Brand and Channel Loyalty Declining Among SMB Notebook PC Owners: "Take No SMB Customer For Granted," Advises IDC

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01 Jun 2009

FRAMINGHAM, Mass., June 1, 2009– Despite the growth ofthe SMB notebook market overall, brand loyalty among SMBs continues to wane,especially among small businesses. According to a recent IDC survey, roughly30% of small firms (fewer than 100 employees) and more than 45% of medium-sizedbusinesses (100–999 employees) plan to purchase notebook computers in the next12 months, but which brands they will purchase may come as a surprise.

SMBpreferences for different brands continue to shift as vendors update and refinetheir notebook PC products and promotions. The availability of new form factorsand features, more powerful configurations, and lower prices are changing thecompetitive landscape. In addition to declining brand loyalty, the overallstrength of small business channel loyalty has slipped as well. The totalpercentage of firms citing plans to buy PCs from the same channels they used inthe past 12 months has decreased considerably since IDC's previous survey.

"Thecontinuing shift from desktop to notebook PCs among SMBs is making effectivenotebook market strategy all the more important," said Justin Jaffe, seniorresearch analyst forSMBResearch at IDC. "IDC expects both brand and channel loyalty to becomeincreasingly difficult to sustain, especially among smaller firms. Of course,this also means that the opportunity for vendors to gain share at the expenseof competitors will grow."

Additionalkey findings from this study include the following:

• Dell remains the notebook PC brand owned by the largest percentageof SMBs, but the percentage of small firms that own HP-Compaq notebook PCshas increased considerably.
• The largest percentage of small and medium-sized businesses thatplan to buy new notebooks in the next 12 months plan to purchase Dellnotebooks. Apple is the brand next most often cited for future acquisitionby small businesses and HP-Compaq by medium-sized firms.
• The channel used most often by both small andmedium-sized firms for PC purchases is direct response from themanufacturer, with purchasing from manufacturers online more popular thanordering by phone or mail.

This study,

2008 U.S. Small andMedium-Sized Business Notebook PC Brand and Channel Preferences: Small FirmsBecome Increasingly Slippery Targets

(IDC #218246), examines currentnotebook brand ownership among small and medium-sized businesses as well as thevendors preferred for future purchase. Additionally, this study describes thecurrent channels that small and medium-sized businesses use to purchase PCs andthose preferred in the future.

Contact

For more information, contact:

Justin Jaffe

jjaffe@idc.com

207-210-7986

Michael Shirer

press@idc.com

508-935-4200

News Source : Brand and Channel Loyalty Declining Among SMB Notebook PC Owners: "Take No SMB Customer For Granted," Advises IDC