Q1. What are Netflix’s sources of competitive advantage?
Netflix commands a huge geographical reach because of a single point access system – the internet website! Hence in today’s tech savvy world, the company can reach anyone with access to an internet connection. Secondly, Netflix offers an unmatched variety of movies since it overcomes the logistical constraints of a physical store and leverages its long tail advantage. More significantly, Netflix being the pioneer in the field of online movie rental has made good measure of being the early mover! It has developed a self-sustaining customer referral system called ‘Cinematch’ which records customer feedback and presents a customer with new movie suggestions. With over a million reviews being obtained each day, the database of feedbacks is linearly increasing which in effect keeps adding consistent value to the system. The chances of a customer obtaining a good quality feedback from a competitor with a minimal database are relatively low. This desists a customer from leaving Netflix in the first place! Moreover, Netflix ensures a consistently good customer service by maintaining an accurate and user friendly website which works as the face of the company! Netflix has achieved distinction in the market by running an efficient distribution network having low turnaround time and by delivering good quality physically inspected DVD’s at the doorstep of the customer!
Q2. Does Netflix have a strong brand? Offer evidence demonstrating Scale advantages are advantages related to size. In what key ways is Netflix “bigger” than the two major competitors who tried to enter the DVD-by-mail market?
Netflix has developed a strong brand for itself by ensuring a consistently positive customer experience and this is reflected in its high ranking in customer surveys. By using the powerful tool of the ‘single’ website, instead of the ‘n number’ of physical stores, Netflix has