It was interesting to find out that there are nearly 11,000 PC assemblers across the country. That is a large number of people who are engaged in the making and assembling of one product – the PC. I don’t think there is any other product that can boast of so many manufacturers and such a large market.
p____p The PC is one of the few consumer goods that is not a one-time investment. A PC owner is constantly upgrading, whether it’s investing in a bigger monitor or going in for a sleek-looking keyboard or increasing the storage capacity; the PC is always enticing the owner to spend more.
p____p To ensure that money spent on upgrades comes back to the system integrator who sold the PC, he/she has to do a few basic things. Like call up the client now and then to share information on latest schemes, up-sell to a customer who is technically inclined and, very importantly, maintain a consistent level of service support.
p____p Some of the big vendors have already caught on to the service game and have realized the money that can be earned therein. These vendors have started assuring end-user of a certain level of post-sales support, which is routed through select channel partners.
p____p If market leaders like Seagate and Microsoft see business-sense in reaching out to the end-user directly, then why don’t the assemblers? Till date, most of the post-sales service support schemes have been initiated by the vendor. Isn’t it time that the 11,000 assemblers start developing their own service schemes for their customers?