So I tried selling a bunch of people on the Surface Pro. If you didn't know already, Microsoft is having an incredible sale on the original 128GB model. Anyways, being the good person that I am, I gave a heads up to a few people about the deal.
Turns out, those who saw me or someone else use a Surface Pro at work or school were immediately sold. However, those who didn't have that exposure weren't sold, at all! One person said, "if I wanted a tablet, I'd get an Android."
Okay, I get people have their preferences when it comes to ecosystems, but we're talking about the *Surface Pro* here. This isn't just a tablet, it's a PC loaded with a Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM, 128GB SSD storage *and* Wacom's active digitizer technology. Any human being with real life exposure to this thing would jump on this deal.
However, word of mouth and real life exposure isn't on the Surface Pro's side (yet), Microsoft needs to deliver on the key messaging, i.e. "What is a Surface Pro?" So I wrote a piece on my blog outlining a possible strategy (link below). The TLDR part of it is this: Microsoft should define a new product category, it shouldn't market the Surface Pro as a tablet or PC, but rather, as a "slate" (or something else).
Defining a new category gives Microsoft the room to define new expectations for consumers, it doesn't need to deal with pre-existing notions of what a tablet or PC is....Yes, even the PC part is problematic.
When I first brought in the Surface Pro to work, people thought I was nuts, they didn't know this was a full Windows computer! People have expectations of what a PC is, i.e. a conventional clamshell laptop.Microsoft can use the term "slate" to define it as "a device with the power of your PC in the form-factor of your tablet."
By calling it a 'slate' (or X or Y), Microsoft can avoid having to explain the Surface Pro in the context of a normal tablet or PC. Consumers want simple and concise messaging, having to explain to someone that a Surface Pro is a tablet but it isn't (in contrast to Android or iOS) is just a pain, and it will fail 99% of the time. However, if one can say, "no, the Surface Pro isn't a tablet, it's a slate, which is basically a full PC with the mobility and portability of a tablet."
It's a risky move, but it may prove to be easier than the current effort. Moreover, by defining a new product category, Microsoft will be giving more room to the OEMs. The OEMs can be given the choice of developing similarly spec'd and equipped slates (i.e. active digitizers), and in turn, Microsoft can advertise by telling people why slates are better for work than tablets, or why slates are great for students, etc.
My full piece is here: https://risertech.wordpress.com/2014/03/11/whats-a-surface-pro/
Turns out, those who saw me or someone else use a Surface Pro at work or school were immediately sold. However, those who didn't have that exposure weren't sold, at all! One person said, "if I wanted a tablet, I'd get an Android."
Okay, I get people have their preferences when it comes to ecosystems, but we're talking about the *Surface Pro* here. This isn't just a tablet, it's a PC loaded with a Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM, 128GB SSD storage *and* Wacom's active digitizer technology. Any human being with real life exposure to this thing would jump on this deal.
However, word of mouth and real life exposure isn't on the Surface Pro's side (yet), Microsoft needs to deliver on the key messaging, i.e. "What is a Surface Pro?" So I wrote a piece on my blog outlining a possible strategy (link below). The TLDR part of it is this: Microsoft should define a new product category, it shouldn't market the Surface Pro as a tablet or PC, but rather, as a "slate" (or something else).
Defining a new category gives Microsoft the room to define new expectations for consumers, it doesn't need to deal with pre-existing notions of what a tablet or PC is....Yes, even the PC part is problematic.
When I first brought in the Surface Pro to work, people thought I was nuts, they didn't know this was a full Windows computer! People have expectations of what a PC is, i.e. a conventional clamshell laptop.Microsoft can use the term "slate" to define it as "a device with the power of your PC in the form-factor of your tablet."
By calling it a 'slate' (or X or Y), Microsoft can avoid having to explain the Surface Pro in the context of a normal tablet or PC. Consumers want simple and concise messaging, having to explain to someone that a Surface Pro is a tablet but it isn't (in contrast to Android or iOS) is just a pain, and it will fail 99% of the time. However, if one can say, "no, the Surface Pro isn't a tablet, it's a slate, which is basically a full PC with the mobility and portability of a tablet."
It's a risky move, but it may prove to be easier than the current effort. Moreover, by defining a new product category, Microsoft will be giving more room to the OEMs. The OEMs can be given the choice of developing similarly spec'd and equipped slates (i.e. active digitizers), and in turn, Microsoft can advertise by telling people why slates are better for work than tablets, or why slates are great for students, etc.
My full piece is here: https://risertech.wordpress.com/2014/03/11/whats-a-surface-pro/