Question

Dell

In January 2006, Dell, the world’s largest computer maker, announced plans to setup its fourth call center in India. The company already employs over 10,000 people in its Indian call centers, which provided a telephone help desk service to its many thousands of customers around the world. Like many other Western companies, Dell was attracted to India by the abundance of low-cost English-speaking workers, many of whom are well qualified and highly IT literate. Locating call centers in India sounds like a good deal all round. Customers get access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week wherever they are in the world, companies are able to reduce costs, and workers in a developing country get jobs.

However, not everyone is happy. Niels Kjellerup, Publisher and Editor of The Call Centre Managers Forum, an online chat room for call center managers, argues that the rush to outsource customer contact operations to cheaper locations has resulted in the worst of management practices in US and UK call centers being exported as ‘World Class Call Centre Practice’ in countries like India. He says that too often what is seen in India is bad customer service delivered cheaply. He claims that many Indian call centers are run as sweatshops with intelligent people being treated like cattle. Call center managers with little or no previous experience adopt ‘idiotic vendor measures’ such as ‘how many calls’ and ‘how short’, which simply result in the delivery of poor levels of customer service.

Agents are required to work nine and a half hours a day, but typically work anywhere from 12 to 16 hours. Processing 28 calls an hour is mandatory. Another target is to ensure that no customer calls back within seven days. The informant claimed that there are few, if any allowances for time off, even for doctor visits, sick days or handling family emergencies.

Question 2 ( maximum 300 words)

A traditional view of globalization is that it involves rolling out the same offering across the globe using the same ingredients, brand name and marketing communications. However, organizations have realized that they need to adapt their offerings and communications to local preferences and conditions. Discuss what is the difference between globalization and customization in marketing segmentation and marketing mix in relation to Dell Computers.

Answer 1

Globalisation in marketing segmentation and marketing mix has very broad concept, it include different marketing strategies for different countries all over the globe. Global firms view all over the world as their own market and then segment the whole world as the basis of their own need and services regarding marketing. Dell computers uses geographical marketing segmentation for its product and services which includes the target markets in USA, EMEA, ASIA PACIFIC - JAPAN. The demographic segmentation of Dell computers based on the education, occupation, personal interest, and choices of the customers. Dell always have its high focus on the choices of its customers and their benefits for which customer will look for in purchase of Dell computers. Prices of Dell computers are slightly e lower in USA in comparison to Asia.

As per customisation of Dell computers in relation to the marketing segmentation, Dell computers manufactures it's computers by taking education, occupation, personal interest and choices of its customers as benchmark for its computer's manufacturing. The pricing strategies of Dell computers is slightly bias as per different geographical marketing segmentation of the company. Higher income group will afford high price of computer so Dell computers is slightly bias on the basis of education, occupation and Income of its customers. The need for computers are different for the customer who is being involved in education and the customer who is being involved in occupation so dell manufacture computers on various basis.

Marketing mix of Dell computers in relation to globalisation will include high variability on the different basis. As per the globalisation of Dell computers in marketing mix, it products and services get available at many huge hubs of globe, like US, Asia Pacific, Japan and EMEA regions. Dell uses direct channel model for the distribution of it products. Prices of Dell computers varied as per its marketing and services. Dell always analyses its market demand and supply in order to reflect it back on the prices of computers and their promotions. Dell computers uses television, newspaper magazines and internet for its promotion.

Now as per the customisation of Dell computers in its marketing mix include the various steps of Dell computers to customise it computers as per the need and demand of the population. Dell reduces the prices of its computers in order to match the customer's expectations of value for money. For this, Dell cut down its costs associated with its retailers and distributors and other cost related to its manufacturing parts. Dell computers. Dell computers uses different need of its customers for computers as per their choices and then manufacture different computers based on this. Dell also began as a direct mail order seller of computers.