January 23, 2006
HP - More Direct
HP is in the midst of huge changes as it seeks to serve YOU better. Dell's direct model appears to be the way to go, but companies are going to be cautious as Dell in some ways is pricing things so low that it might be pricing itself out of the market.
Whatever HP does it won't affect you directly - if anything expect lower prices and better online service and sales.
Cnet writes One area expected to get an internal technology revamp in the coming year and a half is direct sales, the HP source said.
Mott will help HP implement the back-end processes that are needed to operate a top-notch direct-order Web site, said Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies Associates. Information-intensive tasks like gathering and sorting reams of customer data and quickly reacting to changes in component costs are vital to improving the efficiency of a direct sales operation, and Mott's experience implementing such a system at Dell will be invaluable to HP, Kay said.
At the same time, HP has to avoid antagonizing its retail and channel partners with a renewed push toward direct sales, he said.
"When you go from direct to indirect, the only people who get upset are your own sales force," Kay said. "But if you've got distribution and you go direct, you're competing against the people that help you."
Improving its direct-sales operation allows HP to get closer to its customers and learn more about the areas the company needs to improve, said Stephen Baker, director of industry analysis at NPD Techworld. This could actually help HP's retail and channel business by allowing it to understand what its channel partners go through when making a sale or dealing with support, he said.
Get Small Business Technology Report
Via Email Every Tuesday
What is Smallbiztechnology.com?
Smallbiztechnology.com helps small-medium sized businesses strategically use technology as a tool to grow their businesses and provides news, articles, discussion boards, resources, analysis & events for the owners of small to medium sized busineses.
Subscribe to the Smallbiztechnology feed.
Recent Posts
- Pay-Per-Click Advertising for Peanuts
- Downloading Microsoft Windows Updates Can Be Bad For Your Health
- Time is Money. How Are You Tracking Yours?
- Are You Collaborating Creatively?
- When Technology Embarrasses Us! :)
- Is Online Marketing Confusing You?
- Email Marketing Providers: How to Choose
- Can Social Networking Improve Internal Collaboration?
- Is 1.5 TeraBytes of Storage Too Much?
- Should Your Face Be On Your Web Site?
Join our Facebook group
The Third Annual Small Business Summit 2008 was a smashing success. Check out the Summit site for what you missed. See the 2008 Summit presentations, video and photos!
Post a comment