Ten Steps Microsoft Should Take To Jumpstart Vista

Memo to Steve Ballmer: It’s time for Microsoft to rethink its Windows Vista marketing plan. Sure, Vista has sold 20 million licenses. But everyone from Wall Street to Main Street U.S.A. knows Vista isn’t living up to its hype. Here are 10 logical steps Microsoft should take to jump-start the Vista sales engine:

1. Keep It Simple: Microsoft currently offers too many versions of Vista: Ultimate, Home Premium, Home Basic, Business, Enterprise. You’ve stalled the decision process by forcing customers to think about which Vista they need. Stop the nonsense. Apple offers one simple version of Mac OS X Tiger. Microsoft should follow suit. Stop artificially segmenting the market in a lame attempt to charge more for high-end Vista versions. Offer one reasonably priced Vista for all of us.

2. Raise Your Hardware Requirements: There’s nothing worse than using Vista on an underpowered PC. Admit that Vista has hefty hardware requirements and celebrate its performance on high-end PCs. Don’t allow Vista to be installed or sold on PCs with less than one gigabyte of RAM.

3. Reconnect With Security Software Makers: During the Vista development process, Microsoft alienated Symantec, McAfee and other security vendors. Yes, Microsoft should attempt to safeguard Vista. But Vista should also play nice with third-party security software. That way, your partners actually work with you to promote Vista.

4. Find Three Applications To Promote: Microsoft currently promotes three Vista features — security, desktop search and the 3D user interface. That’s like an auto dealer foolishly promoting the door locks and nifty dashboard on a car. Although the 3D interface is slick, the rest of your promotional messages are a yawn. Reach out to your three best software partners and give them co-marketing dollars to promote three killer applications for Vista.

5. Protect Your Retail Brand: Microsoft relies too heavily on retailers like CompUSA to promote its software. Few retail employees can describe Vista’s power and benefits. Meanwhile, Apple Stores are filled with smart evangelists who know every detail about Apple hardware and software. Rethink your retail relationships, Microsoft. Stick with retail partners that understand quality (Best Buy) rather than retailers that specialize in store closings and layoffs. So, where can you find experts to promote Vista in retail stores? The answer presents itself in my suggestion number 6.

6. Engage Your Evangelists: Train regional Windows User Group members to promote Vista. Give all User Group presidents discounted notebooks and PCs running Vista, so that they can describe the operating system’s merits to friends, neighbors and local businesses.

7. Go Back to College: Reach out to Dell, HP and other PC makers now. Plan simple, high-profile Vista promotions for college kids who plan to buy PCs before heading back to school this coming fall. Again, keep things simple: Apple’s notebook line includes the MacBook and the MacBook Pro. Inspire your mobile partners to offer only a few, clearly positioned Vista models.

8. Don’t Forget K-12 Schools: Rally PC makers in the K-12 market. Get kids using Vista, and they’ll ask their parents for Vista PCs at home.

9. Polish Your Server Pitch: Tell CIOs and corporate customers how Vista will connect to Windows Server, SQL Server, Exchange Server and your other enterprise applications. And actually find ways to integrate Vista with Linux servers. Don’t try to “lock” businesses into an all-Windows world. Those days are gone.

10. Don’t Attack Apple: You’ll be tempted to attack Apple in the months ahead. Do not directly respond to Apple’s hip TV ads. Instead, describe Vista’s merits and killer applications.

With any luck, these steps will get Vista sales going long before the holiday upgrade season.

That’s all for now, Mr. Ballmer. It’s time for The VAR Guy to sign off. His MacBook Pro needs a recharge.

Comments

[David Oliver_:]

11. Make sure your product is actually ready before releasing it. I just bought a Thinkpad with Vista in Hong Kong and within a week had had it downgraded to Win XP. There have been so many complaints here about Vista that a number of dealers have got permission from Microsoft to downgrade to Win XP, and then they give you Vista recovery disks so that you can try upgrading back to Vista at some point in the future when its ready.

12. Don't make annoying, seemingly pointless changes just so it looks different from XP - such as renaming common tasks in the Control Panel and changing the file directory structure. This means that it takes your users much longer to get used to Vista.

2007 Mar 30 06:39 AM

[Malkiel:]

As you would expect with a complicated problem, there are going to be myriad and varying suggestions for how to deal with it. I disagree with most of the approach suggested above, but it's important that we're at least starting to see acknowledgement by the professionals that Vista has created serious problems that require immediate attention.

In brief, where I most disagree with the above is:

1.) Accepting the complexity--Microsoft needs to trim away some of the bloat, not issue higher hardware requirements.

2.) Simplifying product line--not essential, since in light of 1.) you would guess that I believe versions with different feature levels is okay;

3.) Getting away from Windows-only environment--wrong, institutional users are perfectly happy with the simplicity of a unified environment so long as it works, can be maintained easily, and doesn't cost too much. Never give up monopoly power when you have it. Fix the software quickly and you don't have to give up control of the most lucrative monopoly on the face of the planet. I don't believe in this from a user's viewpoint, but from the point of view of the company it wouldn't do to look at it any other way.

4.) outreach and evangelism--not going to work, and going to sound phony. The product must be likeable enough and user-friendly enough to sell itself.

2007 Mar 30 10:47 AM