Inc.com [via Hacking Netflix] recently asked five entrepreneurs what they would suggest to help Netflix win their on-going battle against Blockbuster once and for all. Let’s ignore, for a minute, the fact that it seems really weird to ask a handful of confirmed capitalists what they would do to help a single corporation to secure a market monopoly. I think Withoutabox’s David Strauss is right on the proverbial money with his suggestion that Netflix should seek out niche audiences and put a greater push behind indie films:
Netflix should distribute more obscure films. It started down this path last year when it helped to distribute The Puffy Chair, which got raves at Sundance. Targeted niche outreach of this kind is harder to do than mass outreach, but if you develop a lot of loyal little audiences over time, in the way that eBay did, you often end up with a larger audience than if you go after the mainstream.
It wasn’t that long ago that Netflix seemed to be on the forefront of this. But at this point, I’m not sure they have any interest.
