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Wednesday, October 4, 2006
Too many Vista choices
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You probably don’t know this but - for several years of my life - I was a junk mail writer. That’s a little like being an e-mail spammer (although at least, with junk mail, we paid the cost of getting it delivered).
But I still remember some of the rules of direct mail marketing. One was to avoid giving the customer too many choices. The theory was that could freeze the customer and lose the order. If a person spent too much time pondering whether to get assortment A, B, C, D, E, F or G … well, he might just give up and order nothing.
I mention all this because Windows Vista will come in a bewildering number of retail versions. Do you buy Windows Vista Ultimate for $399; Windows Vista Business for $299; Windows Vista Home Premium for $239; or Windows Vista Home Basic, which will cost $199?
Or do you switch to a Mac, or standpat with Windows XP?
I understand Microsoft’s theory here - they’ll put all those versions on a single DVD. That way, if you start off with Home Basic and decide that you are more of a Home Premium or Ultimate sort of a person, well you already have the disc. You just pay to upgrade things and unlock the new version.
But I honestly think that there will be more than a little bewilderment by consumers. And - if my old marketing lessons still apply - that’s bad news for Microsoft.
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