Productized: November 22, 2019
N E T F L I X ’ S
CUSTOMER
OBSESSION
Gibson Biddle // @gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle
Are you a 

Netflix member?
Net Promoter Score
?
Detractors (0-6)Passives (7-8)Promoters (9-10) Net Promoter Score
@gibsonbiddle
Net Promoter Score
10%10%80% 70%
70
Detractors (0-6)Passives (7-8)Promoters (9-10) Net Promoter Score
@gibsonbiddle
Jeff Bezos
CEO, Amazon
@gibsonbiddle
Customers are always beautifully, wonderfully
dissatisfied, even when they report being happy
and business is great. Even when they don’t yet
know it, customers want something better, and
your desire to delight customers will drive
you to invent on their behalf.”
@gibsonbiddle
Electronic Arts
@gibsonbiddle
Elmo’s Preschool
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle
The Learning Company
Mattel
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle
Netflix
Speaker, Adviser, Teacher (2015)
CPO, Chegg (2010)
VP Product, Netflix (2005)
SVP, Creative Wonders,The Learning
Company, Mattel (1995)
Director, Product, Electronic Arts (1991)
Gibson Biddle
@gibsonbiddle
Customer focus
Satisfy
Listen
Compete
@gibsonbiddle
Customer obsession
Delight
Experiment
Invent
@gibsonbiddle
Customer

Obsession
The DHM Model
Consumer Science
Free Trial Reminder
Agenda
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle
DHM
Delight customers in
Hard to copy
Margin-enhancing ways.
Balancing act
Delight v. margin
New Release DVD test.
@gibsonbiddle
NEW on DVD
Consumer insight
Surveys, focus groups &
CS dispositioning data
The A/B test
Perfect New Release

Delivery
The result
Cancels: from 4.50% to 4.45%
“Save” 5,000 customers
“Worth” $1M= 5,000 x $100 x 2
But, additional inventory = $5M
“Launch to all” or “No launch”?
@gibsonbiddle
Perfect New Release test
@gibsonbiddle
“Movie enjoyment made easy”
Personalization
Device ecosystem
Original content
/ ExamplesHard to copy
Brand
Unique technology
Network effect
Economies of scale
@gibsonbiddle
Personalized Instant (DVD, streaming)
Easy Exclusives
Open APIs Entertainment
Friends (social) Movie-finding tools
Entertainment
Instant (DVD, streaming)
Easy Exclusives
Open APIs
Friends (social) Movie-finding tools
@gibsonbiddle
Personalized
Entertainment
Instant (DVD, streaming)
Easy Exclusives
Open APIs
Friends (social) Movie-finding tools
Originals
TV devices
@gibsonbiddle
Personalized
Product strategy
Personalization
Instant
Easy
Device ecosystem
Margin-enhancing
/ Tactics
Ratings Wizard, new algorithms
From 20 to 100 hubs; streaming
Day One experience
API launch; Xbox, Playstation
Price & plan testing
@gibsonbiddle
/ Metrics
% members: 50 + ratings at M2
% members watch > 15 min./mo.
% with > 3 titles in queue, day 1
% of demand weighted TVs
Lifetime value, gross margin
@gibsonbiddle
Product strategy
Personalization
Instant
Easy
Device ecosystem
Margin-enhancing
Consumer
Science
@gibsonbiddle
Consumer
Science
Consumer insight through:
Qualitative
Survey
Existing data
A/B tests
Hypotheses
Procedures
(Experiments)
Data
(Results)
SCIENTIFIC

METHOD
Findings
(Conclusions)
@gibsonbiddle
2005
@gibsonbiddle
Ratings Wizard
Queue-add data
Collaborative filtering
Acquire better movies
/ Tactic
@gibsonbiddle
Personalization
Explicit data
Implicit data
Matching algorithms
High-quality movies
@gibsonbiddle
P2 > 50 ratings
% members add > 6 dvds/mo.
RMSE
Average rating
/ MetricPersonalization
Explicit data
Implicit data
Matching algorithms
High-quality movies
Pop Quiz #1
@gibsonbiddle
What % of members rate > 50 movies in first 6 weeks?
% of members who rate > 50 movies
@gibsonbiddle
0
0.075
0.15
0.225
0.3
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
30%
15%
0%
Ratings Wizard
@gibsonbiddle
The more you rate, the better we’ll
do at finding movies you’ll love.
@gibsonbiddle
Pop Quiz #2
Will demographics help predict movie taste?
Movie predictions improve over time
@gibsonbiddle
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Collaborative filtering
@gibsonbiddle
Improve RMSE by 10%, win $1M!
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle
Pop Quiz #3
Will the new algorithm improve retention?
Category interest algorithm
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle
0
0.95
1.9
2.85
3.8
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Average rating improves over time
@gibsonbiddle
Movie rating = movie enjoyment?
@gibsonbiddle
Movie rating = movie enjoyment.
From Stars to Thumbs
@gibsonbiddle
Mall Cop = 93% match
@gibsonbiddle
93% Match
@gibsonbiddle@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle
Free Trial
Reminder
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle
(2018: All data are guesstimates)
@gibsonbiddle
2%
90%
$10M
85%
Consumer insight
Fence sitters <> “cancel anytime”
Customer service:
Trials/visits conversion:
Month one retention:
A/B test results
Month one retention:
DHM?
High or low stakes?
Who makes the decision?
Free trial reminder
Launch or no launch?
The A/B test: Day 27 reminder
DHM: Double down on delight
Low stakes (magnitude, reversible)
Cost of ethics & brand
Debate, decide, do.
Free trial

learnings
@gibsonbiddle
Onemore thing required
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle
Patience
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle
Existing data
Data focus
Customer & Bus.
Qualitative
1-1, usability,
focus groups
Survey data
Demo, cancel,
quality, NPS
A/B testing
Measure change
Delight v. margin
Strategy
Hypotheses
DHM model
Are You
Obsessed?
Customer
Obsession
Putting the customer at
the center of everything
you do, to delight
customers in hard-to-copy,
margin-enhancing ways,
to invent the future.”
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle
www.gibsonbiddle.com
Complete Net Promoter Score survey
Download PDF of presentation
“Customer Obsession” article on Medium
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle

Gibson Biddle "Netflilx's Customer Obsession" Productized19