Microsoft launches Bing tomorrow, its new search product. Ad Age reports that Microsoft will spend $80 Million on advertising campaigns to convince us to switch from Google to Bing. Admittedly, the marketing on this is well done so far. The brand name is simple and memorable, and the positioning as a "decision engine" sounds like good differentiation. But the proof will be in the functionality.
Microsoft is going out on a limb, betting that it understands the context of WHY people search for the terms they do. Not just what information they want, but what do they want if for? In particular, this idea holds interesting possibilities for travel, online shopping, local results and health care. The true mark of good service is anticipating your customers' needs before they even know what they want themselves.
So kudos to Microsoft for taking a risk and pushing the envelope. If they actually get this right, it will definitely be a step forward. If not, it will just make search results annoyingly irrelevant. And that would be a shame because the idea behind this new product is fundamentally sound. For all our sakes as consumers, let's hope it works.
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According to recent reports, Microsoft has seen a slight month-over-month increase in market share after its launch of Bing, from 7.8% to 8.2% in June. That's a positive direction, but it still places them third after Yahoo (11%) and Google (78.5%).
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