Dell Readies Consumer Products

Dell will introduce a slate of new consumer products in the months leading up to the back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons, including new printers, plasma televisions, and music players.

The company also plans to redesign the support portions of its Web site and launch a media campaign aimed at educating consumers about viruses and spyware, says Mike George, vice president and general manager of Dell's U.S. consumer business.

Dell's primary customers have been corporations, and that is still the case. But the company is working to increase its market share among consumer PC customers. That experience has helped Dell break into newer consumer product categories such as printers and televisions, George says.

U.S. consumers tend to buy technology products in the third quarter, when schools resume classes, and during the fourth-quarter holiday period. Dell's upcoming products will be ready for those shopping periods, George adds.

Coming: Plasma TVs

Dell jumped into the printer market in 2002, hoping to take market share away from rival Hewlett-Packard. It has focused mostly on all-in-one devices that perform multiple functions--printing, scanning, and copying--for the home. However, Dell will roll out a number of new products in both new and existing categories, George says.

Plasma televisions are also scheduled for release in the near future, says Michael Farello, vice president of marketing for Dell's U.S. consumer business. The company currently offers LCD televisions, but will introduce a plasma television larger than 30 inches later this year, he adds.

A plasma television is more expensive than an LCD television, and offers a wider viewing angle as well as improved picture quality. Dell held off on plasma televisions last year because it had concerns about quality, George says.

Plasma televisions had a problem with "the burn-in factor," or the tendency for an image to remain on the screen if shown for an extended period of time, George says. Dell is now confident that the technology provided by its supplier is of sufficient quality, he adds, declining to name the supplier.

Consumer Education

Along with releasing new consumer products, Dell plans to emphasize security for PC customers in upcoming months, George says. Around 15 to 20 percent of all support calls placed to Dell are related to a virus or spyware program that is causing problems on a PC, and educating customers how to protect themselves will reduce support calls and improve the customer's overall experience, he says.

The campaign will consist of commercials, targeted marketing supplements, and discounts on security products, George says.

Dell is revamping its support Web pages to address more customer support questions, he adds. The new design will offer more access to online support representatives and troubleshooting tips tailored to particular PCs.

Dell customers in California with questions about the company's products will soon have the option of visiting a Dell kiosk, George adds. The company plans to introduce 20 additional mall kiosks in a variety of locations. Among those sites are Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, he says.

A Dell kiosk consists of one or two sales representatives who can demonstrate Dell PCs and consumer electronics products for prospective customers. The company doesn't sell any products out of the kiosks, but lets customers place orders over the Web from the kiosk or to save a customer profile at Dell's Web page and order the products from home. With the 20 new kiosks, Dell will have a total of 85 locations around the U.S., George says.