{"id":3961,"date":"2020-04-10T19:09:03","date_gmt":"2020-04-10T19:09:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uxmag.com\/?p=3961"},"modified":"2022-10-04T13:56:17","modified_gmt":"2022-10-04T13:56:17","slug":"how-netflix-uses-psychology-to-perfect-their-customer-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uxmag.com\/articles\/how-netflix-uses-psychology-to-perfect-their-customer-experience-banner","title":{"rendered":"How Netflix uses psychology to perfect their customer experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

“If the Starbucks secret is a smile when you get your latte, [Netflix\u2019s secret] is that the Web site adapts to the individual\u2019s taste.\u201d<\/p>\n

– Reed Hastings<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s a company that\u2019s synonymous with seamless customer experience, it\u2019s Netflix. It has become the defacto entertainment source for many. So much so that\u00a015% of the world\u2019s web traffic<\/a>\u00a0goes to Netflix.<\/p>\n

But when your experience is industry-leading, how do you evolve it without disappointing customers?<\/p>\n

The answer lies in experimentation, built on proven psychological principles.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And because Netflix is a subscription service, you can quickly discover what\u2019s working. Just observe how many customers cancel their service in response to your experiment and optimize from there.<\/p>\n

3 psychological principles that Netflix uses to perfect their customer experience<\/h3>\n
1. The Reciprocity Principle<\/h5>\n

Reciprocity is a social norm of responding to a positive action with another positive action. It\u2019s why you feel indebted when someone does you a favor.<\/p>\n

Made famous by Robert Cialdini in his book \u201cInfluence: The Psychology of Persuasion<\/a>,\u201d Reciprocity can be summed by the saying, \u201cYou\u2018ve got to give to get.\u201d<\/p>\n

How does Netflix apply the Reciprocity Principle?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Netflix asked their customer base, \u201c What one thing would you like to know more about before signing up for Netflix\u201d? The most popular answer (46% of responses<\/a>) was \u201cknowing all of the movies and TV shows available.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, Netflix experimented with showing customers available content on the home page. But their experiment revealed something interesting. Showing customers too much of the content was distracting. Many of them browsed but never signed up.<\/p>\n

Failed Experiment: Let customers browse Netflix\u2019s complete catalog<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"Netflix\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Source: Netflix via awwwards. on\u00a0YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

So Netflix redesigned their experiment. Designers still used the Reciprocity Principle, but this time they used an image that hinted at an extensive catalog. But they didn\u2019t let customers browse the whole thing.<\/p>\n

Giving people a sneak peek \u2014 but not the total view \u2014 made customers more likely to sign up for a free streaming trial.<\/p>\n

Winning Experiment: Give customers a sneak peek of the content<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"Netflix\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Source: Netflix via\u00a0NirandFar.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

2. Cocktail Party Effect<\/h5>\n
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\"Cocktail<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Photo by\u00a0Scott Warman<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Cocktail Party Effect states that people like to focus on information that\u2019s relevant to them. But the Cocktail Party Effect also proves that if we go deeper, relevant content can drive incredible results.<\/p>\n

In a recent study,\u00a0Accenture found<\/a>\u00a0three personalization tactics that have a direct effect on buying behavior:<\/p>\n