Microsoft Trade-Up Programs
I really do wonder if these things work at all.
The latest I saw was trade in select MacBook Airs for up to $650 off a Surface Pro 3.
Sure, that is a lot of money off. But it is nowhere near the cost of the full price MacBook Air. Also, they are both premium devices. And lastly, the MacBook's are still more of a cult following than anything. For all of these reasons I find it hard to imagine MacBook users will be piling in to trade up.
If the value of the trade up was closer to the actual price of a MacBook Air, then there might be some incentive. Or, if the Surface Pro 3 were generally seen to be more premium than a MacBook Air(which I don't get the impression matches the prevailing feelings on the topic) it might then get people despite the devaluation of their MacBooks. And those last 2 points apply regardless of cult following or not. Very few people would trade a brand new Nexus phone for an iPhone or vice versa. Even outright. But, when you throw the cult following Mac's still have into the equation you whittle down the pool of potential people to take you up by quite a lot.
And then there is yet another problem with this particular promotion. MacBook's aren't tablets and Surface Pro's aren't laptops. You aren't just trying to get people to switch from one top end brand to another. You're technically trying to convince them to change their entire "computing lifestyle".
I don't care how well the new Surface Pro is at replacing your laptop. It still isn't an actual laptop. And that affects how it is used. For some the pros will outweigh the cons and for some the opposite will be true. I suspect the bulk of people will feel the cons outweigh the pros.
But then, maybe this promotion has no illusions to be a mass hit. Undoubtedly, there are people out there who get computers as gifts or buy based on a recommendation and discover that a MacBook Air isn't what they wanted. This is the group that is most marketable for this promotion. And while that group may be small... it might be big enough to get some good PR out of it. All they need is a couple of satisfied customer testimonies from people who traded in and walked away happy.
The latest I saw was trade in select MacBook Airs for up to $650 off a Surface Pro 3.
Sure, that is a lot of money off. But it is nowhere near the cost of the full price MacBook Air. Also, they are both premium devices. And lastly, the MacBook's are still more of a cult following than anything. For all of these reasons I find it hard to imagine MacBook users will be piling in to trade up.
If the value of the trade up was closer to the actual price of a MacBook Air, then there might be some incentive. Or, if the Surface Pro 3 were generally seen to be more premium than a MacBook Air(which I don't get the impression matches the prevailing feelings on the topic) it might then get people despite the devaluation of their MacBooks. And those last 2 points apply regardless of cult following or not. Very few people would trade a brand new Nexus phone for an iPhone or vice versa. Even outright. But, when you throw the cult following Mac's still have into the equation you whittle down the pool of potential people to take you up by quite a lot.
And then there is yet another problem with this particular promotion. MacBook's aren't tablets and Surface Pro's aren't laptops. You aren't just trying to get people to switch from one top end brand to another. You're technically trying to convince them to change their entire "computing lifestyle".
I don't care how well the new Surface Pro is at replacing your laptop. It still isn't an actual laptop. And that affects how it is used. For some the pros will outweigh the cons and for some the opposite will be true. I suspect the bulk of people will feel the cons outweigh the pros.
But then, maybe this promotion has no illusions to be a mass hit. Undoubtedly, there are people out there who get computers as gifts or buy based on a recommendation and discover that a MacBook Air isn't what they wanted. This is the group that is most marketable for this promotion. And while that group may be small... it might be big enough to get some good PR out of it. All they need is a couple of satisfied customer testimonies from people who traded in and walked away happy.
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