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Remember Blockbuster Video? They used to be the biggest name in video rentals.  Now, they’re a symbol of business marketing mistakes and failures.  Back then, when video was physical, instead of digital, the stores would be packed with people on a weekday night.

Blockbuster charged a lot, but the novelty and pleasure of being able to see movies whenever you wanted was initially irresistible to people who had grown up having to choose between going to a theatre, or waiting until (and if) the movie showed up on TV.

Well, they’ve just filed for bankruptcy protection. The store near me closed long ago. I’ve been happily using Netflix instead. So have a lot of other people.

Blockbuster’s big marketing mistake

Blockbuster started out well, but then tried to appeal to everyone, or maybe nobody. I’d go in for a movie and would see 20 copies of cartoons and Adam Sandler’s latest (now, it would probably be Twilight movies).  Maybe a few classics. That was about it. Rotten selection, high fees, limited viewing time: it was hard, expensive, and unpleasant.

Blockbuster was hard, Netflix is easy

Netflix, on the other hand, is easy. They have a large selection, you can keep movies as long as you like, and now, even watch them over the Internet (instant gratification). Netflix works because they took a model that was broken (video rental) and made it sleek, easy, and rewarding.

Look at some of your own practices.  Are you marketing to everyone or marketing to your tribe? Are you a eierlegendewollmilchsau?

Are you making it hard for your clients? Could be that you tend to use email when your clients prefer the phone. Or requiring too many steps to enter your blog contest? Or maybe your newsletter sign-up is confusing.

Go take a look. Let me know what you found.