5 things Dell does wrong
Dell is a dying brand. It has lost the point of difference that made it a success story and is now running on fumes. If you don’t believe me, go through the steps of buying (or almost buying) a computer from them, as I did yesterday.
I’m a Mac user but need to buy a PC to run a certain software program. I looked up online what Dell had to offer but quickly found their site is not Mac friendly and freezes when you try to get product details. As a computer manufacturer, this doesn’t set very high expectations of their products.
But I didn’t give up there. I called their sales people and told them I was interested in a cheap, basic laptop and gave them the model number I wanted to know more about. The sales rep was over-friendly and asked me a bunch of questions that seemed irrelevent and intrusive (home address, phone number and email address). She said the basic package I saw on their website would’t do it. I should upgrade processor speed and memory. Oh, and I need to get their 3-year warranty because, while “our computers are built to last forever” you never can tell. This stuff I was told I needed added another $300 to the price.
I said I wasn’t ready to make a purchase and was asked why. I said the price. She asked what the problem with it was. I said how big it was. She said oh. I said goodbye and was left with the impression of a company in desperate need of an overhaul. Here’s how:
1. Don’t pretend Mac users don’t exist. Woo them and try and convert them.
2. Enough of the complicated phone options and poor voice recognition. You don’t have any stores (although you’re about to become like every other computer manufactuer by starting to sell in Wal-Mart) so make the direct to customer experience amazing.
3. Don’t try and get me to upgrade before I’ve even decided I’m interested. In fact don’t get me to upgrade at all. If the package you’re touting on your website isn’t good enough, don’t feature it.
4. Don’t ask me for lots of personal details. We’re not even dating yet, so stop stalking me.
5. Don’t ask stupid questions about why I’m not completing an order today when it’s damned obvious. Makes you look desperate and dumb.
I’d love to get my hands on Dell to make it stand out once again as a great brave brand, not what it’s become. You can almost taste the failure. Consumers sense that and will leave (are leaving) in their droves. To buy a Mac, for instance.
Now if only I could that software to work on my trusty, sexy Mac…