STEVE HARVEY ON HAVING BIG IDEAS
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370

Dell Small Business vs Dell Home

Sales Strategies submitted by jamesmoroni1 May 2

The split between Dell Small Business and Dell Home has been an endless source of confusion and frustration for price-sensitive customers. I don't see the need for the two separate divisions. I've purchased computers from both, and keeping track of where I bought which machine is very frustrating. It also makes it harder to be sure you're getting the best price.

Dell SB and Dell Home should go away -- it should be just Dell.com. There could be special options for people who want to purchase several machines at once, but there's no need to have separate storefronts -- the needs of small businesses and home users are very similar. 23 Comments »

700

Let Home customers know it's OK to buy from the Business section and vice versa.

Advertising and Marketing, Sales Strategies, Small Business submitted by jmxz May 7

From a conversation with Dell's robert_p, under a different Idea it seems that "Home" customers are welcome to buy from Dell's "Small & Medium Business" section, and Dell's "small and/or medium business" customers are welcome to buy from Dell's "Home & Home Office" section.

This is very useful since often computers in the "Small Business" section may be more appropriate for home use (the Latitude's light weight and reliability make it a great college computer); and often computers in the "Home" section may be more appropriate for office use (where the better graphics options in Home are valuable for graphical visualization). It's also useful because an identically-spec'd system may be cheaper the Home Section one week, and then be cheaper in the Small Business section the next.

I think many Dell Business and Home customers are missing out on the best deals and failing to find machines that meet their needs because the home user's are afraid of falsely claiming to be a business and because the business customers are afraid of falsely claiming to by buying systems for personal use.

So a few ideas:

1. Assuming robert_p's right in saying Home Customers are welcome to buy from Small Business - add links to the Home product pages saying "If you don't see what you need here, check out Dell's Small Business section. You're welcome to buy those for Home use too".
2. Assuming robert_p's right in saying Small Business are welcome to buy from the Home section - add links to the Small Business product pages saying "If you don't see what you need here, check out Dell's Home section. You're welcome to buy those for Business Use too".
3. Extrapolating - if it's also OK for Home an Small Biz customers to buy from Dell's "Large Business" and "Government, Education, Healthcare & Life Sciences" section, add those links too.
4. Make a price comparison engine that compares the prices of an identically spec'd system from each of Dell's sections so I don't have to manually dig through all of your painful to navigate website sections to compare Home vs Small Business myself. 2 Comments »

23400

Put Ubuntu on the list of operating systems when building a PC!

Linux, Sales Strategies, Desktops and Laptops submitted by samb0057 08/10/07 **UNDER REVIEW**

Ubuntu is hidden in a dark corner of the website. I work in IT support, and I have a client who was having virus problems a little while ago. I fixed the problem by installing Ubuntu on their PC. Very recently they called me asking for advice on a new computer, I told them about your new offer providing Ubuntu pre-installed on PCs and they wanted to purchase, but could not find the section on your site (this person is a very basic user, doesn't know what open-source means, probably didn't even see the open source link). There is no way they would have found your Ubuntu section on their own.

I urge you to offer Ubuntu as a choice of OSes in the system configuration wizard, the only way to really sell Ubuntu is to offer Ubuntu as a primary option, rather than a hidden alternative. I personally am looking to buy a new laptop, and you guys have always been my number 1 PC manufacturer (I don't think I've ever bought a new retail PC except from you guys), but I feel that your Ubuntu offerings are lacking. If you offered Ubuntu on some of the great deals you offer on your home page, I would be willing to pay just as much as I would for a Windows Vista system and I probably would have already ordered.







127 Comments »

22300

Backlit Keyboards

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Sales Strategies, Desktops and Laptops submitted by rarmasu 02/21/07 **PARTIALLY IMPLEMENTED**

I find myself many, many times in dark or poorly lit environments having to guess the various keys - would be fantastic to have a backlit keyboard - with backlit individual keys as the best option.

I would actually pay extra for that convenience if the option was available.
This could be done for desktops or notebooks.


Check out the white LED backlights on the <ahref>XPS M1730.
296 Comments »

15270

Use magsafe power connectors

Laptops, Laptop Power submitted by badblood 05/20/07 **UNDER REVIEW**

MagSafe power connectors, by Apple, are magnetic power connectors that pull out harmlessly when the cord is tripped upon.



They are very cool and quite sensible.





87 Comments »

24660

Standardize Power Cables for Laptops

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Laptops submitted by badblood 08/27/07 **UNDER REVIEW**

Nothing is more annoying than laptop power cables that are not interchangeable from one computer model to another or from one brand of computer to another. Power cables have been standardized on most electrical applicances, including desktop computers for decades.

Make an effort to promote and implement standard power cables for laptops.


Please see dawn_l's comments below.
93 Comments »

35717

Silent / Quiet Computers: Sound levels in decibels

Desktops and Laptops submitted by pchris 02/17/07 **REVIEWED**

I'd like Dell to provide the sound level in decibels for each of their desktops, under max load as well as at idle.

How a manufacturer can produce an expensive computer, and then have the user acoustic experience of that computer dominated by the noise generated by a cheap fan worth just pennies, for the entire lifetime of that computer, is incomprehensible. Computers are noisy when brand new, but those cheap fans begin to rub and oscillate and make additional annoying noises, frequently within a short period of time of purchase.

Personally, the peace and quiet of my personal workspace is very important to me, it's my sanctuary from the world where I can focus and be creative. To have that experience disrupted by cheap fans is sad, especially when slightly more expensive fans and some reasonable design would solve the issue. Another reason why I consider buying an Apple.

If the cost of a better sound design and fans is significant, it could be an extra cost option.
In general, Dell provides noise data of its products in the Environmental Datasheets. Tests are conducted according to ISO standards in a NVLAP accredited acoustics facility. Click here for more details




152 Comments »

120054

No Extra Software Option

Software submitted by ootleman 02/16/07 **PARTIALLY IMPLEMENTED**

Would love the ability to have a clean Vista install. No AOL software, no earthlink software, no google software - just a clean, original OS.


Check out jeremy_f's update on our current software options.


590 Comments »

115743

Have Firefox pre-installed as default browser

Software submitted by robinjfisher 02/19/07 **REVIEWED**

Does what it says on the tin! Most people only use IE because they aren't aware of other browsers - they think Internet Explorer is the Internet! What would really drive take up of alternative browsers is if Firefox was pre-installed as the default browser so that when people look for the "Internet" in Windows, they are using FF.
Firefox advocates at Dell have initiated discussions and driven action around exploring alternative internet browsers and experiences. As you can tell from our response to the Linux community, open source continues to be a part of our conversations about new products and services.





772 Comments »



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