Dell online - Case Study

Internet Marketing

DELL ONLINE -CASE STUDY

The Computer Purchase Process Online and in a Store

Although a part of almost every business in the world today tends to be virtual, many businesses continue to have a strong physical presence.Consequently; it is imperative to distinguish between the occurrence of a purchase in the physical and the virtual spaces. The internet allows consumers to shop at their own convenience since they need not worry about the traffic, parking, poorly trained sales representatives and long queues. In fact certain transactions exclude the interaction of a sales person. In fact the purchase of a computer can be extremely simple with the availability of information that the internet provides. Since the information is all available and consolidated at one source it is much cheaper and easier to acquire it in this manner in contrast to the brick and mortar shopping experience which involves the travel to multiple locations. The information is also easily understood, well organized and made available in categories.However,on examining how consumers make purchase decisions one major shortcoming of the internet is the ability to touch and experience the product prior to purchase. Thus, online purchasing increases the degree of risk.

Alternatively, the traditional outdoor shopping experience is quite inanimate. Consumers are often pampered with little treats however, they may not be attended to immediately.Additionaly, the sales people may be inadequately trained in that particular field and thus may be unable to provide the customer with the desired information. The purchase process with regards to a computer involves the consumer visiting a store such as Harvey Norman where an entire range of branded PC's is visible and tangible to the customer. Information concerning the product can be obtained from communication with a sales representative instead of a drop down menu. However, there are certain consumers who can use the internet to obtain information concerning the prices of different computers and then eventually visit a brick and mortar store to make the purchase.

However, while on one hand the drivers of value in the physical space are the traditional four -P's of marketing or the marketing mix-product,price,place(distribution) and promotion.Alternatively,in the virtual space, the internet toolkit which consists of commerce,communication,connectivity,community,content and computing is vital in driving value.

Consumer factors affecting the decision process

When purchasing products the consumer generally follows a consumer decision making process. The Consumer Decision model can therefore, be applied to e-commerce retailing and purchasing as well as the process of physically visiting a store to purchase a product.

This process consists of five stages namely need/problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase and post purchase behaviour.

The first stage referred to as "need recognition" occurs when a consumer senses a difference between what he or she perceives to be the ideal versus the actual state of affairs. This is triggered when individuals are exposed to either an internal stimulus such as hunger, thirst and desire or and external stimulus such as an advertisement, a brand name mentioned etc.Consumers often purchase goods when they believe a product's ability to solve a problem is worth more than the cost of purchasing it,thus,making recognition of an unfulfilled need the first step in the sale of the product.Moreover,consumers also acknowledge unfulfilled needs in several ways such as when the current product fails to perform adequately or if a product that is superior is observed in comparison to the one in current use by them.Consequently,by monitoring consumer trends,PC manufacturers and retailers such as Dell must know consumer needs such that they are able to communicate a need or raise consumers' awareness of unperceived needs or problems. Alternatively, in terms of purchasing a computer online need/problem recognition is triggered when certain aspects of shopping can be conducted more efficiently on the internet rather than by having to physically visit a store. For instance when it is inconvenient for an individual to visit a store during its operating hours, when the store is located extremely far away or when the consumer requires special types of products that are not carried by many retailers.Additionaly, online retailers can thus, take advantage of this aspect and sell to segments that are too small for location-based retailers.

After acknowledging the "need recognition", consumers begin searching for solutions and information in order to help them fulfill their need, this search can either occur internally or externally. This internal information search or the process of recalling information stored in the memory is stemmed primarily from previous experience with the product. For instance when you an enter a store and encounter a Compaq computer that you had purchased before, only by retrieving knowledge from your memory you can tell whether it functioned properly and satisfied your requirements. In contrast, the external information search enables you to collect information from the outside environment by merely being more receptive to information around them or actively seeking information through advertisements, publications or the internet.

On the other hand when a wide variety of different sources of information on a global basis needs to be searched, or when a specific product title, name or brand and retailer selling the item needs to be identified and information on competitive brands is required the internet can be used to enhance the search process. Additionally, it also enables the consumer with the ability to "shop" various retailers for products and prices. Thus, in case of a computer purchase one can simply browse the internet and employ search engines such as Google etc to find information on computer retailers and manufactures that sell online. However, it must be noted that if consumers are not exactly sure what they are looking for, the search process can be quite complicated without the help of some assistance to narrow down the process.

After having acquiring the information the next stage of the decision process involves the evaluation of alternative options identified during the search process. In this stage consumers compare what they know about different products and brands with what they consider most crucial and begin to narrow the field of alternatives before making the choice for purchase. By using pre-existing evaluations and information