Healthcare Matters

Do you remember the days when a major Microsoft announcement –like the latest Windows release—was met with the same kind of consumer enthusiasm as say, a new Apple product? Don’t you remember the media coverage of the geeks among us (or within us) standing in line all night long to buy the latest version of Windows?

In case you haven’t heard, Microsoft just released Windows 8. Not an insignificant upgrade to the computer market’s most prolific operating system, but a major new release that is being promoted as a complete “makeover” designed to create a consistent look and feel across any/all windows-based smart devices.

Leading up to last Friday’s announcement of the release, a phone survey of nearly 1,200 US adults found that 52% hadn’t even heard of Windows 8. According to the poll, among the people who knew something about the new operating system, 61% had little or no interest in buying a new laptop or desktop computer running the new OS. Even worse, only 35% of the people who’ve actually heard about Windows 8 believe it will be an improvement. How would you like to be a marketing executive at Microsoft?

The poll caught my attention because it actually reflects my own sentiments –and that never happens. More than that, it surely tells us all something about how far Microsoft has fallen, at least in the eyes of consumers who won’t consider buying MS products, even with price points 20%-30% less than competitive alternatives running Apple’s OS or Android.

Let’s be clear here: Windows 8 is actually considered the most radical redesign of the OS since 1995 and industry’ analysts consider the software to be Microsoft’s most important product since co-founder Bill Gates won the contract to build an operating system for IBM Corp.’s first personal computer in 1981.

The market’s ambivalence even extends to Microsoft’s new tablet computer, Surface, which was built to show off Windows 8’s versatility. You say you haven’t heard of Surface either? Sixty-nine percent of the poll’s respondents expressed little to no interest in buying a Surface, which Microsoft is hoping will steal market share from the iPad and other popular tablets such as Amazon’s Kindle and Google’s Nexus 7.

In an effort to protect its still-lucrative PC franchise, Microsoft designed Windows 8 so it can be switched into a desktop mode that relies on a keyboard and mouse for commands. Microsoft felt it had to gamble on a radical redesign to fend off the competitive threats posed by Apple and Google.

Threats?

The computer wars seem to emulate our latest election dynamics. Are you better off with your 4 year old version of Windows? The recurring theme among the Microsoft die-hards should provide clues into Microsoft’s planned $1 billion marketing campaign. A barrage of television commercials are being developed to promote Window’s 8. Look for those commercials to reinforce the attitude of Tequila Cronk of Herington, Kansas. She represents a stubborn but shrinking sentiment in the marketplace that Microsoft is reluctantly forced to embrace. She’s a Microsoft fan because she considers Apple’s prices to be a “rip-off.”

A negative campaign countered by claims that Microsoft can’t run on its record? The poll found 80% of respondents with personal computers in their homes relied on earlier versions of Windows versus only 12% that operate on Apple’s Mac system. And while Windows remains dominant in office environments, 90% of companies running Windows are expected to hold off on making any switches through 2014, according to a study by the research firm Gartner Inc. Finally, when it’s becoming increasingly clear that “the Microsoft option” may be best targeted at consumers who still don’t own a home computer (22% of adults still don’t) and have incomes below $50K annually, you can’t avoid acknowledging what is happening to the company’s brand.

—Tom Finn