Qwikster is dead. Too little too late.

Only a month ago Qwikster was launched to repair the damage of mid July’s disasters announcement of the take-it-or-leave-it strategy of doubling the price of both DVD deliveries and streaming movies. After two ridiculous moves, resulting in tons of nasty comments and thousands of lost customers and a stock drop from $245 a share to $111, Netflix has dropped Qwikster and is staying with one brand and company.

Netflix has learned a bitter lesson, a basic truth: if you diminish the brand  value your  loyal customers cherish, you are treading on the edge of a precipice. Your brand’s value is based on customer and public perception, not on internal financial assessments. Netflix follows in the footsteps of HP, Tropicana, Pyramid Breweries and many other companies that based decisions on an internal, myopic viewpoint and paid a steep price.

Ignore customer perceptions at your own risk.