Or: What we can learn from Netflix, even in this case. (Published on April 20, 2022.)
(True story) Today, 6:30 am. “Alexa, what’s the news today?”
"Netflix announces that it has lost 200,000 subscribers. The stock lost 26% of its value as a result..."
Was there a cheerful undertone? Joking aside - but the news put a sleepy smile on my face. Not because I wanted Netflix to fail, but because I'd had this blog in the drawer for a while and wondered if it was relevant or if I was just an oversensitive marketer. Well, here's my story:
On January 19, 2022, I received an email from Netflix announcing price increases in Switzerland. I read the message, texted my husband, got his OK and cancelled our subscription. What had happened? Why do I think this email was a disaster for customer retention?
"We're updating our prices - and here's why". Reminds me of a clickbait: "This person is super-rich - and here's how they did it." While I appreciated the honesty, this headline already made me feel negative. Who wants to be informed that something is getting more expensive? And the wording! Update! Do they expect me to automatically run the price increase in the background, like Windows updates? Or click "OK" to accept new terms and conditions without reading the details? Well, I read on, because I was curious about the promised reasons.
Now this: "Your membership becomes more valuable - with stories that cheer you up, move you or simply make your day a little bit better." That's it, the whole rationale. Wait! At the end of the message, I found pictures of movies and series ... the ones that are currently in vogue, all but one of which I'm not interested in. However, I had already seen this one movie. Shouldn't Netflix know that? Netflix, which advertises in particular with personalization? That promises to "refine your recommendations so you can watch even more shows and movies you love?" (see this Netflix blog).
Please - Netflix, you have my unqualified permission to email me to let me know that you're going to add this awesome sci-fi movie or this wonderful travelogue about my dream destination. Just for me. I expect nothing less from you - and yes, I'm a big fan of the GDPR.
The Swiss love to look across borders to understand if there is a cheaper offer abroad. Although it's not possible in this case, it's still worth comparing. So I googled and found out that price increases were being talked about for Netflix worldwide due to previous adjustments in the US and Canada. I had overlooked the fact that Netflix had already announced these for Switzerland a few weeks ago. My mistake. On the other hand, a German magazine article published on the same day quoted Netflix as saying: "Price increases are country-specific."
The magazine did not expect an increase in other countries for the time being (which later turned out to be a false assumption, but hey...). Netflix prices in Switzerland were already a good 25% higher than in Germany ... Why should we pay even more? Somehow I felt a bit ripped off ...
Even Netflix can't predict what the virus will do or what a government will decide. But as a company that has done a great job of entertaining people - myself included - during the crisis, perhaps they should have paid more attention to what exactly is going on in the countries where they do business, where they communicate with customers.
Also on January 19, the Swiss Federal Council announced - as expected - that it would extend the COVID measures for now, but would review this again on February 2 and probably lift some. Hooray! Light at the end of the tunnel! Life started to "get back to normal"! Like many of our fellow humans, we made plans to go out with friends, go to the gym more often, ... well, maybe not ... definitely do anything other than watch TV in the evenings. (This article was published one day after my blog). So: why not save a little every month at the expense of Netflix and enjoy a delicious starter in one of Switzerland's excellent restaurants in return?
I read on. "Questions? You can find more information in our Help Center or contact us. You can also manage your membership at any time by visiting your account." I really appreciate that they mentioned this option - unlike other media where it takes half an hour to figure out how to cancel your subscription. The single click magically attracted me. Did they want me to cancel? And then this next sentence! "Thank you for choosing Netflix." Sounded like a goodbye. Because at this point, I had already decided to leave.
If Netflix has used the same approach in other countries and other customers have only shared a fraction of my thoughts, then it's no wonder Netflix has lost so many of us. Yet, I still can't believe this happened in the age of persona-specific messaging in digital marketing. Let's learn from this and do much better! Especially when it comes to explaining price increases and the value of our services.
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