My student No: F1020090210

My name: Proshenjit Biswas

1) Explain Netflix’s marketing strategy. Can it sustain its competitive advantage?

Why or why not?

 Netflix Marketing Strategy:

Netflix marketing is an integrated, agile approach to brand development and customer
relationship management, which works great in the digital age thanks to innovation,
adoption of the latest technology, creative advertising, and real-time data analytics.
Unlike traditional marketing methods that focus on making the sale through one or two
channels, modern marketing the Netflix way evolves with the changes in the market.
With constant analysis and optimization, your brand too can connect with customers across
a range of mediums, devices, and touch points, just like Netflix.
In essence, the modern marketing tools used by Netflix are data-driven, customer-centric,
personalized, and omnipresent.
The good news is, none of it is superhuman, so you can do it all too.

 Competitive Advantage:
Netflix shares touched an all-time high on Wednesday after the company delivered another
impressive earnings report. It added 8.5 million subscribers in the period and said it would
no longer need to take on debt.
Despite record subscriber growth in 2020, which was aided by the coronavirus pandemic,
Netflix bears continue to roar about the onslaught of competition the streamer is facing.
Over the last year or so, Disney+, Apple TV+, Peacock, HBOMax, and Discovery+ have
all joined the streaming fray, and ViacomCBS's Paramount+ is set to launch in March.
Streaming clearly reached a tipping point last year and the coronavirus pandemic has only
accelerated the transition from linear TV to streaming TV that co-CEO Reed Hastings
predicted several years ago. For Netflix, the question of whether the company has a
sustainable competitive advantage with all the new competition entering the streaming
arena bears asking, but after the latest report, there are a number of clear signs that Netflix
does have an economic moat. Even better, it is widening.
2) Perform a SWOT analysis for Netflix. What are its biggest threats? Which
opportunities should it pursue?

 SWOT analysis of Netflix in detail

Strength:

As an essential component of SWOT, a company's strength is its asset to plan its expansion.
Netflix has several strengths that make them one of the top streaming services:

 Netflix has a strong brand reputation and has become a household name by substituting
some top-rated television programs. The company has also shown exponential growth
in recent years.
 Netflix has a global presence and is affordable to many Southeast Asian countries. It
has given them an advantage in the continually changing market scenario.
 Netflix's original movies and TV shows offer ample opportunities to budding
filmmakers. The audience enjoys the mode of the content presented by the platform as
their original content.
 The company has high adaptability. Netflix continually modifies its service, based on
the market and the viewers' choice. It is the reason Netflix is currently high on demand.

Weakness:

Most companies have several weaknesses alongside their strengths. The companies may
take strategies based to work on their weaknesses. Though Netflix is one of the top
companies, there is a particular weakness that is working as a hindrance to their growth:

 Netflix has limited copyright, which tolls upon their revenue. The debts of the company
are also increasing.
 There is a lack of original content in several countries. Therefore they have less demand
for high price subscriptions in some countries.
 The company mostly depends on its North American customer base.
 Netflix lacks sound customer care executives, which harms customer service, leading
to decreased customer satisfaction.

Opportunities:
The market is continually changing with increased demands, which helps any company
aspiring for substantial growth. The need for OTT platforms is also rising, which is a good
sign for Netflix. So, some of the significant opportunities that the firm can grasp from the
current market are:

 As Netflix has a brand reputation, the great demand for OTT platforms in the current
market can allow the brand to expand.
 Since Netflix is signing up for exclusive Netflix-only content, they can bring in other
product lines, including video games, comic books, and more.
 Netflix is already a global presence. They can strengthen their subscriber base by a
strategic partnership with local markets that will help them to capture the local market.
 The company can choose to work on new concepts that are better than other OTT
platforms. Netflix has already said no to the traditional advertising-based business
model, which is an opportunity for them to provide good customer service.

Threats:

For all the companies in the market, there are specific threats. The market has several OTT
services, and the customers may choose based on their parameters. Therefore, excelling in
almost all the possible parameters can be a solution to retain the position as the best. Even
in that case, the companies may have to face the threats posed in the way of their expansion.
As one of the biggest OTT companies, Netflix is not an exception. So, the threats and risks
that Netflix is exposed to are:

 COVID-19 has affected the reproduction of new original shows and movies. Like most
parts of the entertainment industry, Netflix is also affected by the pandemic. Gradually
with normalization, the condition will improve.
 The government regulations in certain countries can hold them from expansion.
 Netflix is suffering majorly from content piracy. Many people choose to watch the
pirated version of the original series available without paying, threatening the company.
 Another reason for fewer customers for Netflix is that many people share one account
simultaneously.
3) What is the best way for Netflix to grow its business? Justify your answer.

 Netflix has grown at an amazing pace in the past five years. The company has more than
195 million subscribers in the third quarter of 2020. Its profitability is growing fast. The
company’s operating margin has expanded to 20% in 2020. The substantial debt burden the
company had accumulated over the years does not look a major worry now. Netflix is
growing its competitive moat stronger through investment in original content. Most of its
revenues and profits have gone into creating original content. However, there is no other
way out since member satisfaction affects profitability. Original content attracts new
members in larger numbers. To engage them, you need to produce more original content.
Netflix plans to produce more original content in 2020 and 2021. Content costs are fixed
costs. So, Netflix will have reduced its debt burden substantially in the long run. Its profits
are growing, and operating margins are expanding. The costs of content production are
fixed. Netflix’s subscriber base is expanding and going to bring in enormous profits each
quarter. The message is clear; Netflix will invest where it matters most – into original
content that drives subscriber base growth.