The weekend is finally here. After weeks of hearing co-workers talk about the latest blockbuster hit, you can finally head to your favorite movie rental store and grab the movie you just missed in theatres. You get excited as you enter the store and run to the new releases assured you will get one of the guaranteed copies. As your eyes finally focus on the movie you were looking for, you find yourself in a race with the customer next to you for the last copy.
This scenario used to happen way too often. You were forced to rent something you didn’t want, leading to a potentially unenjoyable movie night. Thanks to DVD-by-mail provider Netflix, those days are over.
Now, you peer into your mailbox with delight and glee on the sight of that distinction red envelope: your new Netflix movie has arrived!
With their number one goal of delivering movies to their customer’s home within 1 business day and no late fee’s, Netflix has become the primary choice for 8.4 million movie lovers across the United States. How has Netflix beaten its competition, including the former giant Blockbuster Videos and even behemoth Wal-Mart? They focused on making their service easy to use and always serving their customers better than anyone else. Netflix’s promise to always have a movie waiting at home has made them a dependable source that customers can trust.
Netflix provides customers with continuous gratification. Starting at just $4.99 a month, the service allows anyone who has an address and likes watching films to sign up. Netflix caters to the entire spectrum of moviegoers, offering nine different subscription plans to choose from. Casual movie watchers can sign up for the two-movies-per-month plan, while fanatical film buffs can choose unlimited rentals with eight movies out at one time. Plus, users can change their plan at any time with a single click.
Netflix makes it easy to navigate and search through 100,000’s of movie titles online. The personalized “Queue” allows users to quickly and easily manage their upcoming film selections. Their sophisticated rating and searching tool helps users search movies by genre, director, blockbuster hits, and of course, academy award winners. Like a specialized movie store, Netflix strives to make it easy for their customers not only to find what they are looking for, but also allows them to explore and experience new movies. With over thousands of obscure and popular movies available at Netflix, there’s always a new film to enjoy. Plus, since subscribers pay a monthly fee for unlimited films, you never have to feel guilty for renting a movie and not liking it.
Understanding that sometimes five days is not enough to watch a movie, Netflix never penalizes their customers with late fees. Unlike Blockbluster Video and other traditional movie rentals, Netflix customers can keep movies for months without any worries thanks to their monthly subscription model. When the customer is ready to return the movie they simply drop it in the mailbox; the postage is already included. Within two days a new movie from their queue arrives, keeping the customer constantly gratified. With more than 100 fulfillment centers across the United States, Netflix has made a commitment to get movies to their customers quickly.
With trips to brick and mortar rental houses frequently ending with bad movie night, a more frustrating scenario is leaving empty-handed. By allowing users to rate any movie on a 5-point scale, Netflix has created a unique customer database that is constantly being improved. By comparing users profiles, Netflix searches for similar trends and provides personalized recommendations of movies their other customers might enjoy.
If 100,000 titles to choose from aren’t enough, customers currently have over 12,000 movies titles they can instantly play from any computer. Netflix also allows customers to have access to streaming movies on their TV through the Netflix ready device and soon on the Xbox360 (coming in fall 08).
Through web ads and TV commercials Netflix constantly communicates how easy and reliable their services are to use. By keeping their promise they have become a commodity for movie lovers, some even claim to have Netflix marathons and watch 27 movies in one month. Netflix fans have formed an online social network for movie lovers where members can discuss the Netflix website, movies, and can create personalized pages. Netflix raving fans have even made their own Netflix commercial.
Netflix continues to succeed because they have one thing in mind, keeping their customers happy. By providing an easy way to navigate through movies, fast delivery, and zero late fee’s, it is no wonder so many people are falling in love with Netflix.