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The Microsoft.com Global Operating Model:Home Page Case StudyJeff LitvakDirector, Site Operations, Microsoft.com

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Agenda

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• Organizational context• Global operating model

defined• Microsoft Home Page case

study

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Organizational Context

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Organization and FunctionCORPORATEMARKETING

MSCOM TEAM

TRAFFIC AND CONTENT STRATEGY BI/ANALYTICS DESIGN SERVICES SITE MANAGEMENTSITE OPERATIONS

• SEO• Content strategy

and consulting

• Tagging specs• Site reporting• BI platform

evangelism• Targeting segments

• Experimentation• Design• Specialized dev• Accessibility• UX alignment

• Pub, prod, dev• Loc/globalization• Targeting tagging• Field engagement• Center of

excellence

• Business development

• Stakeholder relations

• Project planning/mgmt

MSCOM VisionOur mission is to engage and convert visitors to

Microsoft.com, throughout the customer lifecycle, to heavier purchasing and usage across the Microsoft ecosystem of

devices and services.

most-visited site in the

world

Over 1 billion visits/month

Referrals to Microsoft store

14th

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Microsoft.com by the numbers (per month)

All Microsoft.com(xxx.microsoft.com)

Home Page(www.microsoft.com)

1.52BillionVISITS

32.34%CLICKTHROUGH RATE

1.09BillionVISITORS

3.23BillionPAGE VIEWS

26.57Million

VISITS

21.24%CLICKTHROUGH RATE

21.06Million

VISITORS

37.61Million

PAGE VIEWS

Microsoft.com Site Operations Portfolio

Flagship

Events

Corporate

Stakeholder

Special Projects

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Global Operating Model andMicrosoft Home Page

Brazil

Israel

Home Page Overview

• 98 markets spanning about 65 languages

• 20 percent local content (one highlight panel)

• Several content bands configurable by market, campaign or content

• Content updates rarely go in lockstep; more likely to have scheduled updates by tier or market

• Not all products are available in all markets

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United States

France• 98 markets spanning about 65 languages

• 20 percent local content (one highlight panel)

• Several content bands configurable by market, campaign or content

• Content updates rarely go in lockstep; more likely to have scheduled updates by tier or market

• Not all products are available in all markets

Home Page Overview

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Differing Subsidiary Operating Models

*© 2016 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved.

*

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Global Operating Model and Microsoft Home Page• Centralized cost structure: Corporate team has the budget to get the work done

• Corporate may reject a subsidiary request to run a local campaign

• Facilitate global adoption of services such as digital experience platform, BI, design, targeting. Stakeholders using MSCOM services necessarily use our platforms and processes

• New campaigns are (usually) reviewed by local markets before publication

Initially met with skepticism by subs – perceived lack of control. Now endorsed because they don’t have to deal with dev, localization and publishing logistics

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Global Operating Model and Microsoft Home Page

UX ALIGNMENT PROCESS GOVERNANCE

Two guiding principles

HOME PAGE DEV PRODUCTION PUBLISHING

Central marketing

80% Content create/scheduled

100% Page dev, production, localization/globalization and

publishingCORPORATE CENTRALLY

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Principle One:UX Alignment

1. Alignment Experiences

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Aligned ExperiencesVisitors to Microsoft.com should have a globally consistent, locally relevant experience

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1. Alignment Experiences

2. Process Governance

Principle Two:Process Governance

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Process Governance

Global directives• Standard URL structure• Brand and UX/UI guidelines• Geo-redirection and targeting rules• Content strategy and editorial calendars

Alignment with local priorities• High quality content localization• Locally created offers, case studies,

industry news, etc.• Ongoing optimization

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Select the most effective imagery• Aligned with target audience

• Choice between lifestyle or illustration• Culturally appropriate

Process Governance

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Process Governance

Playbooks, training modules and ongoing reviews• Brand guidelines for Microsoft and its

products• Style guide for colors, images and fonts• Length and integration of text into page

design• Correlation between content and campaign

goals• Legal requirements for co-branding

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Process Governance

Review content to prevent (unintentional) issues• References to inappropriate content

(violence, drug, alcohol, etc.)• Graphics considered offensive in certain

cultures• Cultural insensitivity

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Summing Up• Unification of DX platform, governance, BI, localization/globalization,

user experience, targeting segments and optimization made the effort worthwhile for the corporate team and subs

• Simplifies budgeting but doesn’t necessary reduce costs• Subsidiaries will still try to go beyond parameters – and will often make

a good case for doing so – but the rules need to remain firm• Need a single line of communication to the subs – everyone tries to

gamethe system

• At a company of our size with such strong businesses, cross-group adoption is difficult – but worth the effort