Netflix and the Power of Personalization

“Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got…  Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came…”

If you’re singing along to the lyrics in your head, congratulations – you were alive in the eighties, or you have a soft spot for classic TV shows. If you’re not, these lyrics represent the opening credits for one of the longest running and most critically acclaimed sitcoms in television history. Certainly, Cheers covered many themes while on the air, but core to the storyline was always the idea of a place where anyone, regardless of social or economic circumstance, could go and feel connected to the people around them. The idea of “being known” is a concept that now transcends personal relationships and has become an expectation of the businesses we interact with on a daily basis. A prime example of this is Netflix.

Over the past year, in between the remote work, e-learning, virtual drum lessons (with not so virtual noises), I have binge-watched more shows on Netflix than I care to admit. The good news is that I’m clearly not alone. Netflix had over 203 million users in the last quarter of 2020 (according to businessofapps.com). For those of us who remember when Netflix sent you DVDs in the mail, it’s hard to comprehend how massive they’ve become and how much they’ve revolutionized the way we consume media.

At the core of Netflix’s strategy is a methodical focus on personalization. In fact, it’s such an integral part of their go-to-market approach that they publicly write about it on their research website:

“Our goal is to help members discover great content that they will enjoy. Personalization is one of the pillars of Netflix because it allows each member to have a different view of our content that adapts to their interests and can help expand their interests over time. It enables us to not have just one Netflix product but hundreds of millions of products: one for each member profile.”

The reason that Netflix is so addictive is the content the application serves up to its audience is personalized based on that individual’s interests and behaviors and compared to other individuals with similar interests and behaviors to predict your next selection before you’ve even had a chance to think about it.  It’s how my oldest daughter discovered the shows iCarly and Victorious even though they originally aired before she was born.

Personalization has been part of the vernacular of financial institutions for a long time now, but when consumers compare the level of personalization they receive from services like Netflix to the level of personalization they receive at their chosen financial institution, there are often gaps. Perhaps it’s because financial institutions don’t put enough organizational emphasis on personalization or leave the task to their marketing departments alone.

In our increasingly contactless world, everyone is striving for connection, and that is really what the heart of personalization is all about. Beyond the numbers, uncovering what motivates and inspires someone is how the best relationships are formed. Financial institutions that figure out how to listen to the needs of their customers and provide the right products and solutions at the right time will be the ones who thrive in this new digital, virtual reality. Those that learn to leverage their existing customer data, drive efficient processes, and deliver personalized customer journeys will be the ones that prosper.

For some interesting statistics on how personalization can change your business, check out this great article from Forbes.

To learn more about how Baker Hill’s solutions can help your financial institution thrive and prosper consider having a conversation with us. You can request a consultation here.