Anyone willing to trade a cup of coffee for Microsoft Office Pro 2003?
Imagine, if you will, that every morning we ran into each other at the local coffee shop to get our morning “cup of joe,” to start our day. One day I approached you and said, “Tell you what, instead of us both waiting in line every day, if you buy my morning cup of coffee for me, I’ll give you a free license of Microsoft Office Pro 2003.” Taking a quick glance at the menu board (even though we both know it by heart), you see that the daily cup of coffee is only 78¢. Would you take me up on it?
Now what if I offered to also throw in three years of free upgrades for the license of Microsoft Office Pro 2003 as well? Now would you take me up on it? Still thinking about it? Ok, tell you what… I’ll also throw in a second license of Microsoft Office Pro 2003 for you to use at home, just for getting me my daily 78¢ cup of coffee. Deal? Still debating?
Since it is the holidays and we’re all so happy it is 2005, I’ll even throw in three years of free upgrades on that license of Microsoft Office Pro 2003 for your home as well. And while we’re at it, how about if I also give you three years of “How to use Office” electronic training courses to help you get the most from that license of Microsoft Office Pro 2003 I’m offering you for work and the one for your home?
Oh, let’s do even better… I’ll even give you a free license of InfoPath 2003 (https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX010857921033.aspx) to use at work as well. Now, do we have a deal?
What if I told you that this offer is already available to each and every one of you and you can take advantage of it today? Here is how you can do it…
If you purchase a License for Microsoft Office Professional 2003 through the Open License Value Program (Part# 269-05557) today, what does this get you?
1) A new license for Microsoft Office Pro 2003
2) Three years of upgrades for that license of Microsoft Office Pro 2003
3) Three years of all Software Assurance benefits for that License of Microsoft Office Pro 2003 (https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/programs/sa), which include:
- A Home Use License of Microsoft Office Pro 2003 (https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/programs/sa/productivity/home_use_rights.mspx)
- Upgrade protection for three years for both the Microsoft Office Pro 2003 License at work and the Home Use License of Microsoft Office Pro 2003 (https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/programs/sa/productivity/version_rights.mspx)
- Three years of eLearning courses for your Microsoft Office 2003 Professional (https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/programs/sa/training/elearning.mspx)
- The ability to spread your payments of the purchase price out over three years (https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/programs/sa/productivity/spread_payments.mspx)
4) A license for InfoPath 2003 (https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX010857921033.aspx) since you will actually be receiving the Microsoft Office 2003 Enterprise Edition (https://www.microsoft.com/office/editions/prodinfo/enterprises/), which includes InfoPath 2003, just for purchasing the Pro version through Volume Licensing.
As you can see above, all of the things I offered above are included in the list of items you get in the Open License Value license of Microsoft Office Professional 2003. Now for the 78¢ part... The ERP (in U.S. dollars) for Microsoft Office Professional 2003 License + Software Assurance through Open License Value is $855. The $855 is spread out over three years (paid in three equal annual payments) as listed in the sub-points of #3 above. There are 1,095 days in a three-year period; therefore, $855/1095 = 78¢ per day.
Remember, this is NOT a lease or a “rental” of the software. You OWN the License of Office 2003 Professional. You just get the benefit of spreading out your payments because that is a benefit of the Open License Value Program.
As a strong believer in the power of coffee (I actually was up to 5 POTS of coffee per day at one point back when I owned my own company and I still get Starbucks Gift Certificates from friends and family at every holiday), I know how important a cup of coffee can be to many during the day; however, looking at how much I use and get from Outlook, Word, Excel, FrontPage, etc. in my daily tasks, weighing the benefits of Microsoft Office Professional 2003 for a person or a Small Business far exceeds that which you will receive from a single cup of coffee (yes, even the XXXXL one).
Just for kicks, take a look at the “Office Pro Espresso” doc in the MS Small Biz Shared Documents section of the Small Business Community Site (https://www.mssmallbiz.com) for a quick one-page flyer on this offer. And for anyone who does not think that Volume Licensing is for a Small Business, be sure to read my previous post regarding this topic.
And, if we ever do run into each other in a coffee house somewhere, sometime, let’s be sure to grab that cup of coffee anyway and talk about Small Business or anything else you might have on your mind…
Have a wonderful day,
Eric Ligman
Small Business Development Manager – U.S. Central Region
This posting is provided “AS IS” with no warranties, and confers no rights
Comments
Anonymous
January 03, 2005
Your math doesn't work. You are only going to be buying me coffee on business days and there are only about 240 of those a year. So it is actually more like $1.19 per day.
But there is another, more serious, problem with your proposal. Microsoft won't give me a 3-year interest free loan on that $855. I have to pay it all up front, making it much more costly than spreading it over the lifetime of the license.Anonymous
January 03, 2005
Thank you for your feedback. In response:
1) Yes, if you count only business days, it will be less than 1,095 (note I did not state business days in my example). Even at $1.19 vs. 78 cents, (and I believe I have $1.00 for the coffee in the "Office Pro Espresso" doc I referenced above), the comparison is relatively the same and I think the "spirit" of the example remains. Besides, the cost of coffee will vary by location, size, etc. (For instance, if I got my Venti, skim, vanilla latte at Starbucks each day, that would provide Office Pro 2003 for a 5 user business through this example, not just one.)
2) What do you mean that "Microsoft won't give me a 3-year interest free loan on that $855. I have to pay it all up front, making it much more costly than spreading it over the lifetime of the license,"? Through Open Value, the $855 is broken into three equal annual payments, no interest, no hidden costs, no finance charges, and you don't have to pay it all up front. You pay three equal payments over three years. So in a way, yes, we are giving you a 3-year interest free loan on that $855. For more details on the Open License Value Program, please go to: http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/programs/open/openvalue.mspx
Thank you and have a wonderful day,
Eric Ligman
Small Business Development Manager – U.S. Central Region
Join the excitement! New Small Business Channel Community:
1) Community SharePoint Site: http://www.mssmallbiz.com/ - It’s Making HEADLINES!!
2) Online User Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mssmallbiz
3) MS Small Business Blog: http://weblogs.asp.net/mssmallbiz/
Enabling millions of small businesses and partners to realize their full potential
Some of the headlines on the NEW MS Small Business Channel Site:
- http://www.integratedmar.com/ecl-usa/story.cfm?item=18651
- http://crn.com/sections/breakingnews/breakingnews.jhtml?articleid=30000364
- http://www.msmvps.com/bradley/archive/2004/08/25/12351.aspx
This posting is provided “AS IS” with no warranties, and confers no rightsAnonymous
January 03, 2005
Did you ever have a job selling children's encyclopaedias? The sales pitch is very similar.Anonymous
January 03, 2005
No, I never did. I have sold many licenses of Encarta (http://www.microsoft.com/products/encarta/default.mspx) in my life... Maybe I can look into that after retirement (which is quite some time away). :-)
Thanks for the feedback and have a great day,
Eric Ligman
Small Business Development Manager – U.S. Central Region
Join the excitement! New Small Business Channel Community:
1) Community SharePoint Site: http://www.mssmallbiz.com/ - It’s Making HEADLINES!!
2) Online User Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mssmallbiz
3) MS Small Business Blog: http://weblogs.asp.net/mssmallbiz/
Enabling millions of small businesses and partners to realize their full potential
Some of the headlines on the NEW MS Small Business Channel Site:
- http://www.integratedmar.com/ecl-usa/story.cfm?item=18651
- http://crn.com/sections/breakingnews/breakingnews.jhtml?articleid=30000364
- http://www.msmvps.com/bradley/archive/2004/08/25/12351.aspx
This posting is provided “AS IS” with no warranties, and confers no rightsAnonymous
January 03, 2005
You do make a great case there Eric. The value proposition is pretty sound and should appeal to the astute bean-counterish controllers of the SMB purse strings. BUT, my own experience as a VAR was that far too many of the smaller shops are totally obsessed with acquisition costs. Locking in to ANYTHING with fixed costs long-term is a hard pill to swallow for many. Also the perception is there that a lot more software is going to get cheaper, or even be given away in the future. Thank the open-source world for that one!Anonymous
January 03, 2005
The comment has been removedAnonymous
January 03, 2005
Paul,
If you are not looking for MS Marketing, you picked the right place. Neither I nor my team are associated with MS Marketing nor are we part of the MS Marketing group. We are part of the field organization and are structured to help the Small Business Channel partners understand and explain the various options of purchasing and selling Microsoft solutions for their customers.
So if your question was an open-ended one, I would suggest not subscribing to any of the marketing groups blogs and you should be covered. If your question was geared toward my post, I would inquire as to what part of explaining to the Small Business customers and Channel members how to spend less to acquire our solutions while also explaining by example how the popular misconceptions regarding the pricing of MS software are inaccurate would be classified as “marketing cXXp?” Why should a Small Business or channel partner not know their options to save money?
All too often articles, posts, etc. are written by self-proclaimed “informed” individuals claiming that Microsoft is out to “get more money” or “raise prices again,” etc. The fact is, one of my team’s goals is specifically to show the Small Business partners how to get their customers the most from every IT dollar they spend on Microsoft technologies by showing them how to get more for less. Just one example of this is my earlier post regarding how to save money on all Microsoft purchases - http://weblogs.asp.net/mssmallbiz/archive/2004/12/20/327239.aspx">http://weblogs.asp.net/mssmallbiz/archive/2004/12/20/327239.aspx - just by taking advantage of the discounts they already qualify for. Another example is my earlier post explaining to Small Businesses and channel partners how to get three free years of upgrades - http://weblogs.asp.net/mssmallbiz/archive/2004/12/19/325196.aspx">http://weblogs.asp.net/mssmallbiz/archive/2004/12/19/325196.aspx - on their desktop O/S instead of spending more on a one-time upgrade.
I’ve even seen articles out there stating, “With Microsoft’s ever increasing price of Office…” Give me a break. Who’s the research person behind that story? FYI, Office Pro 4.3 had an ERP of $599. Office Pro 7.0 had an ERP of $599. Office Pro 97 had an ERP of $599. What’s the ERP of Office Pro 2003? $499. Office Pro 2003 has an ERP of $100 LESS than prior versions of Office Pro. Same holds true for Office Standard 2003. The current ERP is $100 less than previous versions of Office Standard.
So to sum up, are we out here posting “marketing cXXp?” If you consider showing Small Businesses and our channel partners how to spend less and save money while also helping set the record straight, then I guess we are. In speaking with several channel partners and Small Businesses who have used our money saving tips in the past though, I have never had any of them tell me that helping them save their hard-earned money was considered “marketing cXXp” in their minds.
Hopefully this helps clarify the purpose of our blog a little more and our intentions. In no way is it intended to be a marketing engine. We’re here to be direct and tell it like it is, just like the information posted on our site: http://www.mssmallbiz.com.
Thank you and have a wonderful day,
Eric Ligman
Small Business Development Manager – U.S. Central Region
Join the excitement! New Small Business Channel Community:
1) Community SharePoint Site: http://www.mssmallbiz.com/ - It’s Making HEADLINES!!
2) Online User Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mssmallbiz
3) MS Small Business Blog: http://weblogs.asp.net/mssmallbiz/
Enabling millions of small businesses and partners to realize their full potential
Some of the headlines on the NEW MS Small Business Channel Site:
- http://www.integratedmar.com/ecl-usa/story.cfm?item=18651
- http://crn.com/sections/breakingnews/breakingnews.jhtml?articleid=30000364
- http://www.msmvps.com/bradley/archive/2004/08/25/12351.aspx
This posting is provided “AS IS” with no warranties, and confers no rightsAnonymous
January 04, 2005
Give you points for taking a different tact but I think it would have been more compelling if you'd focused on 2 or 3 simple ways that Office 2003 might either save that person time/money of postively impact how they serve their customers. Then focus on all that for the price of a daily coffee. After all, we all know the value of coffee (esp us addicts!) but do we all know what Office 2003 might do for us? If not, then even .78/day isn't an obvious bargain.Anonymous
January 04, 2005
But what if you gave me and the cup of coffee and the office package :-P that sounds better :-DAnonymous
January 05, 2005
Or can i get a cup of coffee with Betsy Aoki that's nice 2 then i don't need the office package :-D lolAnonymous
August 24, 2005
For those of you who have been around the Microsoft Small Business Channel Community for a few years,...Anonymous
January 18, 2007
Some of you may remember the original “Less than coffee” post where I offered to trade a cup of coffeeAnonymous
May 09, 2007
So I saw this article and had to chuckle a little. Some of you are probably familiar with the “ LessAnonymous
September 28, 2007
Over the years, the "Less Than Coffee" concept has continued to grow in popularity and usesAnonymous
September 28, 2007
Over the years, the "Less Than Coffee" concept has continued to grow in popularity and uses