My children will never know the pains of VHS. They will never know the hassles of rewinding a movie before returning it to a “store.” Media streaming is now for everyone! Disney announced it is ending Netflix deal, and it will start it’s own streaming service. This deal is about more than just Hannah Montana and Cinderella movies. Star Wars, Major League Baseball and Marvel are at stake. When Disney is streaming, it is a big deal for adults AND children. May the Force be with us!
Media streaming has changed everything. Content (e.g. movies, music, videos, etc) is immediately available to consumers wherever they are. My daughters watch the latest Taylor Swift videos while riding in the car. My wife watches movies while exercising at the gym. I listen to technology podcasts while driving to client presentations. With all of the changes in the media industry, what does it mean for your business?
- Availability – Your clients are going to expect information immediately, and they don’t want to wait. Financial advisors and other professionals, however, cannot be available 24 hours a day / 7 days per week. Build a customer service strategy that offers your clients information on demand. Record a series of YouTube videos (Two Minutes of Tech). Set up an e-commerce site so customers can order when they want.
- Bandwidth (…sort of) – Offer your customers more. Netflix, Amazon Video and Apple have moved from mere content curation to content creation. Some of these new media companies are winning awards for content. Netflix’s goal is for 50% of it’s streaming content to be high quality original programming. They are spending $7.6 billion to reach their objective. My company is building a database of technology training programs for our clients. What’s in your wallet?
- Millennials Strategy – How old are your customers? Do you know? Millennials and younger generations embrace technology. Embrace 2 – 3 social media sites and consistently post, comment and share. Don’t waste money on billboards. Develop a mobile and social strategy that is robust and changes with your customers.
5 Want Success? Do these 5 Things
- Buy More Eggs – Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. We looked up one day and noticed most of our business was coming from one account. What happens if we loose that account? Tragedy! Know as much as you can about your customers and industry. If your clients are teachers, have multiple schools in your database. Make sure market changes don’t cause drops in your revenue.
- Mobile Strategy – All of my Netflix consumption is done on my phone. I never order Amazon items from my computer. Design your website for easy viewing on phones and tablets. Use Google Analytics to compare mobile viewing vs. desktop / laptop viewing. When Disney is streaming cartoons and movies, consumers will demand mobile first.
Technology is changing rapidly, and companies have to decide how they are going to react to these market dynamics. Cloud computing, social media and mobile technology empowers consumers and challenges businesses to improve their customer service. Disney is not the first or the last company to take matter into their own hands. Does your brand have a reactive or proactive strategy to move forward? We can help!
Scientifically Speaking, of course…
