Ryanair's 'always getting better'

Ryanair--known for low air fares--has been wooing back travellers with an initiative it calls 'Always Getting Better'. Above, CEO Michael O'Leary discusses this marketing programme, which is part of the reason for Ryanair's growth--and supports its ambitious growth goals for future markets.

The purpose is to improve customer satisfaction by addressing some of the complaints that have annoyed travellers about Ryanair, including very high fees for 'extras' and website navigation that complicated the process of buying tickets. This also extends to the interior design of its aircraft.

With demand for business travel increasing as economic conditions improve, Ryanair (already Europe's largest discount carrier) has decided to meet the specific needs of this market with Business Plus. Business flyers can change their itineraries on the day of travel without penalty, choose seats in advance and receive priority boarding.

Now Ryanair sees opportunity in corporate jets for hire. Its first 60-seat jet is available to businesses (or sports teams or affluent individuals) that want to travel on their own schedule and in comfort. Of course, Ryanair's corporate jet is competitively priced and extras cost, well, extra.

Dell's Distribution Strategy in India

Dell was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell, a college student who sold build-to-order PCs from his dormitory room. Three years later, the fast-growing company opened its first international division, in the United Kingdom.

Today, despite intense competition from tech leaders like Apple, Lenovo and Hewlett Packard, Dell has ambitious marketing plans for future growth in overseas markets like India.

The PC market in India showed some growth in 2013 but 2014 is not expected to be as strong. Dell is the second-largest PC marketer in India, with an estimated market share of 13.2%. The largest PC marketer, Hewlett Packard, has an estimated market share of 28.5%, more than double Dell's share.

To increase share and boost brand availability outside of major urban areas, Dell's distribution strategy in India relies on two key elements:

• Targeting consumers, the company is doubling the number of Dell-brand stores in small cities and villages. These smaller markets are where Dell expects growth to be strong in the coming years, because PC ownership is not as widespread as in major urban areas. In addition, Dell is assembling laptops to keep in inventory, so distribution centers can ship laptops to the stores very soon after customers place their orders. In the past, Dell's build-to-order process minimised inventory costs--now, customers will receive orders more quickly, which in turn should increase customer satisfaction.
• Targeting businesses, including partners, Dell is using a roadshow approach to bring its experts and products to major commercial centres like New Delhi and Mumbai. The objective is to increase support for channel partners, expand market coverage and demonstrate its ability to provide full solutions to commercial customers.