Image as a key to success

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter IUUUUUUU  INTRODUCTION  3

  Purpose and Importance of the study  3

  Statement of the problem  3

  Alternative solutions  4

  Criteria  4

  Limitations  4

Chapter IIUUUUUUU  THEORETICAL OR PRACTICAL FOUNDATION  5

  Introduction  5

  Theoretical or practical basis  5

  Summary of previous studies related to the issue  7

  Consensus of the studies  7

Chapter IIIUUUUUUU  RESOLUTION PROCESS  8

  Introduction  8

  Data  8

  Source and Location of the data  8

  Analysis performed on the data  9

Chapter IVUUUUUUU  ANALYSIS  9

  Introduction  9

  Analysis of each alternative  10

  Results  13

  Interpretation of the results  13

Chapter VUUUUUUU  CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION  13

  Conclusion  13

  Recommendation  14

Chapter VIUUUUUUU  REFERENCES  15

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I. Introduction A. Introduction Image – the key to success. In fact, a positive image matters for a company to be successful and it is a good opportunity to get positive publicity. Image is not only developed through advertising. The product should suit the corresponding brand and the selected advertising medium should support the brand and its image through its means of communication in order to create a total image of the company, the brand and the products. The brand and the image of a company represent the promise that products and services will perform to expectations. The company has to choose a strategy that defines the future of the company and its brands. The following wo rk analyzes the development and implementation of marketing strategies by computer industries to improve their image and enhance their sales: The policies of IBM and HP. IBM was founded in 1949, when the Hollerith corporation was renamed in International Business Machines (IBM). The company produced its first personal computer in 1952. Hewlett Packard (HP) on the other side was founded by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard in 1939. The company's first product was an audio oscillator—an electronic test instrument used by sound engineers. B. Statement of issue The purpose of this paper was to find out the efficiency of the marketing strategies each company provided to improve a positive image. The oversupplied market nowadays makes it crucial for computer industries to market effectively and efficiently in order to remain in the race. A company has to distinguish itself from their competitors and the major issue here is to find out which strategy leads most likely to success regarding the primary goal of improving a positive image and enhance the company’s sales.

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C. Alternative solutions There are different ways for a company to reach their goal to improve the company’s image and enhance their sales. In the beginning 1990s, IBM chose to change their strategy and start focusing more importantly on improving customer service. IBM had lost market share in practically all business segments. IBM was an inflexible company, that didn’t care about their customers needs that much in the past. Additionally, IBM was not able to react to market changes quickly enough, because of its complex company structure. Hewlett Packard on the other side chose a different strategy to reach their goal. For them, products of the highest quality and functionality are the silver lining. D. Criteria The key decision criteria in this analysis will be following: Qualitative Criteria: Quantitative Criteria:

- Brand and repurchase loyalty - Leverage

- Brand awareness - Increasing sales

- Stock indices.

E. Limitations The analysis assumes that the different strategies of the companies and the underlying criteria are the reason that the company is whether successful through a positive image or not. But there are also other business factors and variables that have influence on the success of the company and their success. Additionally, image is hard to measure in quantitative numbers. Therefore, qualitative criteria were used as well as quantitative. The second limitation is the fact, that the analysis is based on only two companies and their marketing strategy and is therefore limited. Thirdly, there are several strategies that can lead to the primary goal and different companies use different strategies. In the following analysis, there are only two strategies analyzed: Customer service versus product quality.

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Another limitation is the industry that is looked at. IBM and HP are both in the computer technology industry. Considerations are based on this specific industry.

II. Theoretical or Practical Foundation A. Introduction To reach the goal of a positive image, every company should manage their brand identity-oriented, in order to create a special confidence potential with the consumers to the brand. A high confidence is necessary in order to receive the existence authorization and competitiveness of the brand on duration. Only those brands, with which the consumer perceives a clear identity consolidated in it over a long time, can commit consumers to it and reach, therefore, brand loyalty. Brand identity, in this connection, is to be understood as the sum of all features of a brand, which durably distinguishes this branded article from others and creates therewith its brand personality.

B. Theoretical or practical basis There are several theoretical models that describe the steps how to become successful based on image. To reach the goal to improve the image, the company has to be aware of the fact, that image is nothing visible. The image of the company and its brands has to be developed. The correla tion between image and brand can be shown with the Iceberg Analogy. This theory can be requisitioned as an explanation extension for a better understanding of the value position of a brand.