Culture before product Although Netflix was a pioneer in the movie streaming world and they absolutely had a unique value proposition a few years ago, right now, except for their Netflix Originals, they are not much different from competitors, like Amazon Video and Hulu. Yeah, from utilitarian and rational perspective that is a true statement. But people are not rational and brands like Netflix get it. A big mistake many companies make is to focus too much on what they are selling. They partially or completely neglect the fact that the majority of potential customers out there are not influenced by ultraHD functionality or processor chips. People buy into cultures more easily than they buy into products. I mean, why would you choose a Mercedes instead of an equally luxurious Lexus. Well, the truth is that people buy into cultures more easily than they buy into products. Needless to say, culture only works when the product genuinely rocks. And Netflix has both.
But how did they do it?
Although it is hard to say, there are a few things that Netflix does extremely well, when it comes to building culture: social media, customer support and, most importantly, having remarkable customers. I will explain the last one first since it is the building block for the other two . The ‘Golden Goose’ customer The ‘Golden Goose’ customers are a special type of customer, they have the features every brand should look for. I call it the ‘Golden Goose’, because, as you will realise, they produce other much more valuable benefits to the brand besides revenue. Here are some of characteristics and how they help.
Social media savvy These type of customers are very active on social media. They may not have a huge amount of followers, but they are very familiar with the platforms and use them daily. This helps especially with organic reach. You can put all your efforts in marketing and providing value, but as long as your loyal customers are not there to spread the word organically, the effect won’t be the same. Some people might be active on social media, but they might just be there for personal communication. Although they can still organically spread the word within their circle, they probably won’t go out of their way to really spread the word about you.
Trend aware and trend creating There are those power users, however, who are always up to date with all the current memes, tumblr trends and, in general, know what’s up. These people are the ultimate ally in your business.