Microsoft

Microsoft doesn't get a lot of love these days, does it?

One of the fascinating aspects of Microsoft is their #omnichannel approach to integrating operating systems.

Desktop. Laptop. Tablet. Mobile. All running a common operating system. Nice integration, don't you think? They have retail stores, e-commerce, they sell through third parties, they sell via an endless number of parties, don't they?

So why, do you think, that this integrated system, this #omnichannel approach, has not resulted in Windows dominating tablets and mobile? Doesn't the customer want an integrated experience? That's what we're told, right? We're told that all of our creative and offer strategy and merchandise strategy must be 100% unified across all channels.

Honestly, I don't have the slightest idea why their approach works or does not work. Nor do I care. I'm not here to defend them or to criticize them.

I am here to ask you to focus on what matters, using Microsoft as an example.

What matters is merchandise (or product or content, depending upon your business model). This operating system, across devices, IS the product at Microsoft. So if customers don't like it, they don't buy it.

These days, merchandise is largely ignored. Go read a trade journal or advice from the experts on Twitter. You won't find a discussion about merchandise.

Talk to customers, however, and you'll learn a lot about what customers think about the merchandise we sell.

So please, focus your efforts there. Focus on merchandise.