEO of Google Jerry York, Chairman, President, and CEO of Harwinton Capital

Current executives • • • • • • • • • • •

Steve Jobs, Chief Executive Officer Timothy D. Cook, Chief Operating Officer Peter Oppenheimer, Chief Financial Officer Philip W. Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing Tony Fadell, Senior Vice President of the iPod Division Jonathan Ive, Senior Vice President of Industrial Design Bertrand Serlet, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Ron Johnson, Senior Vice President of Retail Sina Tamaddon, Senior Vice President of Applications Scott Forstall, Senior Vice President of iPhone Software Daniel Cooperman, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

Current products See also: List of products discontinued by Apple Inc. See also: Timeline of Apple products Mac and accessories

The Mac mini, low-cost desktop computer. • • • • • • •

Mac mini, consumer sub-desktop computer introduced in January 2005. iMac, consumer all-in-one desktop computer that was first introduced by Apple in 1998. Its popularity helped revive the company's fortunes. [52] Mac Pro, workstation-class desktop computer introduced in August 2006. MacBook, consumer notebook introduced in 2006, available in white and black variants. MacBook Air, ultra-thin, ultra-portable notebook, introduced in January 2008. MacBook Pro, professional portable computer alternative to the MacBook, introduced in January 2006. Xserve, rack mounted, dual core, dual processor 1U server.

Apple sells a variety of computer accessories for Mac computers including the AirPort wireless networking products, Time Capsule, Apple Cinema Display, Mighty Mouse, the Apple Wireless Keyboard computer keyboard, and the Apple USB Modem. iPod

iPod Nano

On October 23, 2001, Apple introduced the iPod digital music player. It has evolved to include various models targeting the needs of different users. The iPod is the market leader in portable music players by a significant margin, with more than 100 million units shipped as of April 9, 2007. Apple has partnered with Nike to introduce the Nike+iPod Sports Kit enabling runners to synchronize and monitor their runs with iTunes and the Nike+ website. Apple currently sells four variants of the iPod.

• • • •

iPhone

iPod classic, portable media player introduced in 2001, with 120GB capacity. iPod nano, portable media player introduced in 2005, available in 8 and 16 GB models. iPod shuffle, digital audio player introduced in 2005, available in 1 and 2 GB models. iPod touch, portable media player introduced in September 2007, available in 8, 16 and 32 GB models.

At the Macworld Conference & Expo in January 2007, Steve Jobs revealed the long anticipated[79] iPhone, a convergence of an Internet-enabled smartphone and iPod.[80] The iPhone combines a 2.5G quad band GSM and EDGE cellular phone with features found in hand held devices, running a scaled-down versions of Apple's Mac OS X, with various Mac OS X applications such as Safari and Mail. It also includes web-based and Dashboard apps such as Google Maps and Weather. The iPhone features a 3.5-inch (89 mm) touch screen display, 4 or 8 GB of memory, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi (both "b" and "g").[81] The iPhone first became available on June 29, 2007 for $499 (4 GB) and $599 (8 GB).[82] On June 9, 2008, at WWDC 2008, Steve Jobs announced that the iPhone 3G would be available on July 11, 2008. [83] This version added support for 3G networking and assisted-GPS navigation, among other things.[84] Apple TV

At the 2007 Macworld conference, Jobs demonstrated the Apple TV, (previously known as the iTV), a set-top video device intended to bridge the sale of content from iTunes with highdefinition televisions. The device links up to a user's TV and syncs, either via Wi-Fi or a wired network, with one computer's iTunes library and streams from an additional four. The Apple TV incorporates a 40 GB hard drive for storage, includes outputs for HDMI and component video, and plays video at a maximum resolution of 720p. On May 31, 2007 a 160 GB drive was released alongside the existing 40 GB model and on January 15, 2008 a software update was released, which allowed media to be purchased directly from the Apple TV.

Software Apple develops its own operating system to run on Macs, Mac OS X, the latest version being Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard. Apple also independently develops computer software titles for its Mac OS X operating system. Much of the software Apple develops is bundled with its computers. An example of this is the consumer-oriented iLife software package which bundles iDVD, iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes, GarageBand, and iWeb. For presentation, page layout and word processing, iWork is available, which includes Keynote, Pages, and Numbers. iTunes, QuickTime media player, and Safari web browser are available as free downloads for both Mac OS X and Windows.

Apple also offers a range of professional software titles. Their range of server software includes the operating system Mac OS X Server; Apple Remote Desktop, a remote systems management application; WebObjects, Java Web application server; and Xsan, a Storage

Area Network file system. For the professional creative market, there is Aperture for professional RAW-format photo processing; Final Cut Studio, a video production suite; Logic, a comprehensive music toolkit and Shake, an advanced effects composition program. Apple also offers online services with MobileMe (formerly .Mac) which bundles personal web pages, email, Groups, iDisk, backup, iSync, and Learning Center online tutorials. MobileMe is a subscription-based internet suite that capitalizes on the ability to store personal data on an online server and thereby keep all web-connected devices in sync. According to surveys by J. D. Power, Apple has the highest brand and repurchase loyalty of any computer manufacturer. While this brand loyalty is considered unusual for any product, Apple appears not to have gone out of its way to create it. At one time, Apple evangelists were actively engaged by the company, but this was after the phenomenon was already firmly established. Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki has called the brand fanaticism "something that was stumbled upon". Apple has, however, supported the continuing existence of a network of Mac User Groups in most major and many minor centers of population where Mac computers are available. Mac users meet at the European Apple Expo and the San Francisco Macworld Conference & Expo trade shows where Apple introduces new products each year to the industry and public. Mac developers in turn gather at the annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Apple Store openings can draw crowds of thousands, with some waiting in line as much as a day before the opening or flying in from other countries for the event.[98] The New York City Fifth Avenue "Cube" store had a line as long as half a mile; a few Mac fans took the opportunity of the setting to propose marriage. The Ginza opening in Tokyo was estimated in the thousands with a line exceeding eight city blocks. John Sculley told The Guardian newspaper in 1997: "People talk about technology, but Apple was a marketing company. It was the marketing company of the decade." Market research indicates that Apple draws its customer base from an unusually artistic, creative, and well-educated population, which may explain the platform’s visibility within certain youthful, avant-garde subcultures.

5.Data Presentation

For our Market Research we used 2 Market surveys: 1. Consumer Survey

2. Retailer Survey

We have attached the actual questionnaire used for the Market Research so that you can get an idea as in which Questions are being asked, what do we achieve by the response received and how to interpret the same data to attain our primary and secondary objectives.

After you have gone through the Survey Form attached a Data analysis for the same data gathered is represented through Graphical Representations wherever required.

The data gathered was from a target audience of 50 consumers and 10 retailers through the form of Questionnaires by the means of personal interview conducted by our group members.

Data Analysis

From Customer survey Question 1 we were able to derive the following graphical representation:

%of Consumerswith PC's Don’t Have, 14, 14% Have PC's Don’t Have

Have PC's, 86, 86%

From Customer survey Question 2 we were able to come to the following graphical representation:

Market share of Branded Vs Assembled.

27% Branded Assembled

73%

However the following data was gathered mostly from Professionals and students and hence the strong inclination was towards assembled PC as the youth mostly chooses to define their own configuration and specifications.

In Customer survey Question 3 did put forward the need to be represented in any graphical form hence moving forward…. From Customer survey Question 4th we were able to come to the following graphical representation:

Types of Media used for Brand Awareness

35 30 TV commercials

25 News paper &Magazines Outdoor Advertsisement Reatil Pamphlets

20 15 10

Internet

5 0

Sales Calls

1st Qtr Types of Marketing communiications

From Customer survey Question 5th we were able to come to the following graphical representation:

Top 5 Preffered Brands for Branded PC's

120 100 80 %of the 60 Market 40 20 0

Proffesionals

Students

Retailers

Compaq

5

46

28

IBM

28

7

2

Apple

9.5

4.5

5

Hp

18

11.5

39.5

Dell

39.5

31

26.5

Name of the Companies From Customer survey Question 6th we were able to come to the following graphical representation:

ConsumersPrefrences 100 80 60

Others Brand Popularity Price Looks

40 20 0

Prefrences

Various Prefrences

Customer survey Question 7th and 8th did not put forward any need to be represented in any graphical form hence moving forward….

From Customer survey Question 9th we were able to come to the following graphical representation:

Customers Choice in Brands VS Price

29% BRAND

49%

PRICE BOTH

22%

From Retailer Surveys Question 2nd we were able to come to the following graphical representation:

Top 5 Selling Brands Of PC's

50 40

49

30 20 10 0

28 14 3

6

Dell

Compaq Hp Apple Dell HCL

Compaq

6.Conclusion

Now through the research conducted we have gathered the information that Brand Awareness does impact the customer’s mindset especially the Brands which enjoy the Top-of-the-mind Awareness. According to IDC (IDC is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer

technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 100 countries. For more than 44 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and Events Company.) , in the third quarter of 2004, the sum total of branded PCs has exceeded that of assembled PCs in the overall PC market, with the former accounting for 50.5 percent and the latter 49.5 percent. However, in the consumer PC market, the assembled PC is still ahead of branded PCs, although the percentage has dropped from 70 percent to less than 55 percent towards the end of 2004.

The figure below (Fig 10) shows us the Leading Brands in terms of sales in the Branded PC’s section. (Primary Objective)

Leading Brands Units (2003) HCL 232,169 HP 221,964 IBM 132,582

Marketshare(percent) Units (2004) Percentage of Units Shipped Year-on-Year Growth (percent) 9.2 8.8 5.3

4,43,535 3,84,058 1,98,973

13.7 11.9 6.2

91.04 73.03 50.8

Source : IDC India

However in the Top-of-the-Mind Awareness category the scene is quite different , the figure below will illustrate.

Top-of-the-mind Brand Awareness for Branded PC's

100 90 80 70 60

%of the 50 Market 40 30 20 10 0

Proffesionals

Students

Retailers

IBM

28

7

2

Apple

9.5

46

22

Hp

22

15

39.6

Dell

40.5

32

35.4

Name of the Companies

7. Limitations / Future Scope.

The limitations faced by the Branded PC’s in the market are mainly due to many issues regarding to their price, parts availability, etc. According to IDC, in the third quarter of 2007,

the sum total of branded PCs has exceeded that of assembled PCs in the overall PC market, with the former accounting for 50.5 percent and the latter 49.5 percent. However, in the consumer PC market, the assembled PC is still ahead of branded PCs, although the percentage has dropped from 70 percent to less than 55 percent towards the end of 2007. Now by the help of our research we were able to find that Brand Awareness in Branded PC’s does affect the consumer’s choice while making the final decision, which in turn helps the retails in making the sale, however sometimes it also backfires as the customers tend to drive towards a brand which does not make a sound profit for the retailer, however the customer is aware of the image that brand carries with it and hence only chooses that specific brand. As the No. of interviews carried on for this Market Research was limited to only 50 consumers and 10 Retailers it is difficult to gauge the overall market tendency toward the particular brands based on their Brand Awareness. There were also some difficulties in getting the particular information about the sales info from the Retailers as they were either incompetent in providing the info or they simply refused to do so. Some retailers even refused to talk to us as they were of the idea that we were going to reveal their marketing strategies in the market or even worse, share it with their competitors. Future recommendations in this research would be to carry out an e-survey (Survey conducted on any particular website) as it was discovered during the interviews that most of the consumers before buying a pc always do some research regarding the same on the web, hence we can target these audiences in giving us a better and a clear picture on this given topic.

8. Recommendations

As for growth verticals, education and e-governance were the hot segments for PC penetration and volumes. In an effort to drive volumes, vendors should adopt Brand

Awareness by penetrating the consumer minds through different marketing channels and also by low-cost pricing policies in these sectors. HCL Info systems, for instance, has already pushed the price barrier down with the launch of the HCL Ezeebee Pride at Rs 12,990. Hence they are already enjoying the Top Spot in terms of sales the Market.

Top 5 Recommendations:  Companies should use multiple marketing channels to create Brand Awareness among the targeted segments.  Retailers should have through knowledge about the Brands and the products they deal in(sometimes retailers do not provide complete info about the product which in turn drives the customer to different brand and that creates a negative impact on the Topof-the-mind Brand Awareness towards that product).  Having Live Demos for the particular Brands which do not have enough Brand Awareness among the masses to make them aware what that Brand offers.  Retailers should be aware which market audiences their Brands target and should focus all of their marketing strategies on the same.  Companies should try and use low-cost pricing policies as cost-effectively as they can.

9. Bibliography

Published Book: -

Marketing Management By, Philip Kotler & Kevin Lane Keller.

Publisher: -

Prentice Hall of India Private Limited.

Place: -

New Delhi.

Year of Publications: -

2006.

Edition: -

12th.

Published Articles:-

Company profile of Dell from www.Wkipedia.com Company profile of HP from www.Wikipedia.com Company profile of Apple from www.Wikipedia.com Figure no.10 from www.idc.com