The Contender’s Corner - Microsoft Competing in the Mobile Marketplace

This week’s Challenger Brand is one you would not expect – Microsoft. The reason we chose Microsoft as this week’s challenger brand is because of their announcement to aggressively compete in the mobile market with the introduction of their new Surface tablet and Windows Phone 8.

Surface tablet is Microsoft’s latest attempt to dive into the hardware market (previous hardware includes Xbox and Zune) and their first launch of the upcoming Windows 8 operating system on a mobile device. The device offers some interesting features such as the Touch Cover (detachable keyboard cover), Flash capabilities and a USB port. Whereas Microsoft has always been a leader in software, they are a challenger brand when it comes to developing integrated PC hardware – especially in the tablet market. Microsoft faces a number of challenges entering this competitive market so late in the game. First, Apple & Google collectively hold around 99% of the worldwide tablet market and have set a high bar on tablet quality & usability. Also, as a late player – their success will depend heavily on third-party content offerings and strong software integration.

Apollo, the new Windows 8 phone touts its own set of new features and enhancements such as a new start screen, multi-core processor and memory card support. The phone will also feature a new Wallet hub where users can store their credit cards, loyalty and membership cards as well as coupons. Unlike the Google Wallet, all of your information is stored on a secure SIM card, not the device. In addition, the phone will feature NFC tap-to-pay capabilities. Microsoft has made it clear that they intend to go after Apple with this technology. “Google has the NFC payment, Apple has Passbook, we’ll have both.”

With current trends showing a decline in traditional PC sales and subsequent software sales for Microsoft, going mobile is a survival strategy they need to remain competitive. Anyone who uses analytics on their website can see this new trend - each year more and more people are visiting sites using a mobile device. Also, the overall tablet market has grown 120% year over year. These new industry trends lead us to one big question – is your website optimized for a mobile audience?

Mobile Compatibility - Are You Ready?

Whether you are thinking about creating a website or have one currently, you need to focus efforts to make sure your site is ready for mobile visitors. It’s hard to say how long or if mobile devices will replace your current PC - however, sales show that tablets are outpacing PC sales by leaps and bounds. Also, forecasts predict that there will be 1.7 billion mobile internet users by 2013.

So what happens when visitors visit a website on a mobile device and have a hard time navigating – they leave and usually don’t come back. Also, the amount of time it takes to load a website on these devices can frustrate users. Many people spend a lot of time working on the design of their website to make sure it’s compatible with all major desktop browsers, but they forget the percentage of site visitors that come by way of mobile devices.

Below are a few takeaways that you can consider when optimizing your website for a mobile device:

1. Create a smaller, scaled down version: Reducing the size of your images can greatly increase your site speed on a mobile device. Also, strive to simply the navigation – remember, they’re viewing your site on a much smaller device.
2. Don’t rely on Flash: Although Microsoft’s tablet and a few others permit Flash, not all mobile devices do. The best practice is to stick with plain HTML/CSS or HTML5 standards.
3. Offer standard site access: Give your visitors a choice. Some people like to view the full robust site and some prefer a scaled version. Offer them an option to “click to view” the main / non-mobile site.

These are just a few examples of what to consider when preparing for a mobile audience. If you’re in the market to update your site, contact us – we’d be happy to provide a road map and the guidance you’ll need to make sure you’re website is ready for a mobile audience.

Also, take a moment to share your experiences below. Let us know what you think of Microsoft as a challenger brand and where you see mobile technology taking us in the future!

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