There’s hope for the Dell brand
At long last, there’s hope for the Dell brand. Dell’s new partnership with AMD signals a potential turnabout in Dell’s recent fortunes. After two decades of being the street seller for the Microsoft/Intel consortium, Dell had hit a brand ceiling. Brand-wise, there was no way for Dell to go. Certainly no way up. Microsoft and Intel made history, and Dell sold the souvenirs. Because the other two companies picked the game and held the cards, it was hard for Dell to create a strong brand identity with a strong customer connection.
A global faceless follower
Dell, based in a state of rugged individualism, had become a global faceless follower. And it’s no accident that everything that Dell isn’t, Apple is.
For a while, Dell’s claim to fame was its service. But that suffered when Dell decided to monetize service via outsourcing and cost cutting. Service quality crumbled, and Dell’s “service” cachet dropped off the cliff.
Recreating the Dell identity
The Dell brand can use the AMD deal to help recreate its identity. There’s energy in fresh starts. While the Dell/AMD relationship is limited, and currently focused on server technologies, there’s no reason it can’t expand to laptop and desktop markets, and carry a new Dell with it.
Let’s see: plucky AMD is the perennial chip outsider, now with a lead in chip performance. Dell is a proud Texan tired of being a hollow front. Down-to-earth Dell competes with the polished Apple. There’s the rough cut of a gritty brand story here, ready-made for this guy.
October 26th, 2006 at 12:32 pm
Hi Brian,
Thanks for the commentary and perspective. You certainly raise some interesting points and food for thought.
As you may know, we have announced both new servers and desktops with AMD chips. Also, your note about our customer service, Dell is making corrections with DellConnect; we have invested an additional $150 million in the last couple quarters to start a turn around there too; and Michael spoke about other changes in a recent Fortune interview.
here is the other part of the brand story and fits with your down to earth Dell, whose not so hollow because it gives customers choices about the technology they want to meet their specific needs. Others push design and sell preconfigured technology off the shelf forcing people to buy what the company is pushing versus what the customer might prefer.
October 27th, 2006 at 9:35 am
Richard,
Thanks for the response. My biggest issue with the Dell brand (having 4 Dell’s in the office) is that Dell seems content on being a super-efficient configuration manager. I’d prefer that Dell focus less on the supply chain and more on the brand chain, where it could use its imagination to create customers above and beyond the X86/MS axis. There’s no need to cede that valuable territory to Apple (or to the ThinkPad).
October 31st, 2006 at 1:02 pm
Hi there, Brian
appreciate the feedback and think we get it and are getting it. How about adding to supply chain and brand chain, the customer chain (perhaps in some regards that is the brand chain, or part of it). See for example more about Dell 2.0 at this link:
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp/conversations/en/2006_09_12?c=us&l=en&s=corp
November 6th, 2006 at 5:49 am
Richard,
Thanks for the reply and the link. Since the purpose of a brand is to create the customers that drive a business forward, the customer will always be the end product of the brand chain. What I’d like to see from Dell is a ringing portrait of the unique customer that Dell is trying to create. This has to be a customer more interesting and more culturally relevant than a “purchaser.” Show me the customers who positively, absolutely have to have a Dell to do great things for the world. Show me how Dell is essential to that greatness.
Apple manages to pull this off, and in top-tier business circles so does ThinkPad. In my view, rising to this level requires much more than ad campaigns and PowerPoints. You need a visceral brand that connects by force of character.
November 14th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
Brian,
Michael often discusses how technology in the hands of people has just begun to have the kind of positive impact it can have for humanity, as well as how Dell has consistently made technology more accessible to more people. At this point, we are 20 years old….as we enter adulthood, to loosely quote a former Canadian Prime Minister, “watch us”.
You will find people “positively, absolutely have to have a Dell to do great things for the world.” Keep your eye on emerging markets that climb to world player status because of industry standard technologies using their Dell’s…and more.
November 15th, 2006 at 9:49 am
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