marketing excellence microsoft case study

• Business transformation
• Thought leadership

Modern Marketing: The Case of Microsoft US

• By Valerie Beaulieu, Chief Marketing Officer, Microsoft US

As the Chief Marketing Officer of Microsoft in the US, I’ve embarked on a journey of marketing transformation that kicked off as Satya Nadella became our new CEO. As Microsoft “hit refresh”, the way we do marketing has to be re-thought putting the customer first while leveraging all that modern marketing could offer. As I travel the country to gather first-hand feedback from our customers, I realized that regardless of industry or size of company, many of my CMO peers face a similar set of challenges & opportunities.

B2B customers’ expectations are shaped by their consumer experience

As digital becomes more ingrained in our daily lives, we all have common ground in experience as a consumer. Because of this, we bring the same expectations that we have as consumers in our personal life to our professional life, and as such, even as a B2B customer, we expect to be treated with the same principles as B2C companies treat their end consumer, which include:

• Respect . B2B customers expect to be communicated with in a respectful way, without intrusion and through the channels and times that they are open to – with the right context, with the right intent, and taking care to respect the privacy of personal data with the utmost care.
• Seamless . Customers expect a seamless customer experience across marketing interactions and sales engagements – messaging, brand, voice, experience – all consistently delivered from “one” organization.
• Value . Beyond just relevance, customers expect value, which could be anything to make life easier, save time, save money, or to somehow enable an organization to be more efficient. Customers are far too sophisticated to deal with standard sales pitches, as time is a precious commodity for all.

Boards are looking at CMOs to identify the next growth engines and drive customer lifetime value

Many CEOs see CMOs as agents of transformation and growth and this perspective often puts pressure on CMOs to address top CEO concerns, such as:

• Developing customer loyalty to unlock value and provide competitive edge
• Keeping pace with customer needs and expectations, especially digital natives, Millennials, GenZ…
• Ensuring quality of data & insights, that will inform strategic decisions
• Anticipating disruptive trends to secure competitiveness & relevance

Marketing teams are struggling to adjust to modern marketing imperatives

And lastly, but perhaps most importantly, today’s CMOs must straddle the line between creative and scientist, which coincidentally reflects the evolution of modern marketing into a unique blend of art and science. Content marketing, social engagement, and event experientials – these are the functional areas where the artistry lies, while data, reporting, and marketing automation, reside among the core scientific foundations upon which modern marketing is built.

As the CMO for Microsoft in the US, I share the same challenges. And to address these new imperatives, we are anchoring our transformation on three pillars: culture, capabilities and technology. Today, I believe the unique blend of these three components is enabling us to improve every day the quality and the relevance of our customer experience while driving long lasting trust into our brand.

• Culture . As part of our cultural transformation we shifted from a “know-it-all” culture to a “learn-it-all” culture. We are a team of learners who are in a constant state of learning from each other, looking for opportunities to share and build upon each other’s work. We are diverse and inclusive, where we invite and benefit from the differences among each other.
• Capabilities . For us, marketing transformation is also about the capabilities that are enabled by our people and our organization. For example, on the people front, we have invested in a Marketing Excellence Manager, whose principal function is to empower our team with learning, and to help our people develop the technical and inter-personal skills that will allow them to succeed in their current roles and beyond. On the organizational front, we have developed highly customized, highly focused programs that are constructed to deliver meaningful customer experiences across the right channels, content and platforms, regardless of whether the experiences we are delivering are digital or in-person.
• Social engagement. Our best-in-class social engagement program, which in leveraging Azure deep learning, allows our team of real people to work through over 115 million social conversations a year, engaging with prospects, customers and fans at every stage of the buyer’s journey, while Microsoft 365 enables our teams to communicate in real-time to collaborate on conversations.
• Connected sales & marketing . Bringing together Dynamics 365, Azure Machine Learning and AI, we are able to quickly, efficiently, and intelligently acquire, nurture, score and transfer leads to our sellers through our Global Demand Center and Sales Daily Recommender programs that enable both marketing and sales teams to present more valuable, relevant information to each and every customer.
• Data-driven decision making . Using a robust set of Power BI dashboards, our teams have evolved from leveraging data to leveraging insights to make smarter, faster decisions. Using Power BI, we are able to visualize volumes of customer and third-party data that can be used by any marketer, in understanding and measuring the business impact of our marketing efforts.

Over the next few months, please join me here on the Microsoft in Business blog, as I go deeper on each of these areas, and share my thoughts and experiences with you. I’d also love to hear what opportunities and challenges your organizations are facing as well as explore other topics that are pertinent to the modern marketing organization of today.

Join the conversation:

@MSFT_Business  on Twitter  

Microsoft in Business on Facebook  

Register for Valerie Beaulieu’s upcoming online event where she will unfold  how Microsoft is harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence  to empower marketing.

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Microsoft’s Market Success Strategy: A Case Study

• 15 Comments
• Published on 12 Sep 2023

Table of Contents

From garage to global giant: microsoft's incredible journey, decoding microsoft’s marketing secret: 4p marketing mix, microsoft’s marketing strategies for global tech supremacy.

Every tech giant has its modest starts, and Microsoft is no exception. Today, Microsoft is a name synonymous with advanced software innovation, global tech control, and a universal presence on countless computers worldwide. But how did it all begin? Just like every other successful venture, it began with a dream and a well-thought-out Microsoft advertising strategy.

A Dorm Room Dream: The Birth of Microsoft

In the mid-1970s in the town of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Bill Gates and Paul Allen Dared to Dream , huddling in a small dorm room at Harvard University shared a vision. This vision changed the world of computing forever, an uncertain goal to put a computer on every desk in every home.

Microsoft's first big break came when they signed a contract with MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems), a microcomputer company, to provide a BASIC interpreter for their Altair 8800. This crucial moment led the success of their BASIC interpreter, allowing Microsoft to expand its horizons. Gates and Allen developed a BASIC interpreter, fittingly named Altair BASIC , for the MITS Altair 8800.

This BASIC interpreter was revolutionary because it allowed users to program the Altair using a high-level language, making it accessible to a wider audience. It became a hit among early computer enthusiasts, and this achievement laid the foundation for Microsoft's future.

Windows: The Operating System Breakthrough

The turning point to their success was the licensing deal with IBM in 1980. IBM was working on a top-secret project: the IBM PC. To meet IBM's request, Microsoft purchased an operating system known as 86-DOS. With a few modifications and updates, it was then named MS-DOS.

This deal with IBM helped Microsoft introduce to the mainstream and making MS-DOS the operating system for the IBM PC. Fast forward to 1985, Microsoft introduced the new Windows 1.0, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for MS-DOS. Windows was a game-changing operating system with the best known user-friendly experience. Further innovations like Windows 3.0, Windows 95, and Windows XP took Microsoft to the top in the software industry.

Not just Microsoft, about every tech giant with global recognition, including Microsoft marketing mix, owes a significant part of its success to its specifically crafted marketing mix, often referred to as the 4Ps. These Microsoft 4ps, the four pillars, serve as the cornerstone of Microsoft's marketing strategy, encapsulating their approach to reaching millions of customers worldwide. The Microsoft marketing strategy effectively utilizes these principles to connect with a vast and diverse global audience.

Microsoft’s Product Marketing Strategy:

Innovative Software Solutions: Microsoft's product portfolio is a testament to innovation. From the iconic Windows operating system to the versatile Microsoft Office suite and cutting-edge cloud solutions like Azure, their products cater to a vast spectrum of individual and business needs.

Hardware Excellence: Beyond software, Microsoft has ventured into hardware, producing devices like the Surface lineup, exemplifying their dedication to quality and innovation in hardware development. This commitment extends to their Xbox marketing strategy, where they strategically position their gaming consoles in the ever-evolving tech landscape, fostering both innovation and gaming experiences.

Constant Evolution: Microsoft's commitment to product development and improvement is unwavering. Regular updates, patches, and new features keep their software and services relevant and secure.

Microsoft’s Price Strategy:

Diverse Pricing Models: Microsoft adopts a flexible pricing strategy, offering a variety of pricing models, from one-time purchases to subscription-based services. This approach accommodates both individual users and enterprises, allowing them to choose what best suits their budget and needs.

Value for Money: Microsoft ensures that its products and services deliver tangible value. Whether it's the productivity boost from Office 365 or the scalability of Azure, customers often find that Microsoft's offerings justify their cost.

Microsoft’s Place Strategy:

Global Accessibility: Microsoft's products and services are accessible worldwide. Whether you're in a bustling metropolis or a remote village, Microsoft's reach ensures that you can access their solutions.

Partner Network: Microsoft's extensive network of partners and distributors facilitates the availability of their products in physical and digital marketplaces. This network ensures that Microsoft's solutions are never out of reach.

Microsoft’s Promotion Strategy:

Strategic Partnerships: Microsoft has a knack for forming strategic partnerships with other industry leaders. Collaborations with companies like Adobe, SAP, and LinkedIn enhance the appeal of Microsoft's offerings and expand their customer base.

Educational Initiatives: Microsoft invests heavily in educational programs and resources, making their products accessible to students and educators. This not only fosters brand loyalty but also ensures that future professionals are well-versed in Microsoft tools.

Digital Marketing: Microsoft employs a robust digital marketing strategy, utilizing social media, content marketing, and online advertising to reach and engage with their audience effectively. Their presence in the digital landscape is pervasive.

The 4P marketing mix, including product, price, place, and promotion, is the core framework for shaping Microsoft's marketing strategy. This strategic approach, known as the Microsoft marketing mix, plays a pivotal role in guiding the company's marketing efforts.

However, they may also incorporate additional strategies, such as people and processes (part of the 6P), to enhance their marketing efforts. Nonetheless, the Microsoft 4ps, including Microsoft marketing strategy , are the fundamental components of their marketing strategy.

Microsoft's journey to tech supremacy has been marked by astute marketing strategies, including a nuanced focus on the Microsoft marketing strategy , which has set industry standards. These strategies encompass a range of approaches, each contributing to their global dominance.

1. Microsoft's Precision with STP Marketing

Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (STP) have been pivotal in Microsoft's success story. Microsoft meticulously segments its vast and diverse customer base, allowing for tailored marketing efforts. By identifying the unique needs of various segments, such as through particular Microsoft market segmentation, they create targeted campaigns and solutions, ensuring that their products resonate with the right audience. Microsoft's positioning strategy, emphasizing innovation, reliability, and user-centricity, solidifies their place in customers' minds as a tech leader.

2. CRM Strategy for Building Customer Bonds

Building lasting customer relationships is a cornerstone of Microsoft's marketing strategy. They utilize Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools to collect valuable data and insights. This data-driven approach enables Microsoft to anticipate customer needs, personalize experiences, and provide exceptional support. By nurturing these relationships, Microsoft fosters brand loyalty and advocates among its customer base.

3. Events and Sponsorship

Microsoft's presence at major industry events and strategic sponsorships, such as those aligned with their robust Microsoft marketing strategy , is a testament to their commitment to global tech supremacy. They leverage these platforms not only to showcase their latest innovations but also to engage with customers, partners, and developers. These events serve as hubs for networking, knowledge sharing, and building a vibrant tech ecosystem.

4. The MVP Initiative for Community Building

Microsoft's MVP (Most Valuable Professional) initiative is a testament to their commitment to community building. This program recognizes and empowers exceptional individuals within the tech community who advocate for Microsoft technologies. By nurturing this community, Microsoft fosters a sense of belonging, collaboration, and innovation. MVPs become brand ambassadors, driving product adoption and advocacy globally.

1. How does Microsoft's focus on customer-centricity benefit its marketing strategy?

Microsoft's unwavering focus on customer-centricity ensures that their marketing efforts align with customer needs. By segmenting their diverse customer base and offering personalized solutions, Microsoft not only retains its existing customer base but also attracts new ones. This approach strengthens brand loyalty and solidifies their position as a trusted tech leader.

2. What is Microsoft's STP marketing strategy? Mention its impact on their global success.

Microsoft's STP marketing strategy, often referred to as the "Microsoft marketing strategy"—Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning—are integral to their global success. It allows them to identify distinct customer segments, tailor products and marketing campaigns to suit each group, and position themselves as innovators and problem solvers. This precision ensures that their products resonate with the right audience, driving global adoption.

3. Why are events and sponsorships essential components of Microsoft's marketing strategy?

Events and sponsorships are pivotal components of Microsoft's overarching marketing strategy , serving as critical touch points for the company to engage with customers, partners, and developers on a global scale. These platforms consistently offer opportunities to showcase innovations, foster networking, and strengthen the tech ecosystem. Microsoft's active and strategic presence at such events effectively reinforces its position as a global tech leader in the field of Microsoft marketing strategy .

Whether you're launching a new product or building a brand, a good strategy is the key to success. Having a smart marketing plan, like Microsoft's marketing strategy, is super important. Microsoft's marketing methods are a great example of how to make a successful plan.

Understanding your customers is the first step in crafting a successful Microsoft advertising strategy. Knowing what they like and need helps you create a marketing plan that works. To build a winning marketing strategy , you need to listen to your team and your customers. It makes it much easier to come up with a plan to sell your product. In today's competitive market, having a solid grasp of your target audience's preferences and requirements is crucial for developing an effective advertising strategy.

Microsoft's company marketing strategy, known for its customer-centric approach, offers valuable insights to businesses. By thoroughly comprehending customer preferences, Microsoft equips enterprises to not only survive but also thrive in the ever-evolving tech landscape. This customer-focused strategy stands as a blueprint for success in today's competitive market.

Building a Brand Marketing Strategy, Creating a Social Media Marketing Strategy, all of these are the key aspects that shape your product’s success. To make your way to the top in this digital world, you must understand how to use digital marketing correctly and implement.

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Our technical content writer, Sushmith, is an experienced writer, creating articles and content for websites, specializing in the areas of training programs and educational content. His writings are mainly concerned with the most major developments in specialized certification and training, e-learning, and other significant areas in the field of education.

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Marketing Excellence: Microsoft

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Using the Marketing Excellence: Microsoft case study, address the following:

1. Evaluate Microsoft's product and marketing evolution over the years. What has the company done well, and where did it falter? 2. Through the application of a political, economic, social, and technological (PEST) analysis, what are the current environmental factors impacting Microsoft? 3. Who are the top three competitors of Microsoft, and what are their advantages/disadvantages with respect to satisfying the value proposition of their customers? 4. Evaluate Microsoft's recent expansions into areas such as search engines and smartphones. Do you think these are good areas of growth for Microsoft with a focus on customer value, satisfaction, and loyalty?

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Solution summary.

The review into Microsoft marketplace strategy to accomplish the set goals in brand identity and customer satisfaction loyalty through the PESTEL evaluation.

Solution Preview

1. Evaluate Microsoft's product and marketing evolution over the years. What has the company done well, and where did it falter?

Try and focus on the Microsoft strategy to open retail stores and create numerous products to stay relevant and competitive. In this approach, the product launch and marketing efforts assisted into the move in the late 1990s and mid 200s. Keep in mind, the case study reflected on that during the mid-1990s, Microsoft entered the notorious "browser wars" as companies struggled to find their place during the Internet boom aiming for a strong hold on already taken marketplace by Netscape. It is in this position that the evolution of Microsoft failures encouraged new thinking approaches to reach their targeted goal ...

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96003 Marketing Spotlight - Microsoft 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.

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Marketing Excellence: How It's Measured, Who Values It

Christian Homburg, Marcus Theel and Sebastian Hohenberg

Marketing excellence is gaining increasing attention among managers and investors. Despite this, the nature of marketing excellence and its effectiveness remain unclear. A new Journal of Marketing article offers insight in this area by addressing two questions: How do managers understand and exercise marketing excellence? and how do investors evaluate marketing excellence?

In the first study, our research team conducted 39 in-depth interviews with senior managers of global companies and augmented the data with secondary data on 150 firm strategies, applying the theories-in-use methodology. Findings reveal that marketing excellence is a strategy focused on achieving organic growth by executing three priorities: marketing ecosystem, end-user, and marketing agility. The marketing ecosystem priority is a firm’s strategic means of growing the business by developing mutually beneficial networks in the proximal and distal firm environment. The end-user priority promotes engaging with the final customers who apply or consume the firm’s offering and leveraging the final customer insights for growing the business. Finally, the marketing agility priority facilitates the execution of growth activities by the marketing organization and its members through simplified structures and processes, fast decision making, and trial and error learning. By delineating the components of marketing excellence, this study advances the field’s understanding of what marketing excellence is. These advancements are of substantive value because they guide managers about where they can invest in marketing excellence and how to communicate marketing excellence to internal and external stakeholders.

The second study quantifies the impact of marketing excellence on firm value, which refers to investors’ expectations of future cash flows, and then compares these effects with the effects of current marketing strategy concepts. We choose firm value as the central outcome variable because it is a comprehensive and accurate measure for evaluating the impact of marketing strategy concepts. Using 8,317 letters to shareholders from 1,727 annual reports between 1998 and 2016, we measured marketing excellence with a machine learning algorithm and an original dictionary and then assessed the impact of marketing excellence on firm value. Results are similar across the two marketing excellence measures: The machine learning algorithm (4.80%) and the original dictionary (8.58%) had one-year abnormal returns significantly higher than benchmark portfolios. These performance metrics are even higher in the period from 2014 to 2017 where the marketing excellence portfolio achieved average annual returns of 16.82%, significantly outstripping market orientation and marketing capabilities portfolios (1.95% and 8.53% respectively). These results show that investors value marketing excellence more highly than they value strategies based on market orientation and marketing capabilities.

In addition to contributing to marketing academia, study results have important implications for managers and educators. First, we recommend that managers use the results to coordinate and communicate marketing excellence. For instance, the findings offer guidance for developing marketing excellence checklists and key performance indicators. Second, we recommend that educators use the findings to explain to future managers the strategic role of marketing in driving firms’ organic growth. In addition, we recommend that educators develop new courses that align firms’ decision fields for growth in terms of the marketing ecosystem, end user, and marketing agility. The findings of this research provide educators with direction on the content and scope of such courses. 

Read the full article . 

Read the authors’ slides for sharing this material in your classroom.

From:  Christian Homburg, Marcus Theel, and Sebastian Hohenberg, “ Marketing Excellence: Nature, Measurement, and Investor Valuations ,” Journal of Marketing .

Go to the Journal of Marketing

Mapping Customer Thinking with Theories-In-Use

What’s the Secret Behind the World’s Stickiest Brands?

How to Make Your Market Research Deliver More Value

Christian Homburg is Professor of Business Administration and Marketing, University of Mannheim, Germany, and Distinguished Professorial Fellow, University of Manchester, UK.

Marcus Theel is a doctoral candidate, Marketing Department, University of Mannheim, Germany.

Sebastian Hohenberg is Assistant Professor of Marketing, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin.

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Microsoft Generating 135% partner growth for Microsoft

A VIP selection, training and sales support program empowered partners and delivered millions of dollars of revenue.

growth for enrolled partners, compared to…

growth for partners not in the program

partners recruited and trained

Microsoft Surface wanted its partners to sell a combination of Microsoft hardware and software, but partners found the integrated proposition complex.

Microsoft recognized that people wanted a tech experience at work that reflected their seamless experience at home.

To take advantage of the estimated $100bn opportunity, they needed partners to shift from piecemeal hardware and software sales to selling the full device-as-a-service Modern Workplace proposition.

We developed a five-step program to recruit, onboard, train, motivate and equip hundreds of partner organizations to market better and sell more.

The strategy

The program kicked off with a new articulation of the Modern Workplace proposition to inspire partners and help them sell the value.

We selected and approached partners to join the program, helped them with onboarding procedures, delivered product and sales training on the new proposition, shared success stories from around the channel to help motivate them, and gave them access to marketing materials which were designed to be easily customized and deployed.

The results

Against an initial target of 100 partners, 141 were enrolled into the program.

The impact on partners was measured and used as part of the recruitment process. Enrolled partners grew by 135% compared to 40% for partners who weren’t in the program. Pipeline in the hundreds of millions and revenue in the tens of millions was generated for Microsoft Surface.

The program in numbers

growth for enrolled partners, compared to...

Empowering our partners through this program has delivered beyond our expectations. The financial results speak for themselves. But what we also see and hear is partners enjoying the program, and feeling closer to the Microsoft Surface brand because of how we’ve invested in them and their businesses.

Connor Douglass Surface Product Marketing at Microsoft Corporation

Key deliverables

Partner recruitment.

Partners were selected based on previous relationships, experience selling Microsoft, and business profile. The team ran a targeted outreach campaign to recruit the partners.

Partner onboarding

Partners were fast-tracked based on identification of near-term opportunities, and supported in navigating Microsoft’s systems.

Training platform

A comprehensive training platform was created, encompassing technical product training, commercial sales training and supporting resources.

Partner marketing materials

Microsoft Partner’s training library was audited and updated for the new proposition. An automated system was produced for partners, pre-populated with customizable Microsoft marketing materials.

Partner pipeline reporting

Pipeline was tracked and regularly reported on, to show that partners generated more sales by joining the program.

Where we've made the difference

Our win-win approach drives proven business outcomes.

Virgin Media O2 Business

Driving return on partner investment

A blueprint for partner marketing excellence that generated £8.4M in pipeline.

Upskilling the channel opened new markets and delivered growth for Microsoft and its partners

A VIP partner selection, training and sales support program helped Microsoft Surface shift to selling ‘device-as-a-service’, delivering millions of dollars of revenue and 135% partner growth

Ready to grow?

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Embedding ABM with MEA finalists IBM and Microsoft

• 14 Apr 2023

Written by:

Alisha Lyndon

To celebrate the 50th episode of our ABM Podcast, we honor the outstanding achievements of the 2022 Marketing Excellence Awards (MEA) Gold Winner Cheryl Caudill, Global Program Office Leader at IBM, and finalist Ankica Jedry, Scaling Account Based Engagement Lead at Microsoft. As the deadline for submissions to this year’s Marketing Excellence Awards nears, Cheryl and Ankica share their inspirational journeys of embedding ABM within their organizations, and the approaches that led to their success.

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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: How a large communications company unlocked value through sales and marketing excellence

Client: Large communications company

Our Role: Execute a major Sales and Marketing Excellence transformation in a relatively compressed timeframe.

Industry: Technology, Media and Telecommunications

Services: Data and analytics , Customer Strategy , Technology

Client Challenge:

Unlock the value of a recently acquired holding company Private Equity (PE) firms (at least the successful ones) are experts at identifying latent value. Sometimes this value involves the carve-out of an underperforming division or a recombination of assets to support a new business model. More often than not, it has to do with the identification and remediation of organizational and operational inefficiencies. And that was the case here. Our original client was a PE firm who asked us to perform due diligence on a potential target who had a valuable business, but one that had grown through multiple acquisitions over the years. The target had kept the acquired companies operating as stand-alone units even though their markets, portfolios and channels were complementary. This was a familiar story. We had seen it many times before, as had our client. We both knew what to do. Our client went through with the acquisition and we then began working with the new management team of the acquired company to execute the Sales and Marketing transformation we had discussed during the due diligence process.

“In many respects, our client’s company was a transformation waiting to happen. The acquisition proved to be the catalyst that enabled them to make the necessary changes to their Sales and Marketing model, and management and staff were very active and willing partners with PwC. Our experience working with clients on similar Sales and Marketing Excellence transformation helped us to accelerate the process and the benefits for the client.” Charlie Hohenshelt, PwC Principal

Leverage PwC’s Sales and Marketing Excellence methodology to effect client transformation To say that we had seen this before is an understatement. Sales and Marketing inefficiencies in all types of organizations are so pervasive, so common, that we’ve developed a methodology called Sales and Marketing Excellence for dealing with them. To be fair, part of the issue is that the sales and marketing disciplines have gone through a massive transition over the past 15 years, primarily driven by technology and customer experience. Many organizations are caught with one foot in the more traditional model and the other utilizing a more modern approach based on sales and marketing automation and customer experience. Sure, they are in transition, and change doesn’t happen overnight, but the overhead, inefficiency and opportunity cost associated with being stuck in an outdated sales and marketing model is huge, and it drains value from the rest of the organization. You need a hard cut-over and a go-forward plan. And that’s where our Sales and Marketing solution came in. The acquired company had five operating silos, each with its own sales and marketing organization, each using a different set of sales and marketing tools, and each with different sales processes and their own management structure. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Across the five legacy business units, there were 41 different lead status values, 47 different opportunity types, 92 different opportunity stage values and 128 different account types. Added to this, the sales organizations were top heavy, the compensation plans incentivized renewals over account growth, and there was zero cross-selling. No wonder that new logo bookings had declined over 50% in two years. Using PwC’s Sales and Marketing Excellence framework, expertise and perspective as a guide, we developed an organizational design that would allow the client to unify the five units into one, with a rationalized go-to-market and segmentation model, and a consolidated management structure and selling model. We looked at sales roles, compensation, the selling process, channel structure, sales and marketing technology, and pricing. We established global client teams to design a common “gold standard” and gain consensus on how teams would operate to drive revenue and customer impact. We helped recruit new leaders with a fresh perspective to build a high-performance sales culture that focused on accountability and pay for performance. That’s not to say that what we found was all bad. Even though each of the operating units had their own marketing automation tools, CRM systems, and sales processes our analysis found that there were aspects of these technologies and processes that would enhance the unified go-to-market model. We recommended to the client that they leave the marketing automation stacks in place for the time being to minimize disruption and focus instead on converging on Salesforce as a single CRM. The existing marketing automation tools were familiar to the staff and could be easily integrated with Salesforce. PwC helped implement a preconfigured Salesforce solution, tailored to provide a common platform for capturing customer segmentation, pipeline, lead and opportunity stage, and revenue.  This approach resulted in standardizing 41 lead status values to five, standardizing 47 different opportunity types to three, standardizing 92 different opportunity stage values to six, and 128 different account types were collapsed to five. Life just got a whole lot simpler for the sales team. We also helped the client reduce management overhead, add external sales reps, shift hybrid sellers into more focused roles, add high-velocity inside sales reps, and add more technical sales and backend support. In addition, given this streamlined go-to-market model, we were able to help the client greatly simplify the compensation structure. We simplified the number of measures in the compensation plan from 212 to two, collapse 78 comp plans into 12 plans globally, add a growth component to all plans and greatly accelerate the  speed at which the reps get paid. The client became a selling machine.

Unified Sales & Marketing organization optimized around winning and new logo growth Working with our client, our solution team was able to execute a major Sales and Marketing Excellence transformation in a relatively compressed timeframe. We unified the five discrete sales teams into one, with the ability for the first time to cross-sell across product portfolios. We increased sales and support capacity while eliminating management bloat and streamlining operations. In the process, we were able to eliminate $15M in labor costs within the sales force. And it doesn’t stop there. While the client is just in their first year of operating under the new model, having done similar Sales and Marketing transformations with other clients and having conducted extensive benchmarking, we think we know what this client can expect: a 10 - 15% increase in total revenue, sales per customer and deal conversion; 25 - 50% faster sales cycle time; 10 - 20% better customer satisfaction; 5 - 10% higher gross margin; and a 20 - 35% increase in cross-selling and upselling.

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Charlie Hohenshelt

Sales and Commercial Transformation Partner, PwC US

Ed Basanese

Principal, Salesforce Advisory, PwC US

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MBA 5501 Columbia Southern Microsoft Good & Bad Marketing Strategies Case Study

User Generated

Columbia Southern University

Description

Microsoft Case Study

Case studies are an essential learning strategy in business classes as they provide an opportunity for you to critically analyze events that have taken place in real-life businesses. This develops your critical thinking and research skills as you research the competition and industry in which your business resides in order to formulate a recommendation for the challenges faced by the company.

For this unit, review the “Marketing Excellence: Microsoft” case study (see attachment). This assignment will be comprised of two parts; one part will ask you to respond to questions, and the other will require you to complete a case analysis.

Evaluate this case and respond to each of the following questions using both theory and practical managerial thinking.

• Evaluate Microsoft’s product and marketing evolution over the years. What has the company done well, and where did it falter?
• Evaluate Microsoft’s recent expansion into areas such as search engines and smartphones. Do you think these are good areas of growth for Microsoft? Why, or why not?
• Review the potential ethical implications of Microsoft’s situation. How might they revise their strategies to align with good ethical practices?

Your Part 1 response must be at least two pages in length. Follow APA Style when creating citations and references for this assignment. Note that you will submit Part 1 and Part 2 in one document.

Complete a case analysis of Microsoft. This requires that you conduct research on Microsoft beyond the case study material in the textbook. In the case analysis, you will look at the situational analysis, problem, and alternatives, and you will provide a recommendation. Refer to the instructions below as you construct your analysis.

• Situational Analysis
• Discuss the external environment through the compilation of a PEST (political, economic, sociocultural, and technology) analysis.
• Discuss the internal and external environment through the compilation of a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis.
• Identify at least one organizational problem that Microsoft is currently having or one that you project it will have in the future. Base this on your research and critical thinking.
• Alternatives
• Compile three or four potential marketing-related solutions to the problem above. Remember that these are potential alternatives; you will not select all of the alternatives to solve the problem.
• Recommendation (Marketing Strategy)
• Select one or two of the alternatives above to solve the problem that you identified in this case analysis.
• Discuss your rationale for choosing these and not the others. Include supporting research that will increase the depth of your analysis.

Part 2 must be at least four pages in length. Follow APA Style when creating citations and references for this assignment. Support Part 2 with at least three sources. As aforementioned, keep in mind that Part 1 and Part 2 will be submitted in one document.

Unformatted Attachment Preview

Explanation & Answer

Attached. Please let me know if you have any questions or need revisions. Running head: MICROSOFT’S MARKETING EXCELLENCE Microsoft’s Marketing Excellence Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date 1 MICROSOFT’S MARKETING EXCELLENCE 2 Microsoft's Marketing Excellence Part 1 Microsoft’s Good and Bad Marketing Strategies A business’ purpose is consumer creation. Therefore, a business will have two major functions: innovation and marketing. Innovation and marketing produce outcomes; all others are expenses. Microsoft’s marketing is generally good. Microsoft always ensured there was a product. A product fulfills a need. After developing IBM’s operating system, it was set to ensure each individual had a computer. It provided a range of products, such as Windows, Excel, and DOS. The product range continued growing. In the 1990s, Windows 3.0 could be pre-installed into particular PCs. The company expanded to browsing products and smartphones. Microsoft’s products were suitable and appropriate for the market then and now. According to the case study, various magazine advertisements and campaigns are used to increase Microsoft’s consumer awareness. Microsoft invested in its marketing. For example, magazine advertising costs millions. Campaigns included “Windows 7 was my idea” in 2009 that increased the customer base. In 2013, Microsoft had opened at least 30 stores across Canada and the United States. Product distribution maintained the constant flow of customers (Khan, 2014). According to the general manager, “In person, you get a very different experience and it’s one we’ve been very delighted to provide. When you see our technology in person—when you can touch and feel it— a light goes off.” This means that Microsoft also thought about what people saw when they had contact with Microsoft- proper packaging (Khan, 2014). Most importantly, Microsoft was concerned about people-its customers. They utilized direct connection (customer feedback) to know market needs. Despite its marketing successes, Microsoft used predatory pricing (free MICROSOFT’S MARKETING EXCELLENCE 3 internet explorer) to send Netscape out of the market was against the law. The Anti-trust charges soiled its reputation. It had numerous lawsuits, and charges that cost money. This injured competition, and resulted in market domination (monopoly). It was illegal (Leslie, 2013). Was Microsoft’s Expansion a Good Idea? Microsoft’s strategy for product expansion resulted in increased sales and big market shares; thus a good idea (De Loecker, 2016). Microsoft first captured the target market’s interest through operating systems. After the DOS, Windows, and Excel success, it decided to enter the “browser wars” with Netscape. Its browser, the internet explorer, was included as Microsoft’s product. It was available for free, and almost five million users were amassed overnight. It also explored the gaming industry with Xbox, and its stock price rose by more than forty dollars per share. Currently, it offers home entertainment, smartphones, and a softw...

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