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October 12, 2004
Lessons From the Video Store
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | Filed under: Marketing
Blogging is big business (if you're asking "what's a blog?"—you better read up). 2005 has been proclaimed the year of the blog (wait, wasn't that 2004?) and stories are popping up everywhere
Forget Marketing 101. Try renting a movie for the latest marketing dos and don'ts.
A few weeks ago my wife rented a movie. We went out of town for a weekend and came back to find the DVD still sitting on the coffee table. We ended up returning the movie the day it was due. No big deal.
The next morning I received an automated call from Hollywood Video letting me know the movie was overdue. Nice touch, though I brushed it off thinking I had returned the movie the night before.
Later Hollywood Video called again. This time it was a real person informing me that we had returned the movie to the wrong store. Doh. My wife rented it, I returned it; there are two locations near our house, I must have picked the wrong one.
You guys can handle that, right? Wrong. It was my problem. I had to go pick up the wrongly-dropped off DVD and return it to its rightful location, incurring a $4+ late fee in the process, since the movie wasn't returned to the proper location in time.
So what have we learned from Hollywood Video?
1) Returns
You need to return a movie to the store you rented it from. Never mind that the public library can handle returns from any location. Consequently, if I sign up with the online renter Netflix, I could drop my returns in the mail, and wouldn't have to occupy brain cells with store locations.
2) Lateness
You need to return a movie before its due date or you'll get a call telling you it's overdue and you'll have to pay late fees. Never mind that you could save me the hassle and call the day it's due, before I rack up late fees. Consequently, if I sign up with Netflix, there are no due dates or late fees.
3) Driving
You need to get in you car and drive to the video store. That's how it works. Nevermind that reality TV, cable, and an ever-expanding personal collection of DVDs are awfully tempting and don't require getting off the couch. Consequently, if I sign up with Netflix, there is no driving.
In the ever-shifting world of business, an organization should never help the competition by alienating its own customers. We can help you spot potential annoyances for your customers and find ways to make it right.
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