A few posts back I suggested that the launch of Windows 7 presented several opportunities for creative online marketers who were nimble enough to roll out campaigns and promotions to take advantage of emerging trends. This past weekend I encountered two articles that speak to this.
The first is from The Guardian: Microsoft boosted as Windows 7 sales outpace Vista. The article says early sales figures for Windows 7 suggest “shoppers are switching to Microsoft’s new operating system in their droves, shrugging off the cloud cast by its predecessor, Windows Vista…figures by research firm NPD Group suggested that sales of Windows 7 in the United States were 234% higher than when Vista launched in January 2007.” This is good news for sites hoping to convert visitors with W7 hooks like the ones I outlined (7 Ways Microsoft Windows 7 Can Help Online Retailers: Even if you don’t sell PCs).
And the other article, from CNET a few weeks ago, backs up my thinking that W7 hooks can work beyond the inner circles of Windows devotees: Apple sees Windows 7 as an opportunity to sell Macs. The article talks about Apple looking forward to the release of Windows 7 because “frustrated Windows users will [in Apple's opinion] buy a Mac.”
My point? Savvy marketing means keeping your finger on the pulse of our world and spotting opportunities to connect with your target market wherever, and whenever, they arise. If you have competition–and who doesn’t?– this is not an optional strategy: Your competition will take advantage of those opportunities, potentially at your expense.
Smart marketing also means putting in place a marketing platform that can react quickly to emerging trends. Creating a new Google Adwords campaign takes a matter of minutes but a lot of that ad spend will be wasted if it takes the I.T. department a week to make the appropriate changes to your web site (appropriate coding and placement of messages, graphics, discount codes, and so on).
Why will ad spend be wasted? If your web site does not carry on the conversation you start in those ads, and carry it from the landing page through the entire site experience, then your conversion rate will probably be dismal, and it will certainly be lower than if you have created continuity from the ad through to entire site experience (and all the way to the checkout if you’re an online retailer).
We live in a real-time world, from “as-it-happens” cable news to instant consumer intelligence on Twitter. Simply put, to compete online with a reasonable hope of success you need an online marketing platform that works in real time.
If you’re an online retailer, how excited should you be about today’s launch of Microsoft Windows 7? May I suggest you think of this latest version of Microsoft’s operating system as an exciting marketing opportunity, one that could extend beyond hardware and software sales.
David Brussin
Stephen Cobb
Blair Lyon
Tom Ellis