SAN FRANSISCO - This weekend, the WSJ had a great interview with Reed Hastings of Netflix. Mr. Hastings has been a keynote speaker at Shop.org, DMA, eTail, and Internet Retailer events, and he's always a hit. Buried in the third paragraph of the WSJ article was a gem about Mr. Hasting's genius as a marketer ...
"... [Mr. Hastings] has already convinced 7.5 million Netflix subscribers that their local video store is too far away and that late fees are evil."
I have not seen a marketing premise that good since Domino's used "Fresh, hot pizza in 30 minutes or less or it's free. Guaranteed." Mr. Hastings' premise is actually two premises in one (a real rarity): "Long distance + late fees = You're crazy to support Blockbuster." It tacitly slams the incumbent while building a case for Netflix. Sweet.
And it's not like Blockbuster didn't see it coming. It's that vested interests within the Blockbuster organization did not want to disrupt their existing business by pursuing initiatives that would ultimately cannibalize it. A classic Innovator's Dilemma.
Frankly, there's not much missing from the Netflix sales appeal. It ...
- agitates pain,
- is simple to understand and believe and remember, and
- is easy to tell others about in 3 seconds or less.
Boom. If you can offer a risk-reversal proposition (# 28) on top of that, you've got it made.
Peter Drucker used to say that "only two things matter in any business: marketing and innovation." Therefore, your business had better be your innovation -- and the thing that you market consistently across every single customer touch point.
What's the premise behind your business? Is it as good as Netflix's? Is it innovative? Is it so disruptive that your largest competitor's CEO would kill it if it were bubbling up inside his own company?
Extra credit: Click here to see Mr. Hastings on Charlie Rose. Notice how Netflix was built on the back of a single story: "I got hit with a $40 late fee on a rented video -- and I was so embarrassed that I didn't want to tell my wife. And I thought to myself "There must be other people who have this problem...""
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