CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION
In the ancient time product orientation concept was used but today it change into consumer orientation concept .The consumer is considered as a king of the market .They can change the product according to their need, want, requirement and opinions. In a competitive market place where business competes for consumers, consumer satisfaction is seen as a key and differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy. So the basic need of the company is to retain their loyal consumer with the brand and attract new consumer. To maintain the relationship between consumer and the brand, it is necessary to know that the consumers are satisfied or not. This research helps to know the satisfaction level, opinion, perception and awareness of the consumers towards Dell laptop.

CONSUMER:
Consumer refers to that person which purchases goods for their own use. Different person purchase goods but in real that person is called consumer which consumed goods finally. For example: a whole seller purchase goods from manufacturer and sell it to the retailer, and retailer sell it to the ultimate user which is called consumer.

CONSUMER SATISFACTION:
Customer satisfaction is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. Customer satisfaction is defined as "the number of customers, or percentage of total customers, whose reported experience with a firm, its products, or its services exceeds specified satisfaction goal. Within organizations, customer satisfaction ratings can have powerful effects. They focus employees on the importance of fulfilling customers expectations.

INTRODUCTION OF DELL LAPTOP:

Industry Computer system Founded November 4, 1984 Founder Michael Dell Headquarter Round rock, Texas Area served Worldwide Dell Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in Round Rock, Texas, and United States that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest technological corporations in the world, employing more than 103,300 people worldwide. Dell is listed at #38 on the Fortune 500 (2011). Dell has grown by both organic and inorganic means since its inceptionnotable mergers and acquisitions including alien ware (2006) and Perot Systems (2009). As of 2009, the company sold personal computers, servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, and computer peripherals. Dell also sells HDTVs, cameras, printers, MP3 players and other electronics built by other manufacturers. . On May 3, 2010, Fortune Magazine listed Dell as the 38th largest company in the United States and the 5th largest company in Texas by total revenue.

HISTORY:
Founder Michael Dell with his PCs Limited prototype, which is now housed at the Smithsonian Institution. Dell traces its origins to 1984, when Michael Dell created PCs Limited while a student at the University of Texas at Austin. The dorm-room headquartered company sold IBM PCcompatible computers built from stock components. Michael Dell started trading in the belief that by selling personal computer systems directly to customers, PCs Limited could better understand customers' needs and provide the most effective computing solutions to meet those needs. Michael Dell dropped out of school in order to focus full-time on his fledgling business, after getting about $300,000 in expansion-capital from his family.

In 1985, the company produced the first computer of its own designthe "Turbo PC", sold for US$795. PCs Limited advertised its systems in national computer magazines for sale directly to consumers and custom assembled each ordered unit according to a selection of options. The company grossed more than $73 million in its first year of trading.

The company changed its name to "Dell Computer Corporation" in 1988 and began expanding globallyfirst in Ireland. In June 1988, Dell's market capitalization grew by $30 million to $80 million from its June 22 initial public offering of 3.5 million shares at $8.50 a share. In 1992, Fortune magazine included Dell Computer Corporation in its listed of the world's 500 largest companies, making Michael Dell the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company ever. In 1996, Dell began selling computers via its web site, and in 2002, Dell expanded its product line to include televisions, handhelds, digital audio players, and printers. Dell's first acquisition occurred in 1999 with the purchase of Converge Net Technologies. In 2003, the company was rebranded as simply "Dell Inc." to recognize the company's expansion beyond computers. From 2004 to 2007, Michael Dell stepped aside as CEO, while long-time Dell employee Kevin Rollins took the helm. During that time, Dell acquired Alien ware, which introduced several new items to Dell products, including AMD microprocessors. To prevent cross-market products, Dell continues to run Alien ware as a separate entity but still a wholly owned subsidiary. Lackluster performance, however, in its lower-end computer business prompted Michael Dell to take on the role of CEO again. The founder announced a change campaign called "Dell 2.0," reducing headcount and diversifying the company's product offerings. The company acquired Equal Logic on January 28, 2008 to gain a foothold in the discs storage market. Because Dell already had an efficient manufacturing process, integrating Equal Logics products into the company drove manufacturing prices down.

In 2009, Dell acquired Perot Systems, a technology services and outsourcing company founded by H. Ross Proton September 21, 2009, Dell announced its intent to acquire Perot systems in a reported $3.9 billion deal.

Products:
Their Business/Corporate class represent brand where the company advertises emphasizes long life-cycles, reliability, and serviceability. Such brands include: Studio XPS - (high-end design-focus of XPS systems and extreme multimedia capability) Alienware - high-performance gaming systems Adamo - high-end luxury OptiPlex office desktop computer systems Vostro - office/small business desktop and notebook systems n Series - desktop and notebook computers shipped with Linux or Free DOS installed Latitude - business-focused notebooks Precision - workstation systems and high-performance notebooks PowerEdge - business servers Power Vault- direct-attach and network-attached storage Power Connect - network switches Dell/EMC - storage area networks Equal Logic - enterprise class iSCSI SANs Dell's Home Office/Consumer class emphasizes value, performance, and expandability. These brands include: Inspiron - budget desktop and notebook computers Studio - mainstream desktop and laptop computers Xps -high-end desktop and notebook computers laptop.

MODELS: Dell Inspiron 15

Dell's Inspiron computer product line started as a range of laptop computers targeted at the entrylevel, budget, a Mobile Celeron or Mobile Pentium II processor with SDRAM, and had a high starting price of $2,799 Today, though, the Inspiron line mainly consists of mid-level computer systems.

Dell Inspiron M101z

Released online August 5, 2010, the Inspiron M101z is Dell's 11.6" budget laptop that weighs 3.44 lbs. While Dell markets this as a small laptop, most competing 11.6" models are marketed as net books.

Dell Studio
Dell's Studio brand is a range of laptops and desktops targeted at the mainstream consumer market. The computers sit above Dell's Inspiron and below the XPS consumer lines in price and specifications. They differ from Dell's lower-end Inspiron models by offering slot-loading optical drives, media keys, more cover design options, faster processor options, HDMI and SATA ports, LED-backlit screens, and backlit keyboards.

Dell vostro
The current lineup of Vostro laptops includes five laptops, including two budget models, the A90 and A860, and the mid-level Vostro 3000 series. Higher-end models are the 1220, 1320, 1520, and 1720. The configurations for the Vostro 1220, 1320, 1520, and 1720 are nearly identical. The Dell Vostro 1320, 1520 and 1720 were released online on April 2, 2009, while the Vostro 1220 was released online on July 1, 2009. The Vostro V13 was released online on December 8, 2009 and the Vostro A90 was released online on April 15, 2009. The Vostro 3000 series was released on March 9, 2010, and is Dell's newest line of small business laptops.

Dell Adamo
Adamo is a Dell subnotebook focused on design and mobility. A notebook prototype was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show on January 9, 2009.Dell also claimed it is the "world's thinnest laptop", at 0.65 inches thick. It is a slim luxury ultraportable intended to compete with Apple's MacBook Air, Lenovo's ThinkPad X301, or HP's Voodoo Envy 133 laptop. On September 9, 2009, Dell previewed a new, thinner Adamo "XPS" laptop design, which was 9.99 mm (0.39 inches) thick. It is the world's thinnest laptop, almost half as thick as the thickest part of the MacBook Air. 5

Board of directors:
A board of directors of nine people runs the company. Michael Dell, the founder of the company, serves on the board. Other board members include Don Carty, William Gray, Judy Lewent, Klaus Luft, Alex Mandl, Michael A. Miles, and Sam Nunn. The board of directors usually sets up five committees having oversight over specific matters.

Competitors:
Dell's major competitors include Hewlett-Packard (HP), Acer, Toshiba, Gateway, Sony, Asus, Lenovo, IBM, Samsung, Apple and Sun Microsystems. Dell and its subsidiary, Alienewere, compete in the enthusiast market against AVA Direct and Falcon Northwest.

National and Community awards:

2006 - Dell wins the Multinational Exporter Award. This category recognizes the role of multinational companies in contributing to Ireland's impressive export performance 2006 - Dell wins Leadership category at 02 Ability Awards, a program me set up to acknowledge Irish companies who are leading best practice in the employment of people with disabilities 2005 - Dell Wins Recognition for its environmentally friendly programmers and its effective implementation of CSR policies throughout the company at the annual Corporate Social Responsibility Awards. 2005 - Dell wins Leadership category at 02 Ability Awards, a programme set up to acknowledge Irish companies who are leading best practice in the employment of people with disabilities. 2005 - Dell Wins a Cedar Award for IT recruitment advertising.2005 - 02 Ability awards - Dell is one of fifty Irish companies to win an award in recognition of its policies and track record on the employment of people with disabilities. 2004 - Ireland Call Centre Awards - Dell Wins Best Customer Service Delivery for Our Client Gold Services. 2004 - Chambers of Commerce Corporate Social Responsibility Awards - Dell Wins Commendation for Community Work. 2004 - Dell Ireland is voted top IT vendor/manufacturer of the year at the ICT Excellence awards held in Dublin.

2001 - Dell Bray wins the Bray Recycling Business of the Year category of the Bray Tidy Towns Business Awards. 2001 - Dell Limerick is recognized by the Health and Safety Authority for its participation in the Good contributions in the local area. 2000 - Dell is an award winner at the AIB Capital Markets / Irish Exporters Association, Millennium Export Excellence Awards. 2000 - Dell wins the Commerce endeavor award at the Bray Commerce and District annual endeavor awards. The awards promote the development of a strong community and civic spirit and reward outstanding 1998 - Dell Bray wins Call Centre of the Year and Supplier of the Year at the third annual Irish Call Centre awards held in Dublin.

CHAPTER:-2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

This chapter contains the review of literature related to consumer satisfaction towards Dell laptops. There are various study have already been conducted on consumer satisfaction towards Dell laptops. The review study focus on consumer satisfaction and relation, consumer satisfaction through direct investment, quality, after sales services, through appearance of product in the market, consumer relation through services, technology.

Stiffen (1983) in his research explained that Dell always adopts new technology to the laptop. This strategy makes customer faithful for Dell laptops.

Parasuram (1984) in his research, he identified a set of discrepancies, or gaps between how executives perceive the quality of the service they provide and the task associated with delivering those services to customers. They found that the customer perception service quality depends upon the size and direction of the gap between the service and the customer aspect to receive. Dell Company makes all the product according to the customer requirement and task customer views time to time for any change in their products.

Rama than (1989) in his research concluded that Dell attracts to the consumer for its high quality features. By adding new features Dell always satisfied to their consumer thats why consumer retained with Dell.

Williams (1990) in his research explore customer sales person interaction from communication perspective. They found that consumer of Dell are retained because it provides assured quality and fast after sales services. Dell company provide different communication (verbal and non verbal) training to its sales person so that they can impacts its customers.

Chimpa (1991) in his research, he identified that customer always think about the services. Dell manufactures their product according to the need of the consumers and change time to time according to the consumer demand.

Krawitz (1993) in his research explained specific service and sales skill could improve customer relation rate. A literature review was could to examine the following issue:

(1) Consumer relation rates could be improved by attempting to resell consumers who to cancel their accounts or stop services. (2) Service quality factors that have been shown to contribute to consumer relation.

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(3) Behavior and skills that have been linked to service quality and consumers relationship. (4) The relationship of specific sales skill to these behaviors.

Finelli (1994) in his research he conclude that Dell attracts to the consumer for its high quality of the product. Dell is a customer oriented brand and always work in favor of fill gap between customer satisfaction and quality.

Robert (1995) in his research concluded that Dell improve his customer relationship by
providing good after sales services to the consumer. Dell focus on consumer satisfaction and also focus on the services which is provided to the consumer after sales.

Guha (2001) in his research, she identified that consumer wants that product should available in the market when they want to purchase them, otherwise they go for other brand Dell always conscious for the customer satisfaction and get available the product in the market every time.

CHAPTER: 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The research methodology section contains the objective, research design, sampling technique, sample size, area of sample, tool of data collection and measurement item in the questionnaire.

3.1 Objective of study:

1. To identify satisfaction level of consumer towards Dell laptop. 2. To identify area of improvement of dell laptop. 3. To identify awareness of consumer towards dell laptop. 4. To identify perception of customer towards dell laptop.

3.2 Research Design:

We use descriptive research design in our project. Because it tell us the satisfaction level of consumer, perception of consumer, awareness of consumer towards Dell laptop and area of improvement of Dell laptop. Because this research includes surveys and fact finding enquiries of different kinds so ,this research gives description of the state of affair as it exist at present and it helps to know the adject data.

3.3 Sampling technique

convenience technique is used in this project.

3.4 Sample size:

For this study 50 members has been taken.

3.5 Area of sample:

Dr.It group of institute of management and technology, Jalalpur (Bannur). 10

3.6 Source of data:

1 Primary Data: questionnaire is used in this project to collect primary data. 2 Secondary Data: It refers to that data which have already used by other. Literature review is used in this project to collect secondary data.

3.7 Tools of data collection and analysis: Questionnaire and Graphical method in SPSS

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CHAPTER- 4
Results & discussion
Table 4.1. What is your profession? OPTION Employee Student Business Other NO. OF RESPONDENT 4 46 0 0 PERCENTAGE 8% 92% 0% 0%

From the above graph it could be concluded that 8% of respondents are employees and 92% of respondents are students.

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Table 4.2 Do you have Laptop?

OPTION Yes NO

NO. OF RESPONDENT 38 12

PERCENTAGE 76% 24%

From the above graph it could be concluded that 76% of respondents have laptop and 24% of respondents dont have laptop

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Table 4.3 Do you have Dell Laptop?

OPTION Yes No

NO. OF RESPONDENT 18 32

PERCENTAGE 36% 64%

From the above graph it could be concluded that 36% of respondents have Dell laptop and 64 % of respondents dont have Dell laptop.

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Table 4.4 What is your income level per month?

OPTION 10000 15,000 15000 20000 20000 25000 Above 25000 17 16 4 13

NO. OF RESPONDENT

PERCENTAGE 34% 32% 8% 26%

From the above graph it could be concluded that 34% of respondents income is 1000015000, 32% of respondents income is 15000-20000, 8% of respondents income is 20000- 25000 and 26% of respondents income is above 25000.

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Table 4.5 At what range would you like to purchase a Laptop?

OPTION Below 20,000 20,000 30,000 30,000 40,000 Above 40,000

NO. OF RESPONDENT 4 12 24 10

PERCENTAGE 8% 24% 48% 20%

From the above graph it could be concluded that 8% of respondents like range of Dell laptop below 20000, 24% of respondents like 20000-30000, 48% of respondents like 30000-40000 and 20% of respondents like above 40000.

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Table 4.6 What is your mode of purchase?

OPTION Cash Basis Credit basis

NO. OF RESPONDENT 46 4

PERCENTAGE 92% 8%

The above graph shows the mode of purchase of respondents. 92% respondents purchase Dell Laptop on cash basis and 8% of respondents purchase Dell laptop on credit basis.

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Table 4.7 What are the main criteria of purchasing Laptop? OPTION Educational Purpose Surfing Business Purpose Playing games NO. OF RESPONDENT 39 3 6 2 PERCENTAGE 78% 6% 12% 4%

From above graph it could be concluded that 78% of respondents purchase laptop for educational purpose, 6% of respondent for surfing purpose, 12% of respondent for business purpose and 4% of respondent for playing games. 18

Table 4.8

Why do you prefer Dell? NO. OF RESPONDENT 5 23 13 9 PERCENTAGE 10% 46% 26% 18%

OPTION Price Quality Configuration Services

The above graph shows preference of dell laptop. 10% of respondents purchase on the basis of price, 46% of respondents purchase on the basis of quality, 26% of purchase on the basis of Configuration and 18% of respondents purchase on the basis of services.

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Table 4.9 Which factor influenced to purchase Dell? OPTION Friends Relatives Advertisement Others NO. OF RESPONDENT 20 7 19 4 PERCENTAGE 40% 14% 38% 8%

The above shows the factors which affect to purchase dell laptop. 40% of respondents are affected by their friends, 14% of respondent affected by their relatives, 38% of respondent affected by advertisement and 8% of respondent affected by others.

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Table 4.10 What is your opinion about dell prices?

OPTION Very High High Medium Low

NO. OF RESPONDENT 6 20 23 1

PERCENTAGE 12% 40% 46% 2%

The above graph shows respondents opinion about prices of dell laptop. 12% of respondents say prices of Dell laptop is very high, 40% of respondents say high, 46% of respondents say medium and 2% respondents say low.

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Table 4.11 To what extent are you satisfied with Dell?

OPTION Highly Satisfied Moderately satisfied Satisfied Moderately unsatisfied Highly Unsatisfied

NO. OF RESPONDENT 13 11 24 2 0

PERCENTAGE 26% 22% 48% 4% 0%

The above graph shows that 26% of

respondents are highly satisfied 22% of respondent

moderately satisfied, 48% of respondents are satisfied and 4% of respondents are modertely unsatisfied.

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Table 4.12 What is your opinion about sales promotional activities of Dell?

OPTION Very Impressive Impressive Not Impressive

RESPONSE 4 39 7

PERCENTAGE 8% 78% 14%

The above graph shows opinion of respondents about sales promotion that 8% of respondents are in the favor of very impressive sales promotion, 78% of respondents are in the favor of impressive sales promotion and 14% of respondents are in the favor of not impressive sales promotion.

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Table 4.13 What is your opinion on Advertisement on Dell?

OPTION Excellent Good Fair Poor

NO.OF RESPONDENT 7 34 8 1

PERCENTAGE 14% 68% 16% 2%

The above graph shows the opinion of respondents about advertisement of Dell laptop. 14% of respondents said it is excellent, 68% of respondents said it is good, 16% of respondent said it is fair and 2% of respondent said it is poor.

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Table 4.14 What is your opinion on after sale services of Dell?

OPTION Excellent Good Fair Poor

NO. OF RESPONDENT 16 29 4 1

PERCENTAGE 32% 58% 8% 2%

From the above graph it could be conclude that 32% of respondents said after sale services of Dell laptop is excellent, 58% respondents said it is good, 8% respondents said it is fair and 2% respondents said it is poor.

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Table 4.15 Would you suggest Dell Laptop to purchase any one else?

OPTION Yes No

NO. OF RESPONDENT 43 7

PERCENTAGE 86% 14%

From the above graph it could be conclude that 86% of respondents are in the favor to Suggest others for purchase Dell laptop and 14% are not in the favor to suggest others.

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CHAPTER:5
FINDING & CONCLUSION FINDING:
Majority of respondents were students and purchased Dell laptop for educational purpose. Majority of respondent liked the range of Dell laptop between 30,000- 40, 000. Majority of respondent purchased Dell laptop on the basis of cash. Majority of respondent purchased Dell laptop because of its good quality. Majority of respondents were satisfied with the price of Dell laptop. Majority of respondent were satisfied with Dell laptop. Majority of respondent were impressed with the sales promotion of Dell laptop. Majority of respondent were satisfied with the after sales services of Dell laptop.

CONCLUSION:
After completing the project report on consumer satisfaction towards Dell laptop we can conclude that majority of the respondent are satisfied with the good quality, affordable price and after sales services provided by the company side to the consumers. The consumers are highly satisfied with Dell laptop and they prefer to purchase Dell laptop rather than other brand of laptops.

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References
Stiffen; Relationship of consumer linked with technology; volume 8; print No. 01922882; page No.325. Parasuram.T; consumer relation through direct investment; volume-12 issue no.3; page No.159. Ramanathan.W; Consumer relationship attached to features; volume 18; issue consumer relationship; issue No. 4; page No 228. Williams; Relationship to sales skill to behaviors linked to customer satisfaction and retention; volume -4; issue 219; page no.532. Chimpa.N.L; Consumer relationship through services; volume 10; issue No 7; page No.281. Kratwitz .J.B; The role of service and sales in consumer relation; volume 9; issueconsumer relation; page no. 632. Finelli .P.M; Customer satisfaction and quality; Commedia Dell arte (website); volume No. 4; issue 1086-332x; page No. 480. Robert.C ; Customer relationship linked to after sales services; commedia Dell arte (website);volume 11; issue 283 -549x ; page No. 620. Guha .S; Consumer satisfaction through the appearance of product in the market; volume 18; issue No. 12; page No 223.

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Appendix:
Questionnaire
Name: Age: Occupation Gender: 1. What is your profession? i. Employee ii. Student 2. Do you have Laptop? i. Yes 3. Do you have Dell Laptop? i . Yes ii . No 4. What is your Income level per month? i. 10,000 - 15,000 ii. 15,000 -20,000 iii. 20,000 - 25,000 iv. Above 25,000 5 . At what range would you like to purchase a laptop? a. Below 20,000 b. 20,000 30,000 c. 30000 40,000 d. above 40,000 6. What is your mode of purchase? a. Cash basis b. Credit basis c. Installment ii. Businessmen iv. Others ii. No

7. What are the main criteria of purchasing laptop? a . Education purpose b . Surfing c . Business purpose d . Playing games 8. Why do you prefer Dell? a.Price c. Configuration b. Quality d. Services

9. Which factor influenced to purchase Dell ? a . Friends b . Relatives c . Advertisement d . Others. 29

10. What is your opinion about prices of Dell laptops ? a . Very high b . High c . Medium d . Low 11. To what extent are you satisfied with Dell? a. Highly satisfied b. Moderately satisfied c. Satisfied d. Moderately unsatisfied e . Highly unsatisfied 12. What is your opinion about sales promotional activities Of Dell? a. Very Impressive b.Impressive c . Not Impressive 13. What is your opinion on Advertisements of Dell? a. Excellent b. Good c. Fair d. Poor 14. What is your opinion after sales services of Dell? a. Excellent b. Good c. Fair d. Poor 15. Would you suggest Dell Laptop to purchase any one else? a. Yes b. No

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Variable view:

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DATA VIEW:

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