(Norwell, MA) August 14, 2001… CAP Ventures announced the availability of its Office Equipment Market Dynamics Research Program. This research program tracks a variety of critical metrics to help vendors of office copiers, fax machines, laser printers and inkjet printers understand brand performance and customer behavior.  Key areas of research include: ·        Brand share ·        Brand awareness ·        Brand consideration and preference ·        Purchase behavior ·        Purchase plans ·        Use of Internet in purchase process ·        Average monthly output volume ·        Brand satisfaction ·        Channel usage ·        Channel satisfaction ·        Purchase criteria ·        Single vs. multi-function Twice per year, CAP Ventures interviews over 1,500 decision makers at small, medium and large businesses throughout the United States. The research results can be segmented by a variety of factors, including company size, geography, vertical industry, and brand of equipment. Clients can participate by purchasing results from one or more product areas. (Click here for charts.) “With the office printer, copier and fax markets not growing as fast as they were several years ago, brand is becoming increasingly important for vendors to gain and retain market share,” noted Jeff Hayes, Research Director at CAP Ventures. “Most products have very similar feature sets and price points and are being sold through the same channels. If a vendor is not closely managing critical aspects of its brand such as awareness, consideration, and customer satisfaction, it is in jeopardy of losing valuable market share.” The CAP Ventures research found that many office equipment vendors have high overall customer satisfaction ratings. Industry leaders for overall customer satisfaction include: ·        Copiers: Toshiba, Sharp and Savin ·        Fax: Oki Data, Ricoh, HP ·        Black & white laser printers: HP, Lexmark and Oki Data ·        Color laser printers: HP, Lexmark and Oki Data ·        Ink jet printers: HP, Canon, Epson ·        Distributors: IKON, Xerox and Office Depot The research also indicated greater use of the Internet during the purchase process in virtually all company size categories and product segments. “Use of the Internet in the purchase process for office equipment is ratcheting up,” commented Hayes. In general, CAP Ventures found that larger companies are more likely than smaller companies to use the Internet for gathering product information, identifying suppliers, or actually placing an order. Also, purchases for laser and ink jet printers are more likely to involve the Internet than purchases of copiers or fax machines. In this extremely competitive market, vendors need to focus their resources. The Office Equipment Market Dynamics Research Program is an essential roadmap for brand management decision-making. To find out more about the study, contact Stewart MacDonald at 781-871-9000 ext. 175.