April 2, 2007 Comments
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What do you do if you've spent tons of money over the last few years attempting to build a product that will compete with the recognized leaders of the industry only to find that no one wants to use it? If you're Microsoft, you apparently start writing checks. The New York Times reports today on Microsoft's decision to pay companies that install the Microsoft search tool as the default option on their office computers.
John Battelle first covered this story a few weeks ago when he wrote about Microsoft's offer of free service and product credits for companies that would use Windows Live as their default search option.
Battelle explained that Windows was offering credits that would equate to about $2-$10 per computer per year if companies would switch their employee computers to Windows Live Search. They even went so far as to suggest employee training and the removal of all search toolbars from employee computers.
It's no small offer. Apart from a sign-up bonus of up to $25K, Battelle explains that a corporation with 10,000 computers and high internet usage could earn up to $120,000 in credits for Microsoft products. That's nothing to sneeze at, even for a mega-corporation.
From The New York Times article:
Adam Sohn, director of global sales and marketing for Windows Live, confirmed that Microsoft would pay large companies $2 to $10 a user annually — the more searches, the larger the bounty earned — in credits that can be used for Microsoft products and training services.
“We’re the underdogs in this business,” Mr. Sohn acknowledged. Breaking users of their inclination to use what he called “the incumbent” — he would not use the “G” word if he could help it — requires a willingness to depart from standard practice, and to weather sniping from outside critics. “There’s always controversy when anyone tries something new,” he said.
Microsoft is seeking 30 companies, each with at least 5,000 PCs, who are willing to sign up and install on employees’ computers a small program — a “browser helper object” — that will count the number of searches performed with Microsoft Live Search.
Microsoft isn't the first company to offer this type of incentive. Yahoo kicked around the idea of a "frequent searcher" program last year and iWon.com launched years ago with the intent of attracting users by offering up the chance to win $10,000 a day just by interacting with the site.
But here's what you need to remember... Yahoo decided NOT to go ahead and iWon is far from the most popular site online.
What it ultimately boils down to is this... if you've got to pay someone to use your product or service, it's probably not a very good product or service. Yes, this program might get people to check Windows Live out, but unless Microsoft plans on paying people to use their product for all eternity, I'm not sure it's the best long-term marketing plan.
I mean sure, Julia Roberts ended up with Richard Gere in the end of Pretty Woman, but she also left the money on the night stand when he tried to pay her...
Jennifer Laycock is the Editor of Search Engine Guide, an educational web site aimed at translating the search marketing world into something that small business owners can understand. Jennifer specializes in common sense search engine marketing, viral marketing and customer outreach via social media and blogs. A former search marketing consultant and in-house trainer, Jennifer’s clients have included companies like Verizon, American Greetings and Highlights for Children. Her primary clients now are a little girl named Elnora and a little boy named Emmitt.
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