Introduction: According to Dell.

com (online), Dell Incorporated describes itself as the world's leading

computer systems company. Dell is the largest and fastest growing among all major computer
systems companies worldwide, with more than 46,000 employees. Dell designs, builds and
customizes products and services to satisfy a range of customer requirements. Its global strategy is to
be the premiere provider of products and services, including those that customers require to build
their information technology and Internet infrastructures. Dell has manufacturing facilities and sales
offices throughout the Americas, as well as Europe and Asia to remain close to Dell's customers
wherever they are located (Dell USA: About Dell, 2004).

Dell regularly communicates to the public in a variety of ways. For example, according to the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (online) pursuant to the requirements of the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission, Dell Incorporated regularly reports its financial performance to
investors, creditors, bond holders, insurers, banks, employees and other interested parties in the
form of quarterly and annual filings with the SEC. Another important SEC filing is form 8-K. An 8-K
report is required to be filed with the SEC in a timely manner whenever events that are deemed to be
of interest to investors or potential investors occur at a publicly traded company such as Dell. The
provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act passed following the accounting fraud related scandals involving
such well known U.S. corporations as Enron and WorldCOM require even more prompt notice to the
SEC of significant events (The Laws That Govern the Securities Industry, 2004).

Another form of public relations communication between Dell Inc and the external public involves
the use of press releases. In calendar 2004, Dell generated more than thirty press releases relating
only to the company's financial condition. There were even more press releases addressing product
launches and other aspects of Dell's worldwide business operations. According to Luan Aten writing
for LunarEclipse.net (online), a press release is simply a statement prepared for distribution to the
media. The purpose of a press release is to give journalists information that is both useful and
accurate. Generally, the first paragraph contains a brief overview of the press release. The second
paragraph explains the information in detail, and typically includes a quote from a company
employee. The final paragraph is a summation of the release as well as company contact information
(Aten).

Bob Francis of InfoWorld (1994) notes that Michael Dell created a business model that satisfies
customers needs by building high quality and low cost computers to order worldwide. One of the
important ways in which Dell Inc. communicates in a public relations sense is through its extensive
product advertising and promotions programs. The advertisements that Dell run tend to emphasize
the high quality, low cost, and customizable features of its product sales (Francis, 1994, 6). Recently,
Dell expanded its product offerings to include items such as portable music storage devices, printers,
and flat screen television sets. As a result, Dell's most recent television ad campaigns emphasize both
the company's traditional products including desktop personal computers and laptop computers, as
well as the company's new products.

Dell's marketing campaigns have been highly successful. Dell has convinced potential customers that
all of the following statements are true:

Dell is committed to meeting the unique needs of customers around the world. This is why each
computer is build to order. In reality, the business model that requires customers to pay in advance
for products from Dell offers customers the opportunity to customize the products they prepaid.
Dell operates one of the world's largest and most profitable e-commerce sites with more than $40
million in sales daily. It positions the e-commerce site as a benefit to customers who can take as
much time as necessary to customize their system. In reality the advantage to Dell is that this self-
service process means that its salespeople do not need to spend their time helping customers decide
what to order. The result is higher profits for Dell resulting from lower sales costs.

Dell's marketing campaign suggests that by eliminating the middleman in the supply chain, Dell is
able to control costs and pass the savings on to customers. The effect of this message on its external
public is that customers believe that Dell is able to offer top quality, cutting edge technology at rock
bottom prices. In reality, by bypassing retailers, Dell is able to earn the profits the retailer would have
made. Dell does not offer the lowest priced products on the market, and the technology it employs is
not leading edge.

For Dell to maintain this cost leadership strategy requires a company to continuously search for cost
reductions in all aspects of its business. According to Elizabeth Corcoran writing for Forbes (2004),
Dell was among the earliest computer companies to outsource customer service and technical
support calls overseas. After sales customer support is a public relations communications process.
Dell set up its first offshore technical and customers suppprt center in Bangalore, India in 2001. Dell
Inc. opened a second site in the city of Hyderabad in 2003. For Dell, this particular public relations
communication process has had mixed results. According to Corcoran, the cost savings for Dell are
substantial. Unfortunately, language and cultural differences between U.S. customers and Dell's
bright but unseasoned Indian support staff led to a number of complaints. U.S. customers were often
frustrated when Dell employees answering customer support and technical support calls seemed
unwilling to depart from a script of questions. In November of 2003, in response to mounting
dissatisfaction with this arrangement Dell took the rare step of rerouting its large and medium-
business support work from India and back to its corporate headquarters in Austin, Texas. However,
customer support and technical support for small-business and consumer accounts remains in India
(Corcoran, 2004, 50).

Dan Briody and Jeanette Borzo writing for InfoWorld (1997) suggest that irrespective of where
customer support takes place, Dell has found that direct customer relationships including pre-sale
telephone support as well as after sales customer and technical support provide Dell with a constant
flow of information about customers' plans and requirements. This portion of the public relations
communications process enables Dell to continually refine its product offerings in addition to
adjusting prices, changing product features, and evaluating the impact of its marketing and
advertising campaigns on customer inquiries and on customer sales (Briody, Borzo, 1997, 8).