Marketing notes
Case Study 1 – Microsoft
Question 1
Evaluate Microsoft’s strategy in good and poor economic times.
Starting to evaluate Microsoft’s strategy in good economic times we see that they have better strategies when they feel comfortable and not threatened by anybody. In the good economic times, Microsoft has managed to adjust its marketing message in order to meet customers’ needs and requirements. It is well known that in good economic times people tend to buy products based on their reputation, pressure being put by people surrounding them. How did Microsoft get its reputation in the first place? Here are some examples:
1. 1980s DOS operating system for IBM computers
2. Magazine advertising
3. The company’ slogan “Where Do You Want to Go Today?”
4. The beginning of Internet
All these brought fame to Windows and set the stakes very high. Through magazine advertisements, the company has been able to reach all types of potential customers. Their slogan made people thing that somebody actually cares about them and their wants and needs. When the Internet launched, Windows fought hard to have one of the best browsers in the world.
On another note, during poor economic times people tend to set their priorities straight and stop spending so much on products that do not need to be renewed or do not prove to be worthy. That is why during the recession, Microsoft lost some of its own customers to Apple because they did not manage to find a proper strategy through which they could get their customers to keep buying from them. The main problem was the launch of Vista operating system. It cost quite a lot and the reviews were very poor, while Apple came with new products and a new operating system, with a considerably bigger price but also with better reviews that the latest Microsoft product which made customers question Microsoft’s products.
Question 2
Discuss the pros and cons of Microsoft’s most recent „I’m a PC” campaign. Is Microsoft doing a good thing by
Question 1
Evaluate Microsoft’s strategy in good and poor economic times.
Starting to evaluate Microsoft’s strategy in good economic times we see that they have better strategies when they feel comfortable and not threatened by anybody. In the good economic times, Microsoft has managed to adjust its marketing message in order to meet customers’ needs and requirements. It is well known that in good economic times people tend to buy products based on their reputation, pressure being put by people surrounding them. How did Microsoft get its reputation in the first place? Here are some examples:
1. 1980s DOS operating system for IBM computers
2. Magazine advertising
3. The company’ slogan “Where Do You Want to Go Today?”
4. The beginning of Internet
All these brought fame to Windows and set the stakes very high. Through magazine advertisements, the company has been able to reach all types of potential customers. Their slogan made people thing that somebody actually cares about them and their wants and needs. When the Internet launched, Windows fought hard to have one of the best browsers in the world.
On another note, during poor economic times people tend to set their priorities straight and stop spending so much on products that do not need to be renewed or do not prove to be worthy. That is why during the recession, Microsoft lost some of its own customers to Apple because they did not manage to find a proper strategy through which they could get their customers to keep buying from them. The main problem was the launch of Vista operating system. It cost quite a lot and the reviews were very poor, while Apple came with new products and a new operating system, with a considerably bigger price but also with better reviews that the latest Microsoft product which made customers question Microsoft’s products.
Question 2
Discuss the pros and cons of Microsoft’s most recent „I’m a PC” campaign. Is Microsoft doing a good thing by