I was never a fan of marketing. It would not be incorrect if I say I hate it. But what I am going to write today utilizes one very important concept of marketing known as “targeting”. Basically, before launching any product, the target population along with the specific values that the product or service brings to the customers should be clearly defined. This not only helps to reach out to potential customers but also helps in the design phase of product.
Continuum was marketed as a feature that transforms a phone into a PC. Microsoft was clearly targeting enterprise market with this message. So this forms the first target segment that I will be taking up. The most widely used software in the corporate world is “Microsoft Office”. Unfortunately, Windows 10 Mobile supports a scaled down version of Office known as “Office Mobile”. It lacked macros and many other developer features that people use on a daily basis. Without these features, it’s almost useless for the enterprise market, even with continuum. If Microsoft’s primary target for continuum was enterprise, they should have made Office 365 more feature rich. This was the first mistake that Microsoft made while designing and launching continuum. Even if they had stripped down other features of continuum and just marketed it as an “Portable Office Device” with full Office features and ability to keep all documents at one place, it would have sold.
The second target segment that I will be taking up is “Multimedia Enthusiasts”. While it is true that there are many media streamers available today in market, but each of them have a common limitation. They are all packed with some pre-defined set of features but they don’t provide the flexibility to go beyond that. Windows 10 mobile with continuum transforms a TV into full featured smart TV that can stream almost anything, thanks to the edge browser. But it goes beyond that. It allows users to see photos on a bigger display, play UWP games like Asphalt, do Skype video calls and watch YouTube subscriptions while doing some small productive work like editing and sharing photos and files. But Microsoft never targeted this class of consumers for Continuum. And this was there second mistake.
The third and final segment that I take up includes people like me who like to read and write. I personally believe that technology has matured to such an extent that it could actually replace papers. Unfortunately, most of the work in this field is either scattered or misdirected. For instance, there are products based on E-Ink technology like Kindle that claims to offer glare free reading experience. Even if we ignore their relatively small size, it’s hard to ignore the restrictions on book formats and features. Had Microsoft made a portable surface like display (7 to 13 inches) which could be wireless connected to W10M through continuum for reading and writing, that would have been a game changer. This could have actually eliminated papers. There are UWP applications like BookViser Reader that supports most of the existing formats. Besides, it could have provided features like easy file sharing and editing. Unfortunately, Microsoft decided to ignore this segment completely. And this was there third mistake.
Microsoft is a big company and it should be having a big marketing team. And so it becomes hard to understand the reasons behind these mistakes. The worst part of this is they are doing it even now. Microsoft has to understand that 90% of the products fail due to lack of proper planning and relying more on big data than on common sense.
Continuum was marketed as a feature that transforms a phone into a PC. Microsoft was clearly targeting enterprise market with this message. So this forms the first target segment that I will be taking up. The most widely used software in the corporate world is “Microsoft Office”. Unfortunately, Windows 10 Mobile supports a scaled down version of Office known as “Office Mobile”. It lacked macros and many other developer features that people use on a daily basis. Without these features, it’s almost useless for the enterprise market, even with continuum. If Microsoft’s primary target for continuum was enterprise, they should have made Office 365 more feature rich. This was the first mistake that Microsoft made while designing and launching continuum. Even if they had stripped down other features of continuum and just marketed it as an “Portable Office Device” with full Office features and ability to keep all documents at one place, it would have sold.
The second target segment that I will be taking up is “Multimedia Enthusiasts”. While it is true that there are many media streamers available today in market, but each of them have a common limitation. They are all packed with some pre-defined set of features but they don’t provide the flexibility to go beyond that. Windows 10 mobile with continuum transforms a TV into full featured smart TV that can stream almost anything, thanks to the edge browser. But it goes beyond that. It allows users to see photos on a bigger display, play UWP games like Asphalt, do Skype video calls and watch YouTube subscriptions while doing some small productive work like editing and sharing photos and files. But Microsoft never targeted this class of consumers for Continuum. And this was there second mistake.
The third and final segment that I take up includes people like me who like to read and write. I personally believe that technology has matured to such an extent that it could actually replace papers. Unfortunately, most of the work in this field is either scattered or misdirected. For instance, there are products based on E-Ink technology like Kindle that claims to offer glare free reading experience. Even if we ignore their relatively small size, it’s hard to ignore the restrictions on book formats and features. Had Microsoft made a portable surface like display (7 to 13 inches) which could be wireless connected to W10M through continuum for reading and writing, that would have been a game changer. This could have actually eliminated papers. There are UWP applications like BookViser Reader that supports most of the existing formats. Besides, it could have provided features like easy file sharing and editing. Unfortunately, Microsoft decided to ignore this segment completely. And this was there third mistake.
Microsoft is a big company and it should be having a big marketing team. And so it becomes hard to understand the reasons behind these mistakes. The worst part of this is they are doing it even now. Microsoft has to understand that 90% of the products fail due to lack of proper planning and relying more on big data than on common sense.
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