#11: A Case Study: Netflix 2020
Applying my strategy frameworks to Netflix today.
As companies grow, product strategies evolve. Here’s how Netflix might communicate its product strategy today. The purpose of this mock strategy is to:
- Demonstrate how product strategy evolves, and
- Illustrate the strategy models.
The GLEe Model
Earlier in this product strategy series, I outlined how Netflix hoped to “Get Big,” “Lead,” and “Expand” during its startup phase. Below I have added the company’s current focus, as well as a speculative next step, which may have substantial traction in five to ten years:
1. Get big on DVDs
2. Lead downloading
3. Expand worldwide
4. Original content
5. Interactive storytelling
Like product strategy, these step-function innovations are hypotheses about the product’s future. There’s no reason the “GLEe” model should end at three steps, however. As companies evolve, extend the model further into the future.
It’s evident today that original content is vital for Netflix, but a previous original content effort, “Red Envelope Studios,” failed in 2008. In 2013, however, “House of Cards” succeeded, paving the way for hundreds of Netflix original movies and TV shows.
One hypothesis for Netflix’s next step is interactive storytelling. After success with a children’s choose-your-own-adventure (“Puss in Book”), two more Netflix interactive stories launched: Black Mirror’s “Bandersnatch” and an interactive version of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”
The intent of the “GLEe model” is to encourage product leaders to think long-term and to think big. We’ll know in a few years if interactive storytelling is Netflix’s next big thing.
The DHM Model
There are lots of high-level product hypotheses in test today at Netflix, but I’ve outlined four strategies that I think are most important. Each has the potential to delight customers, in hard-to-copy, margin-enhancing ways:
- Personalization. This capability makes it easy for members to find and watch movies they’ll love, and it’s also hard to duplicate. Personalization improves Netflix’s margin, too, by enabling Netflix to “right-size” its content investment, based on forecasts of how many members will watch a movie or TV series.
- Original content. Netflix’s exclusive content delights customers. And the company continues to take advantage of its hard-to-copy economy of scale, investing nearly twice as much in content as its nearest rival.
- A better watching experience. Netflix invests in tools that make a member’s viewing experience even better. Examples: Ultra HD video/sound, custom playback speed, and lots of hard-to-copy technology that “just works” irrespective of a member’s device and bandwidth.
- Interactive storytelling. Netflix is building tools both for studios to create interactive stories and for members to “choose their adventure.” Note that Netflix isn’t competing against other streaming services. It’s competing for a share of consumers’ screen time and hopes to win that “moment of truth” when a consumer decides between Netflix, Fortnite, and Instagram.
I’m confident Netflix focuses on many other high-level hypotheses. Still, each of the product strategies above has the potential to delight Netflix members in hard-to-copy, margin-enhancing ways.
The GEM Model
After twenty years, Netflix’s membership continues to grow fast. Here’s how the company might force-rank growth, engagement, and monetization today:
I think Netflix will continue prioritizing growth to build economies of scale, grow its brand, and establish an even larger network effect via its hardware partners. Second, Netflix will look for ways to improve its economic efficiency to re-invest the additional profit in original content. Third, Netflix will continue to increase engagement, as measured by monthly retention. But with only a 2% monthly cancel rate, this metric is getting harder and harder to improve.
The SMT Lockup
Below, I outline four product strategies on the left, along with the proxy metrics and tactics that correspond to each hypothesis:
I’ll focus a little on the “better watching experience” strategy, highlighting the lockup with its proxy metric and tactics. The theory: If members experience exceptional visual and sound quality, they will be less likely to cancel Netflix. But because retention is so hard to move, the product team needs a more sensitive proxy metric. I speculate that the “percentage of members who watch at least 40 hours/month” is a reasonable proxy — more watching will increase retention. Two of the projects that may improve the watching experience are better lip-synching for foreign titles and the roll-out of server-based UI for all hardware partners, ensuring members have the most up-to-date browsing and viewing experience on their TV.
The Rolling 4-Quarter Product Roadmap
Here’s my speculative roadmap, beginning in Q3 2020:
This roadmap presents a story of how product strategies and projects may come to life over time. It also shows how the pieces fit together.
Again, all of the work I have presented is speculative. I am re-applying the product strategy frameworks to Netflix today, so you can see how product strategies evolve. We’ll see how well this essay stands the test of time.
I hope you enjoy the next essay. It’s another case study, focused on Chegg, a textbook rental and homework help startup I joined in 2010:
Essay #12: “A Startup Case Study: Chegg”
Best,
Gib
Gibson Biddle
PS. NEW! Check out my cohort-based “Product Strategy Workshop” on Maven.
PS. Here’s an index of all the articles in this series:
- #1 “The DHM Model”
- #2 “From DHM to Product Strategy”
- #3 “The Strategy/Metric/Tactic Lock-up”
- #4 “Proxy Metrics”
- #5 “Working Bottom-up”
- #6 “A Product Strategy for Each Swimlane”
- #7 “The Product Roadmap”
- #8 “The GLEe Model”
- #9 “The GEM Model”
- #10 “The Quarterly Product Strategy Meeting”
- #11 “A Case Study: Netflix Today” (current essay)
- #12 “A Case Study: Chegg”
- #13 “Step-by-Step Exercises to Define Your Product Strategy”
- Click here to purchase my self-paced Product Strategy Workshop on Teachable for $200 off the regular $699 price. The course includes recorded talks, PDFs, and my essays along with pre-formatted Google Slides so you can complete your product strategy on your own. You can also “try before you buy” — the first two modules are free.
