The Future Of The Long Tail Strategy

Reflections on the idea of The Long Tail. The concept was made popular by Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired Magazine and the author of Long Tail, The, Revised and Updated Edition: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More.

There are a few key points that Anderson makes throughout the book. Basically, the main theme analyzes the one-hit culture and the general trend to move away from that culture. The hypothesis that Anderson has brought to the table has proven to be valid.

Eric Schmidt of Google argues that the vast majority of revenue remains in the head. Schmidt said in an interview — “You need the head and the tail to make the model work.”

Anderson studiously suggests that there is limited shelf space at retail stores, limited hours of programming on TV, and limited movie choices at theaters. The ethos of the average consumer has always focused on the idea that if a bulky box store doesn’t carry a product, then the product is somehow not worthy of consideration. That’s not the case in the Long Tail world.

Nevertheless, what if there is a demand for products that do not set on the shelves of big box stores? It’s not infrequent to see niche products that find their way into the marketplace on a daily basis.

On television, e.g., you have reality singing programs that are incredibly popular. The performers are usually not that well known, and are normally categorized in a niche role.

American Idol, a program which seeks new solo recording artists, has become one of the most popular series in the history of American television. Again, it’s all about the niche game. While American Idol performers do sing mainstream cultured covers to gain broad attention, new titles are specifically written to showcase the talent of that particular artist.

This is what Anderson is referring to; the ongoing quest to find new material. The internet culture offers technology that provides the audience with a rich variety of alternatives. Scarcity is no longer an issue. While some would find this wide array of choices a bit overwhelming, the majority of consumers today strongly desire to sift through thousands of opportunities.

The one-niche product is the new standard. The niche product doesn’t have to be embraced by every circle. And why should it?

Take a look at iTunes, RealNetworks, Netflix, Yahoo!, and Amazon for example. Their strength lies in the numbers, and these companies are very much aware of that fact. More choice equals better customer satisfaction. That translates to more profit.

As Anderson distinctly points out in his works, liquidity is the key factor. If you want to write a book, Amazon now offers a service to self-publish your book. It’s that easy. If you want to record a hit song, iTunes makes it possible for you to do just that. If you want to deliver your talent to the world, simply grab a camera and showcase your performance in a YouTube video.

The psychology of selling is as unique as the Long Tail concept itself. Just look at campaigns that are used today to sell products. For instance, you have the popular author Seth Godin. He has been known to give away books or portions of books at least, because he is aware that if he eventually attracts an audience, his faithful followers will return and purchase his best sellers.

As reported by All Things D, you have Amazon practically giving away Lady Gaga’s album, Born This Way.

What’s happening here? Amazon is promoting one of its products, the Amazon Cloud Player. The strategy has been used before — just get the audience in the door and keep them there.

While some areas of the music industry have suffered by the internet age, other areas have flourished. There’s no question about it, sometimes the competition can be brutally fierce.

The future of the Long Tail business strategy continues to be about having more of less…