In my last blog I pointed out the conspicuous absence of social media buttons on the Netflix site, not page, site. They did have a blog but it was their blog on their site that let them control their message. As a matter of fact they don’t want your opinion on their blogs since they do not allow any means of response (check it out here http://blog.netflix.com/). However, those little buttons for Facebook and twitter do appear if you want to spread their blogs around the web for them.
If Netflix’s flow of message is so one sided do they really care about you if you are a subscriber or do they care more about the stream of capital you represent? I think the answer to this is best illustrated in the manner in which Netflix handled their “New Coke” whopper of a blunder back in July. If you recall that’s when they decided to up their fees by 60% simply by splitting DVD subscriptions from streaming subscriptions.
For a company that so dearly wants to control its message they surely had enough savvy to follow the advice laid out in PR 2.0: New Media, New Tools, New Audiences, by Breckenridge, for developing a good social media release. Netflix could have saved itself a world of hurt if it had simply followed this advice in a bullet point on page 106: “With a social media news release, you can direct the journalist to the information you want to present and have him or her cover it in a story, which is a better way to control the brand communication.”
It is amazing to me that such a successful company could fail to make a simple announcement via Facebook and Twitter, with follow-up communications carefully planned through journalists/bloggers across the web. What did they do? Apparently nothing — silence on the social media front. Not a good strategy for a company living in a Web 2.0 world.
Instead Netflix let the change in product structure and pricing slip out without any organized releases or even a hint of a media kit of any kind being sent to anyone. One PR professional, Anne, crucifies Netfix in her blog (http://www.cookerlypr.com/2011/07/netflix-nixes-customers-with-poor-media-relations.html) since she is a customer but found out about these changes through a Facebook posting by a friend.
She points out that Netflix did issue a Twitter announcement on July 12 but did not notify customers personally (at least her) until July 13 via email. By then the web was full of articles, blogs, tweets, and Facebook postings rich with umbrage. This SMR was well deserved and, here’s the point, the one Netflix put their energy into by doing nothing.
Some have suggested that this was shrewd market strategy on the part of Netflix to grab the business news cycle. I think that it clearly demonstrates hubris and an eagerness not to serve their stakeholders and customers first, no, priority lies only with the bottom line.
Netflix needs to wake up and begin genuine communications with their stakeholders and customers. This could start by allowing customers an opportunity to give feedback on their blogs – it really is as simple as that. Of course that would mean that their customers ideas and opinions are important to them.
How does Netflix view its customers? Like this?
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| Source: http://www.kitchenomics.net/customers-and-partners |
Or this?
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| Source: http://www.wpclipart.com/money/money_bags.png.html |
My guess is that they probably care far more about the customer than the money. And though I am a Netflix fan and subscriber, what bothers me the most is that Netflix (and Redbox I suppose) helped contribute to the demise of small neighborhood "mom and pop" video stores. It was great to be able to go into a place where you can not only rent movies from all different genres, but also have good conversation with knowledgeable (if sometimes eccentric) employees.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question Joel, I would think Netflix cares about their customers and flow of income equally as they correlate with each other. The relationship between Netflix and its subscriber base ultimately determines their profitability as a corporation. I agree with all the points you made concerning Netflix's lack of interest in their stakeholders. For instance, maybe about 6 months ago Netflix's stock price was treading at all time highs, but when Netflix decided to separate there services and products into two separate divisions a falling out occurred between the people who owned stock in Netflix. It was the lack of communication on the part of Netflix that lead to a drop in share prices and a overall shorting trend by traders.
ReplyDeletegiving customers the opportunity for feedback seems a no-brainer, but somehow, it is curious why they don't do that.
ReplyDeleteAll good points. It seems pretty clear that this company is only interested in collecting those profits we discussed at the beginning, rather than creating a positive perception people can relate to positively.
ReplyDeleteI don't use Netflix, so I don't know how well their service works. If it works well, then we can at least say they care enough about the money to keep the product at its best. Otherwise . . .
Im agreed with you cecilia, why they dont let their customer to leave a comment and then receive a feedback about the service.
ReplyDelete