Are We Truly Loyal to Microsoft?
Microsoft released its new Vista operating system today, the first major release since Windows XP in 2001. For some, it's big news. A few stores had launch parties at midnight to celebrate, and lines of people (mostly in Silicon Valley) waited to be the first ones to buy it. Microsoft has a huge market share, but are its customers truly loyal, or just out of alternatives? Users, especially corporate users, have basically no choice. So the sales of Vista don't necessarily show the true picture.
It's with consumers where Vista will have to prove its mettle, the BBC News says. A Forrester survey of 50,000 consumers suggests that Microsoft is the consumer brand with the highest number of installations, but also the company with the second-lowest approval rating among its customers. Sooner or later those divergent forces will collide, and companies like Apple will be there to pick up the pieces. Bill Gates and company always talk about product features and new technology, but unless they start talking about a long-term customer strategy (specifically for consumers), they might not hold the corner on the market forever.
What do you think? Are there other companies where "forced loyalty" exists? Do companies care about that if they are making money?
