Give the people what they want!

1 Jan 1970

On June 10th at the E3 video game conference in Los Angeles, Xbox unveiled its new product the Xbox One. Controversy arose when details emerged of its digital rights management (DRM) scheme which required the console to check in with its servers at least once a day. In doing so, this move effectively marginalised gamers who had inconsistent or non-existent broadband access. This is something I can relate to having recently spent 5 months living on board a ship, where internet is extremely slow and temperamental, as well as massively expensive. Something which would make the Xbox One difficult

to maintain. Then there was also the new policy where only ‘Microsoft-Approved’ retailers would be able to sell used games as well as there being additional charges to access them. A move which targeted what has become an extremely popular secondary games market. Needless to say many gamers took to the social media websites to voice their displeasure over these features, which has eventually led to Microsoft making a dramatic U-Turn over them, a big WIN for the consumer!

But I find myself asking how did it come to this? How did it come to a situation where Microsoft literally blindsided a significant proportion of its customer base with changes that in the end proved very unpopular. And this left Microsoft in a precarious situation where they had to either stick to their guns and hope to win people round? Or relent and go back to what people know, love, and want? And in my opinion they did the right thing… they gave the people what they want and made the change. As Harry Selfridge once famously said, the customer is always right!

If Microsoft had adopted a more active relationship with its customers, then this backlash need not have ever happened and the damage of trust between them and their customer base could have been easily averted. At OpenCRM this type of situation is something that we proactively try to avoid. We feel it is important to be in constant dialogue with our customers to learn what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to be changed and how. Sometimes this could mean doing something bespoke for an individual need, or it could be a case that what we unearth through this process is something that could benefit all of our customers, and even ourselves! It is this ability to listen, and the willingness to deliver our customers what they actually want, which has made our product what it is today!