Microsoft: Marketing Strategy

Marketing Spotlight - Microsoft Microsoft was founded in 1975, when Bill Gates left Harvard at age 19 to work with high school friend Paul Allen on a version of the BASIC programming language. After moving the company from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Seattle in 1979, Gates and Allen began writing operating system software. What happened to the company since its founding is a well-known and often-told story. Key strategies that enabled Microsoft to achieve such remarkable growth in the competition-laden computer industry include product innovation, brand extension, heavy advertising, competitive toughness, and product expansion. In 2005, Microsoft shook up the marketplace - and the m... click for more

Positioning Errors to Avoid and How to Differentiate One's Business

1. YOU HAVE BEEN ASKED TO GIVE A BRIEF LECTURE ON "Positioning Errors to Avoid" for a local Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Provide a brief summary of your lecture. In your lecture be sure to give specific examples, of known service companies avoiding or falling prey to "positioning errors". 2. Ricketts Heating and Air installs natural gas-fired central heating systems with timers. In the wintertime, if the owner of a system wants to have the house cooler when no one is there, but have it heated back up before anyone arrives home, he or she can use this timing system. HOW COULD RICKETTS USE SERVICE TO DIFFERENTIATE ITS HEATING SYSTEMS?

Shaping the market offering with price sensitivity

The online market for travel services will reach $63 billion within a few years, and Priceline.com aims to capture a significant share; already, it is high on the top-ten list of travel Web sites. After a brief period of diversification into name-your-price sales of groceries and gasoline, the company has refocused on its core travel and financial services offerings, including airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, and mortgage loans. The company guarantees that a Priceline.com mortgage is the "lowest-cost loan on the market" and backs this up by paying $300 to any customer who finds a better price. Use the Internet sources, to see how the Priceline system works. At the Priceline w... click for more

Right price vs. fair price

You are a executive for a large multi-national corporation, meeting with general managers ... Prices are often set to satisfy demand or to reflect the premium that consumers are willing to pay for a product or service. Some critics shudder, however, at the thought of $2 bottles of water, $150 running shoes, and $500 concert tickets. TAKE A POSITION: Prices should reflect the value that consumers are willing to pay. vs. Prices should primarily just reflect the cost involved in making a product or service. Explain your position. Thanks.

Managing and Delivering Marketing Programs

Peoples Bank, based in Connecticut, uses its web site as a key channel for reaching individuals, business customers, and prospects. Not only can customers e-mail the bank with questions, they can click on a link to have a bank representative call them with further information or choose another link if they want to chat online. In addition, prospects can open new accounts online, print out and fax account applications, and even order printed checks with a few keystrokes. Now the company has expanded its financial services offerings by adding insurance products for consumers and businesses. Visit the People Web site (www.peoples.com). After looking at the home page, follow the link to r... click for more