Executive Summary:
Although Microsoft has worked hard to involve customers in the development of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and other recent releases, IT professional and developer satisfaction has been declining for several years. In its newest attempt to improve customer satisfaction and build a sense of community, Microsoft has launched its Who Are You program. Central to that program is a Web site in which IT professionals, developers, and other customers can share their personal talents and interests. |
Customer loyalty and satisfaction result from good
products and excellent customer service. To create
products that fill a need, a company has to understand
who its customers are and what they want. Back in the
1990s, Microsoft generally disregarded its customers and
is paying the price of low customer satisfaction today. In
contrast, Apple is a technology company that “gets” its customers
and inspires fanatical loyalty by creating über-cool
and innovative technology. That loyalty leaves Microsoft
yearning to win the hearts and minds of IT pros and developers.
Although the company has worked hard to involve
customers in the development of Windows Vista, Windows
Server 2008, and other recent releases, IT pro and developer
satisfaction has been sliding for at least five years. I can
imagine some frustrated Microsoft workgroup wondering
what it would take to make IT people happy-and suddenly
coming to the realization that Microsoft needed to find out
what makes IT pros and developers tick.
The Social Geek
Then along came Mark J. Penn with his book Microtrends:
The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow’s Big Changes (Twelve,
2007). Penn’s research reverses the stereotype of the geek
as a loner. Penn dubs today’s tech-head as the “social geek.”
Penn maintains, “Geeks as we know them have all but
disappeared.... The social uses of technology, with its new
emphasis on ‘connection,’ have far outstripped the antisocial,
individualistic purposes technology used to serve.”
Significantly for Microsoft, Penn goes on to say, “The implications
for technology marketing are staggering. Whereas
tech companies used to target ... pasty, lonely guys, now they
sell having a great PC ... as cool .... Being tech-savvy was once
socially disdained. Now it is at the center of organizing friends,
parties, and the social life of the family.”
Considering customers as social beings who have a life
outside of IT has led some marketers at Microsoft to a new
concept that’s not just for marketing but also for improving
customer satisfaction. That concept is Who Are You (see
www.wewanttoknow.net). The idea is for IT pros to show
off their talents and interests for Microsoft and the world to
see. Do you sing Karaoke? Upload your video!
The Magic Bullet
According to a Microsoft flyer touting the program, “The
Who Are You campaign focuses on recognizing and celebrating
the IT Professional as a unique individual in order to
transform perceptions of Microsoft within this key audience.
The campaign’s execution is multi-tiered; it is comprised of
online visibility, print advertisements, and events where IT
Professionals can showcase their multidimensional, creative
personalities as people instead of simply professionals.”
Who Are You is Microsoft’s attempt at “crafting an IT
consumer-base that feels valued for their [sic] creativity
and individuality.” Presumably, this means that if you feel
Microsoft values your individuality, you’ll be enthusiastic
about the company and a more satisfied customer.
Your Potential, Their Passion
I’ve criticized Microsoft in the past-first for the company’s
indifference to community, then for its drive to manufacture
and consume “community” instead of interacting
with customers in an authentic relationship. Although I’m
not convinced that emulating Apple is the way to achieve a
true connection with IT, I have to give Microsoft credit for
continuing attempts to get it right.
Romi Mahajan (romim@microsoft.com), a director in
Microsoft’s US subsidiary, told me, “I believe very strongly
that we all make emotional connections with companies,
with societies, with different parts of community, with
each other. And in the absence of the people in the company
understanding truly who you are, it’s hard to build an
emotional connection. I can think of a Microsoft competitor-
i.e., Apple-that does it very well.”
For such an effort to succeed, Microsoft can’t just consume
personal information about its customers. Instead,
Microsoft employees have to be willing to share their own
interests and passions. Romi responded, “Community
is predicated not only on an honest dialog, but also an
exchange-sometimes even a rancorous exchange-so
we all get better. I’m not arrogant enough to think I have
the right to know something about somebody unless I’m
willing to give equally of myself. We have to find the right
balance and not try to influence customers, but just show
up-show up and be benign.”
I’m curious about what you think of Who Are You. How
much of your personal life do you want to share with Microsoft?
Email me at Karen@windowsitpro.com, or comment
online.
End of Article
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