So you got a monopoly huh? Guess again

One of the most powerful monopolies most people don't know about looks like it is coming apart at the seams. The Associated Press, the newspaper wire service, has been in business since 1846 without much of a challenge. Until now.

The Associated Press has been arrogant, painfully behind the times and overpriced for years. Over the last few months a number of newspapers have canceled their service while regional newspapers have started their own wire service. Even CNN has seen a chink in AP's armor and has started to offer a wire services to newspapers.

As a monopoly AP has charged prices that are 4-10 times more expensive than their closest competitor for lackluster 3rd party web products hoping their partner newspapers wouldn't know any better. Sorry AP, but the jig is up. Thanks to the web, and open source tools, price has never been more competitive.

So what does this have to do with marketing? Often marketing is word of mouth and reputation. The AP has a bad reputation that carries from one newspaper to another and has continued to eroded their image. AP has a good core product, delivering accurate stories quickly, but their other products are lackluster and over-priced. AP has forgotten one of the most fundamental problems of a monopoly--they forgot about their customers. When your customers believe you aren't looking out for them--and only for yourself--eventually it will come back to bite you in the backside.

No matter how good your company is. No matter how big your company becomes, never forget your company is dependent upon one thing: your customers.

Why cool commercials won't help Microsoft, but what could?

I don't think ads can change how consumers perceive a company. And that's why Jerry Seinfeld isn't going to save Microsoft's reputation with "cool geeks."

What did you remember about Hyundai ten years ago? That they were a cheap car with a long warranty--mostly because a lot was going to go wrong. Well, Hyundai now makes a good car and people have started to realize it. The product rules the day not the commercial. When was the last time you bought a car because of a commercial? What about based upon a friend's recommendation? Probably the latter. Make something good and the rest will follow.

Get that Microsoft?

Here is a commercial that would really prove quality: Take an Apple and Windows based computer and show both computers starting up at the beginning of the commercial. The fact is that a Windows Vista computer can't start up before the commercial ends while the Apple computer would start up fast enough to leave fifteen seconds to discuss why Apple is faster and more reliable.

The problem with Microsoft is that they don't fix problems. They are so arrogant that they don't believe they have to. If they want to fix their reputation they need to fix their problems.

Hyundai dreams of being Mercedes. Who does Microsoft dream of being? My guess is no one.. they figure everyone dreams of being them. That's the problem with monopolies--competition breeds greatness. A lack of competition breeds complacency.

One last thing: Why is Microsoft so interested in getting the approval of geeks when almost everyone but geeks buy their computers? My wife, mother, aunt, cousin, neighbor, etc. don't know or care about the Apple computers but because it rubs a few executives the wrong way they figure they have to strike back. A better commercial would show how parents can protect their kids with Vista, or how you can make photo albums, edit video, write documents, emails, surf the web and more with Vista. Who cares if the geeks buy Macs?