Earlier this week, Netflix reversed a decision it made just 3 weeks before, when it said that its traditional DVD-based movie rental service would be spun off into an entity called Qwikster. Customers who were previously renting movies either through streaming or DVD delivery would have to create separate accounts on 2 different websites, Netflix and Qwikster.
What a mess. This was at the same time they announced a price increase, which in any economy, is never met with enthusiasm. But making it more complicated for their customers to do business with them was the real kicker. Separate accounts where there had only been one before? That’s as if I were to order a Value Meal at McDonald’s and then told to go next door to pay for the soda.
Keep things simple, and make it easier for customers to work with you, not harder. You never hear a customer say to a business owner, “It’s too simple to do business with you. I need somebody more confusing.”
What are your thoughts?