Re: Re: Debian retail kit?
On 12/09/2004 10:20 PM, Paul Johnson wrote:
[snipping liberally]
Looking to convert customers to Linux.
Our main business is hardware.
Repair and hardware is where the money's at, not this
software stuff.
Our customers trust us
OK, now we've got some focus. I'd argue that what probably makes your
firm successful and valued by your customers is not the hardware you
deliver, but the competence, expertise and dependability by which you
provide it. It's important to know what your customer is really paying
for. Without this, you're just another dealer of commodity products,
and that's a very tough way to make it. Most likely, you do more for
your customers than you may know. Getting a better grip on what kinds
of value and satisfaction you provide will help significantly.
I've seen your posts to this list over the last year, and it's clear you
know a great deal about what can be done and how to do it effectively
with these free tools. That knowledge has value your customers should
be willing to pay for.
So by being knowledgeable about alternatives to windows, you're already
providing value and building your reputation w/ customers. If you can't
charge for your software and support expertise, you're missing the boat,
in my view.
How will your "kit" be more effective for your company than a free
Ubuntu CD
We'd have to burn CDs, which costs money that we wouldn't make back
(much less profit).
Maybe I assumed too much.... Anyone can get ubuntu cd's in quantity,
free including shipping. Maybe this won't last, but for now you could
offer a professionally produced CD at no charge to existing customers
with no obligation for you to support it without charge. I'm not
suggesting this is a good idea, but it is a way you could offer value to
customers without incurring direct costs for your adventurous and itchy-
to-leave windows customers.
Back to your original question in the Subject line, I think you just
answered it when you said:
Looking to convert customers to Linux. We want our customers to have
the option of having a quality[1] distribution pre-installed or to
install themselves rather than the standard, lackluster lineup of
"Windows or nothing."
I don't see how a $10 CD "retail kit" is going to achieve that objective.
If you sell a system with XP and MS Office, how much do you charge and
what support do you provide?
Could you sell that same system for a similar price with a fully
installed Debian desktop, openoffice, etc replacing the proprietary sw?
All the support and training money would go to your firm whether you
bundled it in or charged a la carte or provided a support contract. I
think you'd be miles ahead this way versus taking $10 for a CD and book.
Of course there are many good ways to do this, and you'll want to have a
variety of them for the different situations you'll face. Staying
focused on your main objective, keeping customers satisfied with the
value you provide, will keep you looking at the big picture.
Oh Paul, you may even find a windows firefox CD can whet the appetite of
a particular customer. Because we know what happens next once they've
seen what's possible with free sw.
Regards,
Ralph
Reply to: