Easiest Way For Microsoft To Sell More WP Devices and Surface Tablets

[prasath1234]

Ya microsoft competing with android to gain market share i agree with u.

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[CSMR250]

If Microsoft wants to create an incentive for consumers to purchase their products over their competitors then they should use their popular and desirable services as leverage. Let's start with the Surface Pro 2 why the hell can't Office 365 be thrown into a tablet/PC that costs north of $1000? Considering the main competitor of the Surface Pro 2 is the MacBook Air (in terms of price/capabilities and target market) then why isn't Microsoft throwing in a service that gives a potential buyer a reason to choose the Surface over the Apple?

This is basically the same as a price cut as Surface Pro users will buy Office anyway one way or another. I think Surface Pro users are not that price sensitive but are very quality sensitive.

More important than cutting the price, MS needs to improve Office for tablets.
1. Produce a version of Office for tablets which does not even exist at the moment!
2. Allow an install of tablet Office and desktop office on the same tablet (essential for Surface Pro since this device is all about being a tablet and laptop/desktop in one) using just one Office 365 licence. And have these two apps play nicely together. (It would be best if they were 1 application which could switch between a desktop and tablet mode but that would be a massive architectural change; could not be done before Windows 10.)

Same for Windows Phone (particularly Nokia now that they're owned by MS) what kind of service incentive does WP offer the consumer over Android and iOS? What if Microsoft threw in 2 years of free Xbox Live Gold or Office 365 (depending on consumer) when signing up for a 2 year contract with a Windows Phone?

WP already comes with a mobile version of Office. So it's already free. I think this Office needs improving especially Outlook which is the most used Office app and which is substandard for professional use.

 

[anon(7901790)]

You make some valid points. However, the Surface Pro and Pro 2 are competing against the iPad Air, Ultrabook series notebooks, and now, the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2, not just against a MacBook Air. Here is a price comparison (all based on Best Buy prices).

Surface 2 (64GB): $549.99
Surface Pro 2 (64GB): $899.99
IPad Air (64GB): $699.99
Galaxy Note Pro 12.2: $749.99


Surface Pro 2 (128GB): $999.99
MacBook Air (128GB): $999.99
Ultrabook (several models). $400-1300 (depending on several options)

I tried to keep it to an apples to apples comparison as much as possible. And now that Office is available for iPad, that will make it harder to sell Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 devices.

IMO, the Surface series are over priced. If Microsoft wants to sell them, they need to be more competitive price wise.

How can they do that?

1. Offer Office 365 free for one year. This approach worked for GM in selling Onstar subscriptions. You buy a GM vehicle equipped with Onstar and you get one year Onstar for free. I have done this and actually used Onstar a few times when I or my wife was in a situation that required the service (i.e. three flat tires in the middle of nowhere).

2. Reduce the price of all Surface devices, and add a free touch cover (thank Chris_Kez for that idea), to be more competitive against Android devices. Yes MSFT will take a loss initially, but as more and more people start using its devices, more and more will start using its services. And eventually, it will become a "self licking ice cream cone" so to speak.

3. Tailor advertisements to go against Android powered devices. MSFT wild get more bang for its buck. It can still do adverts targeted to Apple users as well, but MSFT would do better to focus on Android.

4. Target businesses (as I posted previously). Then using some form of HUP target those businesses' employees with discounts on devices and services. This worked swimmingly well with Office.

I'm sure there are some more that MSFT can do, but this would be a start.

 

[smoledman]

I'd throw in 1-year free of One Pass(100GB OneDrive, XBox Music, XBox Live Gold) with the caveat that you keep the 100GB of OneDrive even if you do not renew the Pass.

 

[Chris_Kez]

Couple of things:
1) Xbox Live should already be free for everything except multi player online.
2) Most people would just prefer less expensive hardware in lieu of some temporarily "free" service, whether that's OneDrive, Xbox Live or Office.
3) MS is in a tough spot with Surface. Price it too high and no one buys; too low and they're in channel conflict with their partners (who don't have the luxury of a billion dollar software business to underwrite a money-losing hardware division). Also, MS can't seem to keep up with the little demand they do have.
4) If I could have MS do one thing to make Surface more affordable, it would be the inclusion of a free Touch cover with every device. I think this would be better than any kind of bundled service offer, and fit with the mission of the device.