Netflix has a well-earned reputation as a premier provider of digital entertainment. You can receive DVDs in the mail and watch at your convenience. Monthly rates were low. Now that is all going to change.
Netflix has raised their monthly rates for on-demand video streaming of programming and adjusted their offerings. Numerous reports have shared the news and social media networks have griped and groaned. The manner in which Netflix chose to communicate the changes may have added to the blowback. Netflix posted the changes on their blog, a blog that attempts to engage on a casual, friendly level. However, the announcement of such drastic changes to pricing and offerings should have been communicated differently. A message on the Netflix website, a personal e-mail or snail mail to customers would have been more effective and engaging. A video of the CEO of Netflix discussing the price changes, which are has high as 60 percent in some instances, is more engaging and offers a human connection that words cannot produce. If the video had offered the public opportunities for input on the proposed price changes, before the changes happened so the customers had an opportunity to feel included in the overall product and ownership of their relationship to the brand.
When the clients of Media & Communication Strategies have a big announcement to make regarding their products or services, we develop and distribute the best message through the most effective and appropriate mediums possible. Remember, as Marshall McLuan said, the medium is really the message. The announcement of price changes without including customers’ feedback exposed Netflix to damages for their reputation, brand, and customer base. Netflix goes so far in their blog post to direct customers to where they can cancel their subscriptions as if they were anticipating a departure of customers. Why not start from a more positive place and conduct a survey or series of focus groups? Let customers feel like you care. If price increases are inevitable, why not offer incentives to make up for the steep price changes? The Golden Rule of doing unto others as you would have others do unto you is always a good guide when communicating with customers and being more sensitive to messaging and delivery saves time, money, reinforces loyalty and minimizes all kinds of loss.
A client, whether a big company or trade association, with a concise and inclusive message through the medium its customers readily can access and relate to makes a huge difference in response. With over 50,000 comments on its Facebook page and over 8,000 comments on its blog, Netflix has certainly gotten their clients’ and prospective clients’ attention but needs to leverage that limelight for better results.
