Small & Medium Business

While SMB customers are most familiar with Dell as a provider of warranty support services, many of our SMB customers turn to Dell for help managing their IT as well. In this vlog, Tim Griffin, VP of SMB Global Services talks about how Dell helps SMB customers by managing their IT so they can stay focused on managing their business.

Today, Dell announced new printers designed to help increase business productivity and lower costs for organizations of all sizes. Dell’s award winning portfolio of business printers is extended with the:

· Dell 5130cdn - the world’s fastest letter size single function color laser printer

· Dell 7130cdn, Dell’s first LED color laser printer with tabloid size printing capability

Since entering the printing business in 2003, Dell has focused on consistently delivering innovative, valuable and reliable solutions to customers. With the announcement of the Dell 3330dn (a single function mono laser printer for high performance printing) in late September and the printers announced today -- that promise of performance excellence continues.

Dell 5130cdn

Today we break a printing record. The Dell 5130cdn can print up to 47 single-sided and 37.6 double-sided Letter sized pages per minute (ppm) in both black and white and color, making it the world’s fastest LTR size single-function color laser printer!

But it isn’t just about speed - the 5130cdn also premiers ColorbyDell, a total print quality solution that delivers improved color saturation, image sharpness and outstanding print quality. This superior quality is delivered through a combination of powerful new image enhancement algorithms, advanced toner technology and improvements in print engine design that drives significant energy and cost savings.

The 5130cdn uses EA-Eco Toner, a new toner formulation by Dell that fixes at lower temperature resulting in significant energy savings and quicker print outs.

John Vavoudis acting IT Director of the Catholic Charities of Los Angeles (CCLA), got to test drive the 5130cdn. As you can imagine, CCLA has a pretty demanding print workload, providing assistance to 290,000 different individuals across 8,500 square miles across three counties. Here’s what John had to say about the latest addition to the Dell printing portfolio:

“At the Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, we need reliable technology at all service levels.  That’s why Dell technology solutions are a standard for us.  When it comes to printing, fast and reliable departmental network printing is a priority and the Dell 5130cdn delivers.  It is extremely fast! Clients are surprised at the speed of delivery from ‘send to hum’, and with Dell warranty pro-support, we know we can print with confidence.”

Dell 7130cdn

Also launching today, is Dell’s first 11x17”/A3 (tabloid sized) color printer, the Dell 7130cdn. This high performance, enterprise class LED printer can print up to A3/tabloid-size, high quality Pantone® approved color prints, for more accurate color reproduction. This printer helps bring professional quality color printing in-house with lower costs and improved printing options that can print the first page as quickly as 6.5 seconds in both mono and color!

When it comes to printing, Dell pays attention to our customers’ needs to understand exactly what businesses look for when making critical office IT decisions. Delivering the right solution with just the features, capabilities and services needed helps employees to easily get the job done.

For photos of the new printers, check out the set on Flickr.

Today I would like to share the following article, Dell Expands the Data Center Options, which discusses the importance of simplifying the SMB IT experience. SMB datacenters have the same requirements from large data centers to remove complexity and make simple the IT process. This article does a great job presenting how well Dell is working to address these requirements from a SMB perspective. SMBs need to improve efficiency with  more flexible and agile data center requirements, while controlling the costs. With our newest enterprise offerings – servers, storage, software and services we are working to deploy to our customers the infrastructure solutions that match the SMB data center requirements.

You can check out the article on The Clipper Groups's site.

Last week I had the pleasure of hosting the launch of our Take Your Own Path campaign in the UK - our seventh country launch in Dell's first globally integrated marketing campaign for SMBs. The event was held at the St. Pancras Grand, an art nouveau-style oyster bar inside the station that houses the Eurostar trains bound for Paris and Brussels. The inspiration being that Take Your Own Path is all about a journey, and that the heroes have arrived at their destination.

Our heroes cover a diverse range of industries but all have one thing in common - a burning desire to follow a dream and make it a reality. It was a real honour to meet such an inspiring and enthusiastic group of entrepreneurs. I also had the pleasure of  congratulating the co-founders of A Suit That Fits.com - winners of the UK Dell Small Business Excellence Award 2009 who were invited to the event as special guests.

Each of our UK heroes - Lonely Planet, Good Energy Group, Jagex, Masternaut and Innocent Drinks - spoke to the assembled media and partners about how Dell had made a difference to their business - from being able to communicate from far flung places to the excellent service, and always delivering and being great to work with.

I was especially filled with great pride when several of the heroes mentioned how they really appreciated the way we took personal responsibility in meeting commitments to help them succeed. Beyond the technology and service that we provide, it is when we take the initiative to go that extra mile for the ultimate benefit of our customers that we deliver a truly competitive differentiator for Dell.

You can see photos from the event on Dell's official Flickr page and also watch some of the videos from the morning. The event generated significant media coverage in the UK, including CNN International, Marketing Week, IT Pro, Yorkshire Post, New Media Age, Marketing Magazine, and Hexus.

Dell's aim is to be the number one SMB technology brand globally by delivering solutions that delight our customers, and this campaign is proof of our progress in this journey.

Note from Lionel: Marissa Levin leads Information Experts' efforts to create technology-based integrated communications solutions, human capital strategies, and learning strategies for government agencies and for organizations across a wide range of vertical markets. To find out more about this successful woman business owner and working mother, check out Marissa's profile.

Now, on to her post:

When people think of branding, they usually think "logo." But branding extends far beyond a tag line or a graphic. Branding encompasses everything that you envision for your firm. It is a strategy that enables you to move your target audience emotionally - to help them connect on a personal level with you, your organization, and the value that you bring to the market.

Business owners have tremendous power to build the brand they envision, but they often don't realize it. I meet so many solopreneurs and small business owners who have tunnel vision when it comes to branding. They hire a marketing specialist or a graphic designer to create a visual image of their company name. Then they slap it on a business card or letterhead, and they consider themselves "branded." They don't realize that one of their most powerful branding assets - one of their greatest sources of brand capital - is themselves.

As someone who has bootstrapped a business from $56,000 to $10 million, I've learned over the past 14 years to take a three-pronged approach to branding:

• Branding of the product or service
• Branding of the organization
• Branding of the leadership

All three are powerful enough to function as separate entities.

• If a product or service has developed a reputation for reliability, than performance speaks for itself (think service organizations like Jiffy Lube, Amazon).
• Organizations that are highly focused on culture have very strong organizational branding (Nordstrom, Google).
• Finally, organizations that have very visible leadership also enhance their brand equity in the marketplace every time leadership speaks (Apple, Zappos)

But the most effective strategy for building brand equity in the marketplace is to consciously apply all three strategies. Your product or service may stand on its own. Your organization's name may have widespread recognition and universal appeal. But as a business owner, consider the influence you have over your own brand strength. In addition to sharing your knowledge and experiences with others that can benefit, you will continue to reinforce your brand and solidify your position in the market as a thought leader, innovator, and credible expert. Be the brand.