THE LONG TAIL
The long tail concept pushes the limits of the world of scarcity to a world of abundance. I personally think that’s that this sentence explains clearly the main principle of this concept. I found the expressions of “The world of scarcity”, “the tyranny of space” brutal but reflecting very well the problems of space and time that faces the world, notably the media and entertainment industry. The long tail theory provides solutions for these constraints and makes the business easier, larger and more profitable for both sides customers and suppliersIt offers larger varieties of media and entertainment products such as films, music tracks, games, with the possibility of obtaining old titles, lower prices, titles by unit…wherever they are and whenever they want
The concept could be considered as a solution for many suppliers, since they can reach the consumers easily and quicker than before. In addition, If we take the example of a movie or music tracks…they are not limited by the broadcasting time or the lack of audience. It’s also an opportunity to increase profits by providing unlimited selections of different products (including old and unfashionable ones) at attractive prices. In other words make everything available. At the same time they save money since manufacturing, distribution, storage, marketing…costs are reduced.
Using the long tail principles reduces the physical constraints and the. It makes many new market niches attainable without limitation of time or geographical space.
We also notice a change in the consumer behaviour; the more he has alternatives the more he wants to discover and have others.
In order to understand better this concept and have an idea about its benefits, it’s better to take some examples of long tail users from the most famous media and entertainment industry actors :
- NETFLIX (http://www.netflix.com/) which is is the world's largest online movie rental service. By bringing different type of movies and documentaries; foreign films, anime, independent movies…, directly to the consumer this supplier knew how to update its services to the changes in the style of life of the modern consumer in order to satisfy his requirements and match his expectations.
By providing rare products with small and dispersed audience, recommendations which represent 60% of Netflix rentals, the site has increased its rentals and its profits
- AMAZON (http://www.amazon.com/) ; a very important worldwide bookseller used an efficient strategy; the recommendations which uses the research and selection patterns of consumers to guide and help those who follow them in making a choice.
Moreover the site provides more services considered other revenue streams such as:
- Amazon credit card program
- The digital text platform program
- Selling more products different from books
The long tail is used by different businesses, especially those based on internet which solves the problems of space and time. So it’s an online based concept which could be better developed by introducing some other entertainment means such as bet gaming, home made videos or home recorded tracks. In this case a subscription fee could be asked in order to put the work on the network and make it saleable
posted by Aymen @ 3:51 PM
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