What Kind of Marketing Strategy Does WP Need?

[MDMcAtee]

A total rethink has to happen before anything else is done..

Young folks are biased too...they are not all open minded and easily convinced to give up their iPhones.

Initial impressions is what makes them curious about one,if it doesn't appeal to them,there isn't anything that will convince them to switch.

4 areas have the potential impact of changing the perception of WP...

A sleek GUI...not cluttered...one that can be changed..rearranged..

Games...lots of high quality fun free games...

Texting...easily from within anywhere on the phone without stopping what they are doing..swipe to call if needed..swipe to text if needed..and changeable for dialers and text bubbles colors..

Music...good grief...scrap Xbox music and flat out copy a iPhone...remember what Jobs said about imitating..just do it..I know they can't bring themselves to do this since they believe Xbox is better than anything out there...but it's not..and sales show this...If you want to convince the majority of young folks to switch from a iPhone then you have to be able to migrate everything over to WP without a geeks knowledge of how to make it happen. Album art...why in God's name do you have to go through all the bs to have it..

Perception is the key but WP needs a lot of work then a whole new group of folks selling it..from Microsoft to the stores selling them. Accessories have to be in there with the phones when buying..phones have to be on and running,and the sales force needs to be able to explain it.not just the one lonely geek kid in the back..

Mac

 

[MDMcAtee]

Now...perception...for the 20-30 year age group...

Everything has to be their from when they got their first phone..but ...cool folks their age has to be seen promoting them..

If they are as easy to use as a iPhone have everything and more..their tunes aren't trashed..they can text and call...how do you sell to them...dependability...

Maps and search has to be dead nuts accurate...social integration has to be as well..connectivity has to be there..which means that the GPS has to work within a couple feet...not 20 yards...

Everyone knows Windows..it's everywhere...it has to be 100% seamless from any Windows device regardless of the GUI...and they have to work right out of the box.

Perception...again bombard the airwaves..make it relevant to them..put the phone into current screen celebrities and show it's not a old folks phone.they have to think they need it.

Mac

 

[MDMcAtee]

Lastly...for us older adults..who are still working,have a mortgage or 2..have kids in k-12 or college.

We want to be able talk and text..listen to music..have the best looking phones and seem younger than what we are to our kids.

We want perfection in all things..and many are willing to pay for it. If something is buggy and fails on us time after time..it's history next time around..so it has to work,be simple in how to set up,and use. If it's too complicated it won't get used cause we just don't have time to learn,and we have way too much going on in our day. The easier and more reliable it is the better..

Perception...which phone is believed to be this way...it's not a Android..Which phone is said to. "Just Works " that is the perception WP has to attain.........

Mac

 

[trivor]

You say that but I'm an advanced smartphone user and I switched and I know others that did or are going to as well. Yes android has a ton of apps there is no denying that. But not since I had my D2 could I make it through a day without having to find a charger, I don't have enough fingers to count how many times the beta, for what 5 years now, mapping app sent me way out of the way to get somewhere or just completely the wrong way all together. I never did find a keyboard, paid or free, that seemed to know what I was typing. They half the time would correct words that were perfectly fine and at nearly the same time completely refuse to correct misspelled words regardless of settings. Me personally I didn't like the android FB app, it would routinely not show the same things that were on my desktop version, peoples posts would disappear even after commenting on them and with the last update it would just up and decide at random to scroll in the opposite direction I was scrolling in seemingly just because. These are just a few of the niggles. The basic thing though is the ton of stuff I COULD do with android but didn't because any of it would lower my already terrible battery life.

Thats all on a phone that I probably ran 15 different ROMs on and none of them didn't anything to improve any of that, sometimes even making it worse.

I haven't found any apps that I need that WP doesn't have, granted I don't use a ton, I know there is a gap. Fact is there is a stigma with WP that they need to shake...yes more apps will help....probably a lot. When I went into the store that's what the salespeople always said..oh windows phone is great....but it doenst have a lot of apps. They also need to let people know that this isn't what windows phone used to be...its pretty viable now, but its going to be very difficult to get that point across with the domination that android has on the market now. A lot of people, including the salespeople, just simply aren't going to try it and thats sad because they should.

At this point in the smartphone maturation process, most people aren't willing to risk an upgrade (whether they like the "free" phone or the "Flagship" $200 phone (it's going to take quite a while for TMo's no contract model to take hold at the other carriers - until then, people are still addicted to the low cost upgrade prices)) on seeing if they "like" Windows Phone. 2 weeks IS NOT enough time to find out if a phone will do what you want and especially if you are thinking about switching platforms. As for salespeople (and I have worked retail) they are going to do what the big guys (sales manager or store manager) want them to do in terms of training resources, what products to push, what sales incentives are available. It is very easy to rationalize selling a particular brand (or OS) because any of the OSes are polished enough to do anything any one need to do. In addition, if someone comes in looking for iPhone or the newest "Galaxy" Phone or that HTC One I am not going to lose a sale by trying to talk them into something else. Often they want something that their friend has (and very few friends have WP). Very few people come into the store with no clue about what they want. I don't know how MS will overcome this with marketing (especially with Apple and Samsung spending Billions (yes, that's Billions with a B) on marketing every year. And, BTW Apple's customer satisfaction rate is over 90% and even Android is over 80%.

 

[nicfromwales]

I've found that I gravitate away from apple because iPhones are already everywhere. They aren't inspiring or different. Despite MS supposed advertising to "mum and dad" I love WP for it's freshness.

I love Windows Phone for the same reason. Microsoft just produces some of the most boring, middle of the road advertising known to man. It's not exciting, or inspiring; just adequate. It explains a dull, real-life situation in which you could use a product, before playing some cheerful music with unintelligible lyrics at the end. The message is, if you're looking for a pair of comfy shoes, go to Microsoft - if you want the next big thing, go to Apple or Samsung. It's a shame because we all know how fresh and exciting WP really is.

 

[loki993]

Nokia has superior cameras.....and by default now so does MS....they should start pushing that fact HARD...

 

[trivor]

Until MS/Nokia gives up on the idea of carrier exclusives and does simultaneous releases of a phone on all US carriers (Verizon, ATT, TMo/Sprint) they will continue to muddle along in the 3-5% range. Every single new flagship Android phone is released simultaneously on all four carriers (and also on some of the smaller regional carriers like US Cellular) and benefits from the marketing dollars of the OEM AND the marketing of the individual carriers - very synergistic. Right now, if you want a flagship WP there is really only one right now and that is the Lumia Icon on Verizon - 1080P screen @ 5.0", Snapdragon 800 with 2 GB RAM, 32 GB storage for $99 on contract. If you want that phone on ATT, TMo, or Sprint you are SOL and in fact all the top end phones on those carriers are at least 6 months old. Imagine Nokia had done a simultaneous release of the 930 on all four carriers - I believe it would have sold very well. Also, why wasn't the 520/521 released in a CDMA version for Sprint/Verizon and all the various Prepaid carriers (PagePluse, Virgin, Boost, etc.) - it would have sold very well as its done on Go Phone, Straight Talk, etc. The other problem is the lack of choice. On Android (or even Apple with the 5S, 5, 5c, 4S) you have choices at all different screen sizes, different designs, different price points that is really not available on the Windows Phone platform - if you don't like the feel or other design cues of the Icon what are you going to get - an Ativ SE (year old rebranded Galaxy S4), a 928 (over a year old), an HTC 8X (a company that barely admits it even has a Windows Phone). I know almost everyone on this forum loves their Windows Phone but it will never see wide adoption (at least not in the US) until it solves these problems and it's not just a matter of shoving more marketing dollars at it.

 

[Oliverspin]

Until MS/Nokia gives up on the idea of carrier exclusives and does simultaneous releases of a phone on all US carriers (Verizon, ATT, TMo/Sprint) they will continue to muddle along in the 3-5% range. Every single new flagship Android phone is released simultaneously on all four carriers (and also on some of the smaller regional carriers like US Cellular) and benefits from the marketing dollars of the OEM AND the marketing of the individual carriers - very synergistic. Right now, if you want a flagship WP there is really only one right now and that is the Lumia Icon on Verizon - 1080P screen @ 5.0", Snapdragon 800 with 2 GB RAM, 32 GB storage for $99 on contract. If you want that phone on ATT, TMo, or Sprint you are SOL and in fact all the top end phones on those carriers are at least 6 months old. Imagine Nokia had done a simultaneous release of the 930 on all four carriers - I believe it would have sold very well. Also, why wasn't the 520/521 released in a CDMA version for Sprint/Verizon and all the various Prepaid carriers (PagePluse, Virgin, Boost, etc.) - it would have sold very well as its done on Go Phone, Straight Talk, etc. The other problem is the lack of choice. On Android (or even Apple with the 5S, 5, 5c, 4S) you have choices at all different screen sizes, different designs, different price points that is really not available on the Windows Phone platform - if you don't like the feel or other design cues of the Icon what are you going to get - an Ativ SE (year old rebranded Galaxy S4), a 928 (over a year old), an HTC 8X (a company that barely admits it even has a Windows Phone). I know almost everyone on this forum loves their Windows Phone but it will never see wide adoption (at least not in the US) until it solves these problems and it's not just a matter of shoving more marketing dollars at it.

I agree. I believe there is some controversy around why phones aren't released on all carriers. Carriers apparently won't support the phone unless it's exclusive to them and this is a typical problem less successful platforms have. Carriers don't want to take the risk. So the solution, to me, seems to be that WP needs to continue to improve, debug, respond to customer feedback, etc.and slowly gain popularity. After WP can dispel the major criticisms the platform has carriers will begin to desire WP.