Weary of price cuts, companies try to sell value; service, warranty and technology may be the next weapons of choice

Article Abstract:

Recent price wars create an atmosphere of intense competition in the microcomputer industry. Many companies work to improve the value of products purchased with the belief that consumer perception of value is as important as price. Some industry analysts believe that companies that compete only in the price arena will eventually be forced out of business. One issue that companies are concentrating on is warranty. Compaq's three-year warranty on all of its microcomputers has served to give the company a market advantage. The development of new computing technologies is another area of concentration that is important for companies to pursue. One trend in computer systems design has been the development of low-profile cases. Other leading technologies include local bus video and embedded diagnostics. Product service and support is another important area to be addressed by computer companies.

Warranty, Marketing, Column, Microcomputer, Competition, Marketing Strategy, Support Services

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When a company promises service, does it mean it?

Article Abstract:

Customer surveys conducted by PC Magazine and Dataquest Inc show how various computer makers rate in customer satisfaction. A survey by PC Magazine, which includes nearly 20,000 responses from an audience that is mostly composed of corporate computer buyers, indicates that direct-order companies provide superior service and support to companies that go through a dealer. The PC Magazine survey rates PC Brand Inc and Austin Computer Systems the worst in overall reliability and shows that Swan Technologies Inc rates best in three out of four categories. The Dataquest survey asked 1,000 corporate buyers about customer satisfaction and found CompuAdd Corp, Hewlett-Packard Co and Dell Computer Corp on the top of the list.

Services, Statistics, Surveys, Customer relations, Surveys (Studies), Dataquest Inc., Survey, PC Magazine (Periodical)

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Bazaar of technology

Article Abstract:

The Comdex/Fall 1990 computer conference yields products that are more powerful, faster, smaller and less expensive than ever before. Comdex/Fall 1990 is in Las Vegas and has an estimated 120,000 buyers and sellers. Much of the attention is focused on portable, or notebook, computers and microcomputers based on the powerful Intel Corp 80486 microprocessor chip. The 80486-based machines range from an AST Research Inc microcomputer for $3,995 to a Dolch Computer Systems Inc machine for $16,000. portable computers are lighter and faster than portables announced in 1989 and low-power, single-chip processor board prototypes are introduced.

Conferences, meetings and seminars, Technological forecasting, Trade shows, Comdex, Trends, Trade Show, Conferences and Meetings, Future of Computing, Comdex-Fall, 1990 AD

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