HP has again emerged as the preferred desktop vendor in the Consumer Satisfaction Audit 2013. The company has continuously improved its services and has worked to offer consumers better post-sales experience than any of its competitors. It has consecutively beaten Dell to clinch this place. In the last few years, HP has opened up a number of service centers beyond the metro cities and has enhanced its network in the tier-2 and -3 towns. This has happened despite the global desktop sales being in the woods.

While it might not be surprising to see HP again at the #1 place, it is noteworthy that HP has left Dell behind in the race which was once a preferred vendor in the notebook space. Many regard Dell's loss as HP's gain. But the fact of the matter is that HP has endeavored to win back customers' trust, leave a lasting impact on their psyche, and managed to be their long term partner through better service support.

In the DQ-CMR Consumer Satisfaction Survey, the assessment was done on different parameters on which the brand image on overall customer satisfaction was assessed of vendors such as HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer, HCL, Wipro, and Zenith. On overall product reliability, functionality, and operation, HP stood taller than any other brand in the race. However, other brands were close in the race with a little margin. On pre-sales and market front, there was a tough competition. At one time, Dell was leading the service delivery race forcing competitors to think and rethink. But Dell seems to have lost in the recesses. HP seems to have improved a lot.

They must have understood the importance of being good even after the product is sold, since an unsatisfied customer leads to considerable loss of business. HP scored 86.6%, closely followed by Lenovo with 85.2% on this parameter.

Even on the price and commercial parameters, HP has struck a fine balance with products which are price-sensitive as well as viable for its business model. The vendor has built of a diverse portfolio of products to cater to consumers in different ranges. HP scores 87% on this parameter. In desktops, while HP boasts of classy, sleep All-in-One computers, it continues to have the classical machine. Similarly on parameters such as deliver and installation, and post sales service, it remains upfront.

There are 2 sides of the desktop segment. When we see the satisfaction levels coming down for other vendors, we can simply assume that other vendors have lost interest in the desktop and so have scored less. All said, the market is still consuming desktops.

‘HP Notched Up Support Services'

How do you rate the year 2012-13 for the notebook and desktop business?

The year 2012 has been good for HP India, witnessing all around growth. We have grown faster than the market and from an exit share of 13% in FYQ411, we have grown to 16.5% in FYQ412. Consequently, we have gained PC client leadership in India.

In the consumer segment for the notebook business, there has been 20% market growth, gaining 6.5% share YoY. The market witnessed 8% growth in the consumer desktop business, however our share rose by 1.8% YoY. HP ended the year with 42% share in AIO desktops. It has been a great year with HP continuing its leadership at #1 in the notebooks and desktops segments. In the commercial segment, HP has seen market share growing from 11.5% to 15.1%.

What were the initiatives that HP took for customer satisfaction?

At HP this year, we introduced many new products-Ultra-Sleek Envy X2, Spectre XT Ultrabooks, and Envy Sleekbooks. These products were built with state-of-the-art designs, coupled with premium finish, and features in line with trending technology. We also introduced HP Connected Music, which provides 1 year original music download available from HP for machines with Win8 pre-installed. There were some attractive consumer offers like free 3 year warranty, for Nikon Camera, to name a few. In the commercial segment, new products like Folio and Elitepad were launched. And our recently introduced product, Revolve has received positive responses.

Which are the top selling models that continue to dominate the consumer mindset?

HP Pavilion g series NB and Omni AIOs are the front runners in notebooks and desktop, respectively. Also, the Envy range of sleekbooks/ ultrabooks and hybrid are dominating products in the design and technology innovation categories.

What is the service support you provide to your customers? How many service centers are there in the country?

HP notched up support services by providing on-site/off-site services, providing accidental damage protection on our products. We provide 1 year/3 year warranty services. A 24X7 chat support system for customers has been assembled, for customers to contact HP support anytime, online. The service centers cover almost the entire country with almost 1,800+ centers.

What was the traction for desktop PCs? Were consumers more inclined to AIOs or traditional desktops?

Tower DT is declining while AIO PC is growing at 35% YoY. HP has gained 42% share in AIO desktop, and we have launched 10 SKUs of HP AIOs with 3 year warranty for a customer, to get expected investment-value on HP AIO.

What were the challenges that surfaced while achieving consumer satisfaction?

We continuously evaluated the needs of the consumers. Today's technology is changing at a fast pace, due to convergence. At this point, it was our work to be able to deliver products and services in line with new customer trends and needs. After identifying trends, we introduced various products and services. HP Envy X2 hybrid is such a product which is 100% notebook as well as tablet, both ideally complimenting the changing needs of our customer.