Introduction to HP:

HP was founded by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard in 1939. Their first product
was an audio oscillator and one of their first customers Walt Disney. Disney
used the oscillator to test audio equipment in the 12 specially equipped
theatres showing Fantasia in 1940. 
HP entered the computer market with the HP 2116A in 1966. It was designed
to control HP’s large product line of test and measurement equipment. By
1969, HP was marketing a timesharing computer system and continued to
issue new products, including their HP-35 hand-held calculator and several
computers in the 1970s. By the end of the 1980s they had a full range of
computing equipment from large scientific machines to personal computers
and peripherals. In 2002, HP acquired Compaq (and thus the merged remains
of DEC, Tandem, and a few other firms).

Needs fulfilled by HP Laptops:

HP laptop comes in several family brands, created to suit all your working
needs, such as business applications, multimedia production, project
collaboration and conference calls. HP laptops are thin and lightweight, so you
can bring all your work wherever you're traveling without compromising
power and security.

Wants of HP Laptops:
A combination of very good overall review scores, great design and a wide
variety of laptop options for every price range helped HP shine, said Laptop
Mag. HP also boasts a market share of over 22% in the PC market, meaning
that it customers are aware of HP's reputation and high-quality products.
HP's prime portables are known for offering excellent performance without a
steep price of entry, making them ideal for many consumers. The HP Spectre
x360 line, for example, is often a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than its
rivals. The best HP laptops are not just powerful yet affordable machines.

Demand for HP Laptops:

Because of the durability and reliability of HP products, this brand has become
a household name in almost all parts of the world. For the last 15 years, the
computer products of HP have undergone some ready comprehensive product
development that made these products as one of the finest in the computer
industry.
The recent growth in demand for personal computers has seen several new
brands enter the India PC market, but it hasn’t dented the position of the top
five brands. Hewlett Packard or HP remained the leader in the Indian PC
market throughout the year, growing at 16% YoY and garnering a 28.2%
market share in the July-September quarter, as per International Data
Corporation (IDC).
India has been a key market for HP. The company employs over 7000 people
spread across sales, R&D, manufacturing, and global operations teams. HP has
also been expanding its retail footprint in India as much of the PC sales still
happen through offline channels. The company has added 50 new HP World
stores in the last couple of quarters taking the overall number of exclusive HP
stores to 585 in India.

Brand Equity of HP:

HP is a technology company that operates in more than 170 countries around
the world. They explore how technology and services can help people and
companies address their problems and challenges, and realize their
possibilities, aspirations and dreams. HP applies new thinking and ideas to
create more simple, valuable and trusted experiences with technology,
continuously improving the way our customers live and work.
Brand equity is measured as a combination of the following five factors:

 Brand Awareness
 Brand Loyalty
 Perceived Quality
 Brand Association
 Other Proprietary Assets

Brand Awareness: Brand awareness is a marketing concept that measures

consumers’ knowledge of a brand’s existence. At the aggregate (brand) level, it
refers to the proportion of consumers who know of the brand. It can measured
using the following measures: Aided Recall – Either the brand name or both
the brand name and category name are presented to respondents. Unaided
Recall – The product category name is given to respondents who are asked to
recall as many brands as possible that are members of the category. Top of
Mind Recall – The first brand that comes to the mind of customers is recorded.

Brand Loyalty: Brand loyalty consists of a consumer’s commitment to

repurchase or otherwise continue using the brand and can be demonstrated by
repeated buying of a product or service or other positive behaviours such as
word of mouth advocacy. The various measures for calculating brand loyalty
are:

 Switching Cost
  Liking
 Satisfaction
 Waiting Time
 Shopping Effort
 Willingness to Bear Additional Cost

Perceived Quality: Perceived quality is defined as the customer’s

perception of the overall quality or superiority of a product or service with
respect to its intended purpose relative to alternatives. We have measured the
perceived quality of the overall brand under the following measures:

 Performance
 Features
 Conformance with Specifications
 Reliability
 Durability
 Fit and Finish
 Serviceability

Brand Association: A key to building brand is to strengthen the associations.

A brand association is anything, i.e. a word, a picture, a person, etc. related to
a brand. The association not only exists but also has strength, uniqueness to
the brand and favourability in the minds of the consumers.

Other Proprietary Assets: The three most important proprietary assets

are:

1. Name: In this it consists that how specifically HP carries its brand name
and image
2. Logo: In this it focuses on how HP manages to use its brand logo for its
marketing
3. Slogan: In this it focuses on how it can do the marketing with its slogan
as HP has its slogan “Keep Reinventing” it can gather the attention of the
customers through this slogan

Marketing Mix of HP:

Marketing Strategy of HP analyses the brand with the marketing mix
framework which covers the 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion). HP
marketing strategy helps the brand/company to position itself competitively in
the market and achieve its business goals & objectives. Let us start the HP
Marketing Strategy & Mix to understand its product, pricing, advertising &
distribution strategies:

HP Product Strategy:
The product strategy and mix in HP marketing strategy can be explained as
follows:
HP, earlier known as Hewlett-Packard, is a leading computer hardware &
software company. HP Inc. produces hardware like personal computers and
printers. The categories of products offered by HP in its marketing mix are as
follows:
• Computers
• Laptops / Tablets
• Printers
• Scanners
• Digital cameras
• PDAs
• Servers
HP Price/Pricing Strategy:
Below is the pricing strategy in HP marketing strategy:
It operates in computers, printers, workstation and servers only but within
these categories also the product depth is high. So many variations to suit the
needs of businesses. HP follows fair pricing strategy, it charges for the quality
and expertise it gives in the field of hardware and software. HP fights with
competition based on its quality regime and supreme performance and after
sales services. Newer products with latest innovative technologies are priced at
a premium and as competition enters the prices are reduced gradually.
HP Place & Distribution Strategy:
Following is the distribution strategy in the HP marketing mix:
HP is a global brand and it has its presence all across the world. With its
products & services, HP is present in more than 170 countries worldwide. HP
sells its products both directly and indirectly. It has exclusive stores of HP and
also multi-brand store where it is available. HP has a presence on online portal
as well products can be bought directly from websites or from other shopping
websites. It has a lot of partners which can be located through its website who
sell HP products. HP is known to have presence of service centres most cities
making post sales services easily accessible. Its subsidiaries are located around
the globe. HP remains in touch with all parts of its supply chain, viz.
HP Promotion & Advertising Strategy:
The promotional and advertising strategy in the HP marketing strategy is as
follows:
HP uses 360 branding in its marketing mix for creating brand awareness. HP ad
campaigns are spread across different media like TV, newspapers, magazines,
website, billboards etc. HP has a campaign called One Voice, this campaign was
designed to resonate the image of HP as one stop solution to hardware and
software needs. The campaign was successfully integrated to its website and
outdoor campaign as well. HP also has an exchange program which allows to
exchange old products for new. Other than regular discounts, sometime HP
has offered some services for free for a period of time in order to promote HP.
HP has also played the sponsor in many sports like formula one and Premier
League Club. Hence, this gives an insight in the marketing mix of HP.

CRM AT HP:
HP’s CRM suite of services offers companies comprehensive solutions. And the
HP CRM Health Check Service is custom-tailored for companies who have
decided to approach their CRM implementation using a phased approach. With
a detailed road map, you’ll be able to implement a CRM solution the right way
—and the first time—by aligning people, processes and technology with your
strategy efficiently and correctly. Our CRM methodologies are aligned with key
players in the market, so no matter what your needs, HP Services can deliver
the solution that’s right for you. In addition to the integration of the Siebel,
Cisco and Avaya customer service platforms, HP Services also offers full
competency on Siebel, Amdocs (Clarify), SAP, Microsoft, E.Piphany and Oracle ®
CRM solutions.

STP OF HP:
In 2015, HP splits into two publicly traded entities namely HP Inc. and Hewlett-
Packard enterprise where the Hewlett-Packard enterprise business is
completely for Personal Computers and printer. The tagline of HP is “Make it
Matter Keep Reinventing”. Which means that if you are doing something make
it matter.  If you are doing something don’t keep it to yourself only, let it echo
around and let people know that you have done something and let them talk
about it. And reinventing for hp means that as they are global leaders in
computers and printers, they believe that technology make life better for
everyone. The major competitors of HP are -Dell, Lenovo, Apple, Acer, IBM
Segmentation :
Segmentation refers to a process in which a company divide a broad range of
its potential customers into the divisions based on their nature and
characteristics and make their products according to the need of the
customers.

Segmentation
of HP

Demographic Geographical

Segmentation of HP is mainly done on the basis of geographical and

demographic variables to meet the needs of the different customers
Geographical segmentation-The company has a vast area as it provides its
laptops and printers all over the world. Currently, a HP is working in the 170
countries, a network of more than 2,50,00 channel partners. HP offices are
found in the worldwide. The company is also selling through online so one can
order from their website easily, and their stores are easily available in most of
the cities in India also. The product oh HP satisfy all the needs of its customers
as it is providing its products in different sectors which include businesses,
housework, and corporate sectors
Demographic segmentation – The segmentation which is done on the basis of
the family, gender, religion, income etc. The company is targeting the age
group from children to working peoples mainly from year 14 to 65 years of
age. For example- HP provides laptop for the children for playing games for
which a laptop comes with equipped with powerful hardware and a standout
design and also providing laptops for working people which offer solid security,
durability and excellent design. On the basis of the income HP products are
available in various ranges.
For example- HP laptops are available in different ranges which starts from
12,000 and exceed more than 1,50,000.
The aim of segmentation is to grouping of the similar kinds of customer in one
category and the needs are identifies and get to know to the company that
which area it should target , which will be the more profitable for the company
and in which area it can capture the maximum share in the market, which area
will be profitable so that they target them which becomes the target market
later on.

Targeting:
After segmentation, when a company divides a group of large number of
people in a smaller segment, they target the customers to whom they can sell
their products, who needs them, so, that the resources of the company don’t
get wasted so that the market is profitable for them. HP is using the strategies
which provide customised products and to meet the demand of various section
of the society.
Segmented marketing- All customers’ needs different product according to the
usage of the product, the products of HP are also available in customised
forms. For example- laptops and printers of HP are for the different usages for
which features are also different like some required larger RAM, more battery
power, different versions of windows depending upon their usage so HP is
providing all kind of laptops which are different in terms of usage and their
series. Different kinds of laptops by their usage and series provided by HP are
below-

shop by
shop by use
series

For
ENVY
home

For
OMEN
buisness

Gaming VALUE

Elite /Z
display

So, HP is solving problems of the different consumers like every consumer

need is different and they buy the product for different works, as HP is
providing services to each and every sector of the society whether it is medium
enterprise, small enterprise, government organisation, private organisation or
whether an individual consumer.
For example -HP introduces mini-notebook- “HP2133Mini-Note PC”. which is
launch for the education sector.
Mass marketing – HP is also providing its products which fulfil the needs of all
its customers in a single product.
For example -HP-All-In-One-20-C417-in model of laptop can be used for the
homework assignment, school project, game and all-day movie binges. So, it
provides the usage of various things in one laptop. And there are also other
printers available in HP which can be used for the school projects and also for
the office’s usages.

Positioning:
Refers to the identity or image created by the brand in the mind of the
consumers, and how company products are different from its competitors. It
can be anything like its price, quality, or any feature of the product which
creates a brand image in the mind of the consumers. HP uses mix of the
product and the price-based strategy for positioning.
The points for which the consumers prefer the HP and make it successful are
the following-
 Diversified product that are provided by the HP for the both retail
consumers and the enterprise which includes computers, laptops,
printers and other related products. HP is well known for its printers,
scanners, laptop. These products are known as reliable, so it has a strong
customer base with relate to its brand.
 Merger and acquisition with various companies like with Compaq
computer corporation helps in improving the technology and resources
which another company bought with them. Hp innovates various new
products like
 The pricing strategy of HP is fair enough. It provides all the range of the
products for the middle-level income group and also for the upper level
group. Market research is done by the HP and prices of its products are
decided after that.

Marketing Plan of HP:

HP uses differentiating targeting strategy to provide customised products &
services to the enterprises. HP uses a mix of value/ product and pricing based
positioning strategies to compete in the market.

SWOT Analysis of HP:

I. Strengths in the SWOT Analysis of Hewlett Packard :
1. Brand Valuation: Hewlett Packard has a fantastic brand equity and its
brand valuation is a whopping 19.3 billion dollars, much ahead then
many of the players in the consumer durable segment. HP ranks
50th amongst the top 100 brands around the world. 
2. Sector Rank: Hewlett Packard is ranked 10th in the IT industry which
has the likes of Apple, Facebook and Google. This shows the fantastic
popularity of Hewlett Packard.
3. Production excellence: HP ships two personal computers and two
printers every second. This shows its dominance in this sector. They hold
the second position in the world for shipping PC equipment. HP had a
market share of nearly 20%. In the printer segment, they hold a market
share of 40.5%.
4. R&D: They spend highly on research to stay ahead of
the technology curve. HP Labs research is focused on key growth areas
that include advancing technologies like sensing, natural language
detection, audio/video analytics, and new information displays.
5. Differentiated products: Over a period of time, Hewlett Packard has
produced products which are differentiated and well advanced as
compared to competitors. The latest HP Spectre is a fantastic piece of
equipment for a laptop. Similarly, they have bulk printers and bulk xerox
machines which are excellent in performance and durability.

6. Marketing: A company does not reach this level of brand equity without
a smart investment in marketing. Hewlett Packard is known to be a
smart marketer and its ads are always colourful, showing the capabilities
of its printer and giving off an elegance of its own.

II. Weaknesses in the SWOT Analysis of Hewlett Packard :

1. Declining Demand: The demand for printing systems and personal
computers have decreased by 8.3% during FY 2015. Net revenue
declined by a 17% in desktop PCs, 2% in notebook PCs, 9% in
workstations and 8% in other net revenue. Smartphones are fast
overtaking laptops and Hewlett Packard is far behind the others in
Smartphones.
2. Weak Financials: they recorded a decrease of 7.3% in revenues
compared to FY 2014. The operating profits also decreased by 23.9%
compared to FY 2014.
3. After sales service in computers: HP’s laptop and desktops are known to
have poor after sales service especially in emerging countries.
III. Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis of Hewlett Packard :
1. 3D printing: According to estimates 3D printing technologies are
expected to take high growth. The 3D market will reach a value of $30.2
billion by 2022 with a CAGR of 28.5%. Worldwide shipments of 3D
printers grew by 103% in 2016.
2. Managed Print Services (MPS) Market: The MPS market is forecasted to
become $94.9 billion by 2024 from $26.2 billion in 2015 at a CAGR of
14.8%.
3. Electronics Market: The performance of electronics market is going to
increase with a CAGR of 2.7% till 2019. The value is expected to become
$299 billion by 2019.

IV. Threats in the SWOT Analysis of Hewlett Packard :

1. Product Challenges: The growth of personal computer product line has
slowed down. The printing line also has many competitors and is facing a
growth decline.
2. Competition: Competition in the personal systems segment
are Lenovo, Dell, Acer, Asustek, Apple, Toshiba, and Samsung and In the
printing segment are Canon, Lexmark, Xerox, Seiko Epson, Ricoh,
Samsung and Brother Industries.
3. Smartphones: Due to rising in the demand and popularity of the
smartphones the PC is taking a slowdown. Not just in revenue but the
total volume of shipments will also reduce.