Livingston

Oct
01
2007

We Need to Buy, and We’re Buying Dell

We had a computer die today, which means its that always painful time in an entrepreneurial endeavor. But we won’t look far.  There’s really only one brand we’ll consider and it’s because they are the only computer manufacturer that’s really participating in the conversation. And that’s Dell. 

Yeah Apple’s are cool and HP is competitive, but this is a no brainer for us. We’re committed to supporting companies that engage with the community online. And Apple doesn’t do that. And HP’s “PC blog” is an employee one, unofficial and not representative of the company’s views. So will it be Optiplex, Precision or XPS?

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by Geoff Livingston | Livingston Communications |

8 Responses to “We Need to Buy, and We’re Buying Dell”

  • Dan Schreibstein Says:

    October 2nd, 2007 at 6:54 am

    It’s obviously not enough for companies to simply dip their toes into the “customer conversation” water. They need to actively participate and show that they truly care about what their customers have to say. Recently, it seems like Apple keeps failing in this respect. They say they hear what their customers have to say, but aren’t really doing anything about it.

  • JohnP@Dell Says:

    October 2nd, 2007 at 1:40 pm

    Shhhhhh! Surely there must a technology available to make all this unreadable at certain locations in Palo Alto? Seriously, thanks for taking notice of our social media initiatives, and for your business!

  • Geoff Livingston Says:

    October 2nd, 2007 at 3:06 pm

    John: Thanks for driving by the Bin. This type of interaction is exactly why Dell gets my business. Thank you for being a part of the larger conversation.

    Dan: You got my sentiments exactly.

    Geoff

  • Doug Meacham Says:

    October 2nd, 2007 at 4:28 pm

    Geoff, I like the idea throwing business to companies who are actively engaging in conversations with their communities. Hopefully, companies who are savvy enough to understand the need to do this are also skilled at extrapolating real needs from the conversations and converting those insights into truly innovative ideas. My concern is that may companies don’t have this competency. Simply giving customers what they are asking for doesn’t necessarily mean you are creating a differentiated product.

  • DC1974 Says:

    October 2nd, 2007 at 9:47 pm

    Odd choice. Dell has a lousy rep which is pretty much why they’ve had to do anything they can to win back trust. Apple has a number one rated support site, user community, and support service. Dell isn’t even in the same league when it comes to this stuff. And frankly, considering the amount of problems that Wintel machines have — that’s exactly where they are most needed. Apple simply can’t be beat in terms of customer service and product durability. I am typing this message on a machine that’s 7 years old and its fantastic as the day I bought it. My parents have an Apple that is 9 years old and looks a lot better, and works a lot better than a 9 year old Wintel box. The Mac OS is second to none. And in the end Dell still has to run Windose. If you absolutely must have Wintel machine, I’d go with Sony. But that’s mostly because they are the only ones that are even playing the same game as Apple in terms of Innovation. And innovation is the other important factor in competition these days. Dell is dead. I expect they’ll be bought out within five years. Probably by a chinese manufacturer that will at least be able to make them dirt cheap.

  • CK Says:

    October 6th, 2007 at 5:33 am

    Hey Geoff: just want to point you to one of our colleague’s blogs at HP (not to sway you from Dell, just so that you know of Eric Kintz as he’s been blogging for sometime at his HP blog and over at Daily Fix). Here’s his URL: http://h20325.www2.hp.com/blogs/kintz/

    Enjoy your new computer and Eric’s blog!

  • Around the Web with RichardatDell: Conversations at Work/Working Conversations Says:

    October 22nd, 2007 at 5:48 pm

    Kramer auto Pingback[...] the conversation and supplants an Apple Macbook pro. Then this week another conversationalist, Geoff Livingston , noted it was time for new computers and chose Dell because we are part of the conversation.More [...]

  • Rejoining the AdAge 150 » The Buzz Bin Says:

    December 15th, 2007 at 3:48 am

    [...] continue to support organizations that listen through social media channels.  That’s why I finally ordered my Dell computer last week. And that’s why the Buzz Bin will remain a fixture on the AdAge [...]

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