Netflix’s new marketing tactic offers users a tease of an upgrade, inviting them to switch to the more expensive plans. New Indian subscribers who choose the basic or standard plans can now upgrade their experience to a plan that is one tier higher for a limited period, for free.
Subscribers who choose the ₹499 basic plan will get an option to be upgraded to the standard plan at the same price. While the basic plans offers standard definition videos on a single screen, the standard plan lets you screen content in HD on up to two screens at a time. Subsequently, subscribers of the ₹649 standard plan can choose to experience the premium plan which offers 4K streaming on upto 4 screens at a time. The premium plan, which is the topmost tier, would normally cost ₹800. These upgrades will run for 30 days after which the user can choose whether to adopt the plan or go back to their original choice.
The marketing strategy is quite clever as no user likes a downgrade in their viewing experience. Considering the state of affairs that has forced people to remain at home, subscribers are bound to get hooked to an enhanced viewing experience. In the beginning of lockdown itself, the increased traffic had forced Netflix to lower video quality for mobile data users and also block pop-ups.
It is without doubt that the tactic will bring in new subscribers for the streaming service. Addressing exactly this, a Netflix spokesperson said “We’re looking at different marketing promotions in India to attract new members and give them a great Netflix experience”.
Netflix also recently announced that it will be cancelling subscriptions of inactive users. In the grouping of inactive users, the streaming service will include those who have been inactive for over a year. This will of course be done after the subscriber has been notified via e-mail, SMS or in-app notifications. Subscriptions of users that fail to notify their presence will then be cancelled.
