3 lessons small business owners can learn from Netflix

Businesses have a lot to learn from this tech giant.

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Key Point

• Netflix has grown into one of the world’s most successful companies over the past few decades.
• It does this by creating highly personalized user experiences and constantly looking for new opportunities.
• Today’s small business owners can learn from Netflix’s success and grow their companies.

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Netflix is ​​one of the biggest and most popular companies on the planet, so it’s easy to forget that it used to be a fairly small business. But over the decades, the founders have grown their business and adapted to rapidly changing markets to the point where streaming services have become a staple in nearly every home.

Even if you’re not looking to provide top-notch entertainment, studying how Netflix built its business can teach you a few things about how to grow your own company. Here are three important things that got it right.

1. I wasn’t afraid to try new things

Netflix has always been a quick adopter of new technology. One of the first companies to recognize the potential of DVD when it came out in the late 1990s, he introduced the streaming service in 2007, long before many other competitors.

Not every small business needs the latest technology to be successful, but it’s important not to get too stuck in your ways. Avoiding new technologies, services, or strategies in your business can lead to stagnation.

Take time to review company performance and identify new opportunities for growth. If something goes wrong, you can always go back to the blueprint. However, if successful, it can give your business a competitive advantage.

2. We kept our pricing very simple and transparent

One of the reasons Netflix has become so much more popular than traditional movie rentals is the elimination of due dates, late fees, and per-rental fees. All you had to do was pay the monthly subscription fee. This made it much easier for people to budget and not have to worry about returning DVDs by a certain time.

A subscription model may not be right for your business, but you can try to keep things simple and transparent for your customers. Please do not charge extra at checkout. Make sure your customers understand what they get and what they don’t get.

When doing certain types of bespoke work, such as making custom furniture, each work may need to be quoted separately, depending on the work involved. Provide these quotes quickly and explain how you got to that number so the customer can’t guess.

3. Focused on providing a great user experience

Clearly, a big part of Netflix’s success is having a wide variety of content that appeals to a diverse audience. But too many undirected choices can be confusing and overwhelming. Netflix helps users navigate this by personalizing the user interface and updating recommendations based on previously watched content to help identify new movies and shows of interest. .

Depending on the type of business you run, personalization may not be possible. If you run an online store that sells a variety of ready-made products, you may not have many customization options.

However, you can try to make it feel as valuable as possible to your users, rather than just numbers. Good customer service helps generate repeat customers and word-of-mouth advertising, so the extra time spent here can pay off in the long run.

Every business is different, and how you apply the above tips will depend on the product or service you’re trying to sell. But keep these things in mind as you grow your business over time. It may seem obvious, but it’s easy to lose sight of the many other things you need to do to keep your business running.