How You Can Create Value For Your Clients

By now, most people have heard that Netflix has decided to abandon its newly-formed Qwikster division.  Given the negative feedback to the creation of Qwikster all over the blogosphere, it’s hard to imagine that Netflix asked any of its customers what they wanted.  In fact, an article in the Christian Science Monitor analyzing the situation points out that the company assumed customers would support this move, believing that customers would just go along with what the company decided was in its own best interest.

The big lesson here, of course, is to conduct primary market research before making such a move.  A simple survey could have:

• Alerted Netflix to how and why this division would not be well-received.
• Saved the company money in product development and marketing spending.
• Engendered customer loyalty by demonstrating that the company truly cared about what its customers thought and wanted.
• Provided feedback on other ideas Netflix could have pursued which could have created high customer satisfaction
• Spared the company bad publicity
• Avoided the time and effort required to develop other marketing mix elements to support an untenable idea

As a marketing consultant or advertising agency, you face opportunities all the time to guide your clients to making good marketing decisions.

Be their marketing hero – demonstrate how market research can help them avoid making this type of mistake and how they can use customer feedback data to create greater company value and make generate higher returns on marketing investments.