INTRODUCTION
In present world business operations demand higher range of effectiveness and promptness for which IT industries needs to give more attention towards what they produce. There are range of organisations which are making new software’s, hardware’s and other IT services. As there is high degree of similarity in the products provided by different institutes it creates immense competition among them. Maintenance of competitive advantage demands product and service differentiation as this way distinct brands establish their own image in the minds of customers (Sirmon and et. al., 2011). Hewlett-Packard Company is a multinational information technology enterprise having its headquarters in Palo Alto, California. This brand is known for delivering both hardware and software’s products to both public and private sector. It faces a tough competition from different brands operating in IT sector and hence use competitive strategies through which maximum share of market is covered. The following report will discuss how the referred enterprise is dealing with the external rivalry and to what extent it is successful in same.
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TASK
Company overview
HP focuses on providing flexible solutions to users and is a powerful brand in the IT sector. Apart from dealing in only software and hardware services it also provides extensive variety of products like mobile phones, pen drives laptops etc. It was founded in 1939 by William “Bill” Redington Hewlett and Dave Packard initially in a car garage in Palo Alto where now the headquarters are established. Over the period of time the referred enterprise has gained expertise in producing PC’s computer storage networking hardware and many more. Employment to a great amount of persons is provided which has further added value to brand name (Hitt and et. al., 2011). HP has developed wide portfolio in comparison to its competitors in every sector be it printing to networking storage to mobility and many more. It has achieved excellence in most of the sectors in which it is dealing in. Proper attention is given to the redesign of products so that the share in market is maximised and in the last five years HP has done a great job in bringing innovation to the information technology department.
Mission – “To invent new and innovative technologies to drive business values and to provide benefits to different customers”.
Vision – “To deliver IT products in market which can create better living for individual and society as whole”.
Slogan – “Keep reinventing”
Key competitors of HP
Due to the presence of excess scope in the IT sector more and more companies are participating in the same field. They give a tough competition to HP and restricts its capacity to grow. Apple is the leading brand in this sector as with quality of products and services it has created an extremely different image in the eyes of customers. It earns high revenue and deliver products using premium price policy (Campbell, Coff and Kryscynski, 2012). Thereafter Acer computer international limited is another brand which is known for delivering quality products in the market. It focuses on producing innovative and better featured products at reduced and affordable price which increase the demand for the same. Other competitors are given in the graph below. It is important for HP to maintain high quality in its production and maintain the right price as any fault can lead to the loss of potential customers. For same it has to work on building good relation with clients for which effective strategies need to be constructed.
Figure 1 Different enterprise dealing in IT Sector
Source: GOTTESMAN.B, 2018
Supply chain of HP
In order to create and effective supply chain HP ensures transparency and sustainability. the demand of customers is identified so that accordingly the products are delivered. Consumers are concern about what is being produced for the market and how for which they are provided with continuous information. HP believes that by maintain a clear manufacturing system trust is established between the company and its customers (Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson, 2012). In order to achieve the competitive advantage different strategies are adopted by the referred enterprise among which the most effective one are discussed below:
Marketing strategies
In order to raise the brand value of an enterprise it is of utmost importance that effective promotions tools are used as it helps in getting better sales and revenue. To market the software’s and products is crucial for HP and for same it uses strategic plans which helps it in achieving the competitive advantage over Acer, Lenovo etc. it uses effective platforms to interact with its customers such as using the marketing resource management tools. It provided assistance to the different departments of referred enterprise to use a common language to deal with customer’s quarries which helped in improving the relationship between customer and the brand. This also improves the present focus of enterprise on its customers that represent in different parts of the world (Saint-Onge and Wallace, 2012). The feedbacks received from the clines are used as a guide to bring improvements. Apart from this it also aids in reducing the cost of failure which is important to maintain long term success of an enterprise. Departments of the referred enterprise are motivated to produce more with less and comparative culture is established in the internal environment so that growth in the overall efficiency level of distinct sections is ensured.
Marketing Mix of HP
In order to cover greater market, share it is important that proper decision is taken regarding the different aspects such as the product, price place and promotion. Each one of them hold an effective position and if judgments associate with same are effective than the gap between actual and desired success is minimised. The explanation of how HP is taking decisions towards each one of them s discussed below trough which it is doing well in comparison to those in the same field (Coff and Kryscynski, 2011).
Product – It is the most important element for market. The beginning of marketing mix is done with this section as selecting the best products solve major problem of covering a greater market share. HP is offering a wide range of products which makes it a superior brand and each contribution which is made by referred brand is supported with best quality and features which declares them better. Some of the major products of HP are business and home monitors, Pavilion Elite Home Desktop PCs, variety of laptops, ultra mini portable tablets etc. These properties have great demand in market and their unique features makes them favourable for clients.
Price – It is the most sensitive factor which needs to be maintained as customers are very much sensitive with the same. It is required that effective strategies are formulated to establish right value against products so that it can attract maximum customers (Santos-Vijande, López-Sánchez and Trespalacios, 2012). The pricing adopted by HP are as follows:
- Competitive – According to this policy the value of each product is determined by comparing same in the market so that management can reach to the best price which can create acceptancy among the customers.
- Discount pricing – It is a process through which sales are promoted using offers which are given with the main product. Customers are attracted towards a particular offering by providing heavy discount or giving away offers that can be seasonal or regular.
Promotion – In order to make sales, making the product familiar with the market is of very much importance. It is required that proper mode of promotional tools is selected which has the capacity to give maximum impact on customers. information that is important for customers should be communicated to them using different modes (Gebauer, Worch and Truffer, 2012). The different channels used by HP are discussed below:
Sales promotion – Combination of both selling and advertising is used in order to reach more customers. Displays, shows demonstrations are the different ways through which HP reaches its potential customers and develop interest in them towards the offerings. In reference to the referred enterprise it follows two variety of channel such as:
- Dealers promotion – This is an effective tool in which HP attracts different distributors to invest in the brand. They are provided with discounts, price off on the listed value etc. which has the capacity to influence the distributors to buy a good quantity of HP products. Apart from the above discussed techniques additional offers like giving of free samples to retailers is adopted which effects their choice of selections from the various options available for the (Achtenhagen, Melin and Naldi, 2013).
- Customers promotion – HP is using a range of intermediaries to reach its final customers. Gifts are given to potential customers which further develops a strong bond between enterprise and its clients. It helps in developing spec about the company in the minds of various customers.
Advertising – The marketing department of HP focuses on adopting effective distribution channels so that the total sales can be maximised. It is ensured that availability of HP product is made easy so that customers do not find it difficult to purchase same. Decision regarding investments on media are taken with care as it adds much cost to the price of products. Advertisements of HP offerings at local level is done using holdings, TV banners etc. Apart from these assistance of fairs is also taken where public gathering in a good amount take place. this way it creates a better market value in comparison to other IT brands (Schuler, Jackson and Tarique, 2011).
Personal selling – This is the job of a sales person. As the word suggests itself selling of product is done by different individuals who interact personally with different clients and ensure sale by providing all the required level of information. It is an effective mode which also helps in creating a direct connection between customer and organisation. in order to complete the process of personal selling effectively HP uses the concept of AIDS in which attention is given to customer, their interest is developed so that desire among them to buy HP products can be created. After this an action is taken so that the total customer satisfaction level can be raised.
Place – It is another important aspect in which organisations ensure the availability of product at different areas. If an organisation fails to deliver product on time to its potential customers that they get easily attracted by other competitive brands existing in the same field. For same HP uses an appropriate channels of distribution.
Figure 2: Distribution Channel of HP
Human resource policy
In order to carry out all the above activities in an appropriate manner it is of utmost importance that the human resource department of an organisation is effective enough as it is responsible to carry out all the activities. The success of an enterprise depends so much on the same. HP gives great importance to its work force which helps in reducing the total labour turnover ratio. Apart from this it also raises the efficiency level of employees which is helpful in getting the full capacity utilisation of different resources which are invested by the management. Proper training is given to the existing work force so that their capacitates can be raised and their skills are developed to use in the long run. Participation of employees is encouraged in decision making which expands the management power to reach at better and right decision. HP follows the policy of recording the suggestions of its work force for improving the day to day operations which makes it better in comparison to these existing in the same field.
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CONCLUSUON
After going through the above report it is concluded that HP has successfully placed itself in IT industry. It uses effective marketing, human resources and pricing policies which helps HP in achieving better competitive advantage. By delivering quality and standard products it is capable of giving a tough completion to other IT firms and by continuing same it can capture more share of market in the long run. Though there are a number of customers for the brand but by maintain differentiation in its doing it has achieved a good response from different targeted customers.
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REFERENCES
- Sirmon, D. G. and et. al., 2011. Resource orchestration to create competitive advantage: Breadth, depth, and life cycle effects.Journal of management. 37(5). pp.1390-1412.
- Hitt, M. A. and et. al., 2011. Strategic entrepreneurship: creating value for individuals, organizations, and society.The Academy of Management Perspectives. 25(2). pp.57-75.
- Campbell, B. A., Coff, R. and Kryscynski, D., 2012. Rethinking sustained competitive advantage from human capital.Academy of Management Review. 37(3). pp.376-395.
- Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D. and Hoskisson, R. E., 2012.Strategic management cases: competitiveness and globalization. Cengage Learning.
- Saint-Onge, H. and Wallace, D., 2012.Leveraging communities of practice for strategic advantage. Routledge.
- Coff, R. and Kryscynski, D., 2011. Invited editorial: Drilling for micro-foundations of human capital–based competitive advantages.Journal of Management. 37(5). pp.1429-1443.
- Santos-Vijande, M. L., López-Sánchez, J. Á. and Trespalacios, J. A., 2012. How organizational learning affects a firm's flexibility, competitive strategy, and performance.Journal of Business Research. 65(8). pp.1079-1089.
- Gebauer, H., Worch, H. and Truffer, B., 2012. Absorptive capacity, learning processes and combinative capabilities as determinants of strategic innovation.European Management Journal. 30(1). pp.57-73.
- Achtenhagen, L., Melin, L. and Naldi, L., 2013. Dynamics of business models–strategizing, critical capabilities and activities for sustained value creation.Long range planning. 46(6). pp.427-442.
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