Economics and Management Decision

Unit-5
Case Study: A Case on
Survey System
Survey Systems, the self-proclaimed “Computer Selling Icon” of the
United Arab Emirates, is one of the leading sellers of computers
and associated peripherals in the country.
A large number of companies carry out on-going marketing
campaigns. Companies, such as Wilger, Serie, and Short market
their packages under their own brand names, whereas Bell
produces custom-order group packages and offers. Large retailers
like Sarat and Nukons deal in a vast variety of electrical appliances.
But Survey Systems has carved a distinct presence for itself on the
basis of regular advertisements including full page write-ups in all
leading newspapers.
There is a unique attribute of the advertisements from Survey
Systems, where most of their ads refer to packages being offered
at special prices. These packages mostly include some softwares
or hardware peripherals such as printers and scanners bundled with
computers. The advertised products belong to some of the reputed
brands such as Apple, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, etc., and
are very competitively priced. This aggressive marketing strategy
has helped the company register exponential growth and expand
incredibly in terms of profits as well as size of operations.
Although most of the customers are ecstatic at the great deals they
have managed to grab from Survey Systems, there are some who
complained that the products do not meet their expectations and
they ended up paying more than what the product deserved. There
are various reasons to which this can be attributed:
01
Many times, the benefits being offered with the special
deals provide redundant or useless items, which causes
the customers to lose their trust in the company as they
believe that the company is just trying to clear old stocks,
which otherwise was not being sold by bundling them in
a package. Sometimes, the packages do not include the
additional products that the consumers really desire, such
as some of the most sought after softwares. As a result,
despite being given a perception of getting a great deal,
the consumer might have to buy several more additional
itemsto get the desired final product.
02
Survey Systems has also been accused of trying to hard sell
its extended warranty service. Though it may be beneficial
to customers, it ends up enhancing the cost of the product
by 3%-4%. Surprisingly, this strategy is being followed in
other countries also. For instance, in UK electrical appliance,
retailers like Dixons and Argos are being investigated by the
Mergers Commission for their excessive profit booking in
their activity area.
 03

Assessment Questions

1.
Discuss about various
Another deceptive tool being used by Survey Systems is the
complementary products that a
“so-called” extended interest-free credit period. This period
consumer may consider while he
usually ranges from 9 months to 12 months and is highly
buys a computer system, both at
attractive to buyers as they can buy products of around $2000
product level and service level.
without having to pay anything for an extended period. This
facility is extended in collaboration with DDC Bank. 2. Compare the situation being
faced by Survey Systems to that
of a supermarket chain in terms
The major issue here is that on expiry of the extended credit
of profit maximization of the
period, the buyers are not intimated, and as a result, they must pay
product mix.
interest from the date of the purchase of the product and that too
at exorbitant interest rates of up to 25%. As a result, in the end the 3. Discuss the role of risk for
unaware consumers usually end up paying almost twice the cost of Survey Systems for surviving in

the original product during four years after the purchase has been the market.

made.