Holiday shoppers hit computer stores in record numbers this month because of ultra-low sub-$500 advertised prices, but once in the grips of sales people, the bulk of customers opted instead for computers closer to $1,000, says the latest survey by Virginia-based PC Data.
The binary bait and switch worked like a charm, with most crystal ball gazers now predicting sales this year will surpass last year’s bumper crop of cyber cash.
DAMAGE CONTROL
DAZZLE ‘EM WITH CANDOR
Dean Dranias, ace public relations expert for high tech companies, poses this story problem in his latest newsletter:
“Early this morning there was a toxic chemical spill at your Midwestern plant…trading is suspended in your stock. Before you can even blink back at the flashing light on your phone, your stock has dropped and your competitors are calling your clients. What do you do?”
Answer 1: Answer the phone and tell the reporters at the other end the truth.
Answer 2: Issue a press release telling the truth and then “blast-fax” your key stockholders with the truth.
A question. If they do that, why do they need Dranias?
FACTS FOR DUMMIES
HOLIDAYS BY THE NUMBERS
IDG, publisher of the “Dummies” line of computer books, also does market research and shares the following:
21 percent of Americans give the boss a gift ($40 on the average)
50 percent of Americans carry debt from holiday gift-giving into the next year.
The average American will spend $814 on holiday gifts.
Americans send over 5 billion holiday cards yearly.
Cheer up. The study also found that the average fruitcake has a shelf life of 20 years.
PAGER PANIC
RIM SHOT IN CYBERSPACE
You no longer need to make panic cellphone calls from the back seat of a cab telling the next client you`re going to be late.
Now you can send a panic e-mail saying you’ll be late instead, thanks to the new $359 BellSouth RIM Inter@ctive Pager 950 (www.bellsouthwd.com). It lets you type in notes on what looks like a pager in need of Jenny Craig.
Stuff gets sent and received by pager signals and BellSouth Wireless Data then forwards it through the Internet both ways for $30 per month.
IF IT DOESN’T MOVE
PRINT AN AD ON IT
Hewlett Packard Co., which makes the most popular computer printers in the world, and which sells more ink cartridges than any other outfit as well, now is selling ads that will go on the instruction sheets packaged with every HP ink cartridge, says Blackstone Research Associates, the best ear around on the printer trade.
