Marketing Strategy
April 9, 2008 – 11:11 am by BHI am writing this post on an HP laptop that I’ve been generally happy with, aside from the trackpad, which I cannot operate properly. I didn’t like all the trial products the company installed on the machine and it took me a while to get it clean and ready to run. But since then it’ been mostly fine. I ordered the computer online and got a nice education discount. But the process was considerably more clumsy than ordering an Apple, or any Apple products online. I do not wish to turn this into a pc vs mac debate, but Apple clearly understands marketing while HP doesn’t. As an example, let’s talk about HP’s new Mini-Note 2133 laptop, which is getting good reviews around the web.
The HP Mini, as some are now calling it, seems like a great ultraportable computer. It sports an 8.9 inch screen and a choice of hard drive and processor options, not to mention the choice of Linux or Windows Vista/XP. At only 2.6 pounds it’s no speed demon, but that’s not its intended purpose. If Apple introduced a machine like this you could be sure to see tons of ads on tv and plenty of quicktime videos on their site showing how amazing the product is. Contrast this with HP.
The Mini Note is designed with education in mind, but you cannot buy it on their education site. Instead it is buried on their small business page. Yes, it’s for sale through Amazon, but I’m assuming they set up their own online store in the hope of actually selling some computers. What’s more, the base price is only $499, so I am assuming that at that price they need to sell lots of machines, but their marketing is not set up to provide the requisite scale. The bottom line is that HP is not managing its marketing, it is relying on word of mouth and on reviews. It needs to more actively promote the product in what is fast becoming a very competitive market.
I have no doubt the product will do well, but it could do much better. Dell is already making waves with its own ultraportable that promises to be even cheaper and more powerful, so HP should get their game together.
