Final Customer Buying from the Product Producer

Acquire Steps: Acquire steps include all activities the customer completes preceding the use or the consumption of the product. These steps include the customer's efforts needed for evaluation and acquisition of the product.

2. Emotional: Segment customers according to the personal emotional needs of the segment.

B. Needs to avoid sources of anxiety

3. Economic limitations: Segment customers according to the limitations set by their economic interests and concerns

Savings of potential product vs. current solution

Level of savings over the current product cost system

No. SIC Year Note
1 3085 1998 One trend to monitor is the more aggressive pricing of low-price alternative products. Low-end brands have been more aggressive discounters in Argentina in recent months, and this has put a ceiling on prices for higher-quality brands.
2 3571 2003 IT departments got the idea of replacing big servers bought from brand name Silicon Valley firms with cheaper versions from Dell, HP and IBM. E*Trade buyers yanked 50 Unix servers that cost $220,000 a piece and brought in gaggle of $4,000 IBM servers.
3 3571 2004 Hewlett-Packard is taking on Dell for the No. 1 spot in the personal computer industry. Their new strategy is to sell PCs without worrying about profits. They push high-margin peripherals, consulting and consumer electronics. After acquiring Compaq in 2002, H-P can cut prices further because of its massive size. The cost-cutting tactics are ideal for consumers as prices on desktops and laptops continue to fall. H-P offers a broader line of goods and services than Dell, leaving it with more leeway in profit margins. The size also allows the company additional clout when negotiating with contract manufacturers.
4 3651 2003 Dell's response to the iPod is a handsome silver and black unit with simple, easily understood buttons and a barrel-shaped scrolling device for navigating long song lists. The Dell DJ comes in two models, which vary only by the capacity of their hard disks. A 15-gigabyte model, which can hold over 3,700 songs, costs $249, or $50 less than Apple's 10-gigabyte iPod. A 20-gigabyte model, costs $329 versus $399 for Apple's 20-gigabyte iPod. Sturdy rubber feet and a rubberized material on the edges give the Dell a solid, high-quality feel. The Dell is also much bigger than the iPod. Some of that extra bulk is used to house a larger battery than Apple's. The Dell claims up to 16 hours of play time on a charge, which is double the iPod's eight hours. It also can record voice memos.
5 4812 2003 Wi-Fi is a collection of thousands of access points around the company called "hot spots" that allow anyone within a 300 foot radius and possessing a laptop with a wireless card to surf the Web. Using wireless nodes usually costs one-fifth to one-fiftieth of what data-services subscriptions from existing wireless carriers cost.
6 7011 2004 Just like the airlines, nearly every major hotel chain now boasts a customer-loyalty program to lure repeat guests. Hotel programs are usually based on dollars spent, including the cost of the rooms, food, and other services but not taxes.
7 7372 2001 MapInfo develops software that allows companies to make strategic decisions by mapping the locations of their customers. It has excelled because of a focused strategy and excellent management.
8 7514 2003 Most small businesses don't usually partner with one rental-car company, though large corporations often do. Small businesses usually search for the lowest rates.
9 8741 2001 Spherion handles recruiting, customer support and administrative chores to help their clients cut costs. Contracts last about five years and clients may save 25% to 30% through the partnership. Spherion moves operations to cheaper locations, rehires at most 85% of the original staff and each office can handle multiple clients, optimizing savings and profits.

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