Thinkpad gets into me

[qchaser]

Hello! I bought my first Thinkpad in November 05. X41, 60GB, 512, 1,5MHZ, X4 etc. I´ve always been a BIG fan of quality. I always buy quality and if there isn´t quality around I´ll pass the whole thing. I have owned HP laptops before but somehow I have not understood that there can be this huge difference between quite known PC brands. Why on earth haven´t I noticed this? I happen to know almost every ultimate quality brand in every area. Everybody knows that Rolex is "the" brand in watches. Okay there maybe more expensive brands with more quality but Rolex is from the top of the line. Same thing with cars, clothing, furniture, cosmetics...

I am coming from Europe and what I have noticed is that somehow I haven´t seen any ads from Thinkpads in the first place. I assume there has been some but howcome I have not noticed them? Compared to Rolex I can see their ads in business-, fashion- and lifestyle magazines. What is the strategy for Thinkpads/IBM/Lenovo when it comes to marketing? Have they decided to go quietly as Rolls Royce - that is not advertised at all? Or am I just blind? I understand these marketing strategies for example with Rolls Royce etc. mostly because they have maximum capacity for their production lines and for the idea that they want to keep customers in waiting lists. What I have understood this is not the issue with Thinkpads. Their production lines are big enough for whatever need from the market - aren´t they? If they are, why on earth aren´t they drumming this Thinkpad -message for the world?

My X41 is so ultra high quality that I am nearly hypnotized. I have been searhing all possible reviews, tests from the net. I have been sitting days with my X41 along. In fact my previous machine was Fujitsu P7010 but its build quality don´t come even close. X41 is dominating nearly every ultraportable test but still people are buying Sonys, Acers and Fujitsus?

So once again my question: Why does it seem that Thinkpads are buried in a big secret? Something needs to be done, because there isn´t any other laptop in this world than Thinkpad. Seriously. There is no need for any other forums than Thinkpad forums. Now some of you are saying that everybody doesn´t drive Rolls and have a Rolex. However the price differences between Thinkpads and any other brands are not so big at all. In fact Thinkpads have their bulk-line as well - coming with the same quality on the keyboard for example - and maybe even with overall quality.

The thing is just to get the message out and turn every single person in this world to a Thinkpad person.

-Thinkpad Jesus-

PS. I am not working for Lenovo and I am not representing Lenovo or any other computer products. I am a business orientated person, mostly working through my computer/net and writing as a hobby. I am a frequent traveller and I want to carry my laptop around - this is why I chose X41.

[jdhurst]

I think you will find that business people who are concerned with quality and who receive objective advice will purchase ThinkPads. I urge clients to purchase ThinkPads and IBM Desktops and no client has ever remotely criticised my advice. They are all happy campers. The message probably is out there for these people. ... JD Hurst

[BillMorrow]

Dear QC chaser..

FIRST, welcome to the thinkpads.com open forum..
Est. 1996~ after it was made known to me that the compuserve thinkpad support forum was going to fold up and fade away..

It is a well known "fact" among those that are aware of such things that IBM does not seem to be able to market anything..
IBM was and still is known as a cmpany that supports their product but when it comes to selling the product they appear to run from customers rather than embrace their customers..

why else would IBM sell off the PC division along with the thinkpad brand..?
because, they said, they were not making money..

addmittedly, the PC business is more focused on the price to buy rather than the whole price which, when examined, will show that the cheaper product is not always the most cost effective choice..

Lenovo knows that they must market the product in order to turn a profit..
which it seems they have done, already, if news reports can be believed..

as for the advertising, yes, thinkpads are advertised..
on TV and in the Wall Street Journal..
but probabloy not in the Amex magazine or the Robb Report or other like publications..

you must have been looking the other way when this advertising was loose in the land..

you might consider sending a copy of your post to the current head of Lenovo USA..

who is an old time IBM'er recently brought back to Lenovo from the competition..

perhaps it will awaken them to their lame sales practices and microadvertising..

[SpaRood]

The Thinkpad are business professional products, therefore they don't need marketing. However, the consumer market is very lucrative, as Dell shows. I expect that there won't be ads for the Thinkpads and that Lenovo will rather launch its own native brands to compete with the Dells, Acers, Asus, etc. Lenovo just need to make sure the Thinkpads and Thinkcenters are self sufficient in cost, while pushing for profit with its own native products. I hope the company will take this approach. Also the new CEO is not only the boss of Lenovo US, but of Lenovo world wide.

[qchaser]

The Thinkpad are business professional products, therefore they don't need marketing. However, the consumer market is very lucrative, as Dell shows. I expect that there won't be ads for the Thinkpads and that Lenovo will rather launch its own native brands to compete with the Dells, Acers, Asus, etc. Lenovo just need to make sure the Thinkpads and Thinkcenters are self sufficient in cost, while pushing for profit with its own native products. I hope the company will take this approach. Also the new CEO is not only the boss of Lenovo US, but of Lenovo world wide.

If this is the case then I don´t have to wonder.

Would there be any negative effects for Lenovo if these business professional products would spread among the non-business professionals as well?

-Thinkpad Jesus-

[qchaser]

[quote="BillMorrow"]Dear QC chaser..

FIRST, welcome to the thinkpads.com open forum..
Est. 1996~ after it was made known to me that the compuserve thinkpad support forum was going to fold up and fade away..

Thanks!

[SpaRood]

The Thinkpad are business professional products, therefore they don't need marketing. However, the consumer market is very lucrative, as Dell shows. I expect that there won't be ads for the Thinkpads and that Lenovo will rather launch its own native brands to compete with the Dells, Acers, Asus, etc. Lenovo just need to make sure the Thinkpads and Thinkcenters are self sufficient in cost, while pushing for profit with its own native products. I hope the company will take this approach. Also the new CEO is not only the boss of Lenovo US, but of Lenovo world wide.

If this is the case then I don´t have to wonder.

Would there be any negative effects for Lenovo if these business professional products would spread among the non-business professionals as well?

-Thinkpad Jesus-

I think not, as more customers is better. In the days of IBM, their policy was not to target consumers, only professionals. I expect this policy won't change for the Thinkpads. If consumers discover the Thinkpads, more power to them I'd say!

[Kyocera]

I guess ya'll don't watch as much TV as I do but there are several Lenovo, yes Lenovo thinkpad commercials out, one of them has (I think) Martin Sheen. The fingerprint reader and durability are the two most touted aspects in these commercials, they are quite humorous.

[warmstrong]

Speaking of Lenovo advertising and related efforts, I took a call in my office (a small four person business) from a Lenovo marketing person the other day asking if I intended to buy any Lenovo computers in the near future. The only IBM/Lenovo products I have ever bought directly were a desktop and monitor for one of my employees, and maybe a few accessories. I've never bought a ThinkPad directly from them, thanks to our host here, Bill Morrow. When I told the person on the phone that I was a longtime ThinkPad user, and that I might be buying a new X60 in the near future, he said that he would have someone contact me from the ThinkPad group. Sure enough, a day or so later someone from ThinkPad left a message.

This all seems a little misdirected, going after a very small customer like myself, but it does show that Lenovo is going after the people they know have bought their products in the past, with the hope of building on relationships. I don't think I have had a sales call from Dell, although I imagine they make them.

Bill

[christopher_wolf]

Well; there are a few Ads for Thinkpads out there. The most I see are on the Campus Buses around here (Yup, the TSW put Thinkpad Ads on the Buses consisting of a T Series, an R Series, and an X41 Tablet). I have also seen TV commercials, but these are exceedingly rare.. The first Thinkpad Ad I saw on TV was for the T43.

[epbrown]

The only laptop ad I regularly see is the one with Lee Majors, which is funny.

Re. ThinkPads pursuing the consumer market, the problem with that is you need a lot more support infrastructure. IBM's business focus has led to them having a front-line of IT professionals acting as a buffer with end-users, and they've also always attracted more sophisticated users. This means they spend a lot less time and money explaining where the "any" key is or what's wrong with the "cupholder" that pops out the side.

Moving downmarket would mean Lenovo needing a lot more people to answer simple questions and talk newbies through their first laptop experiences - that gets expensive.