Who succeeds in the Long Tail?

In The New Rules of Marketing and PR, author David Meerman Scott references Chris Anderson’s book, The Long Tail. Scott is a proponent of this theory, which states that “our culture and economy is moving away from a focus on a relatively small number of ‘hits’ at the head of the demand curve and toward a huge number of niches in the tail” (Scott 18).

This is a viable theory. The shelving constraints of the brick-and-mortar store do not exist on the Web, so consumers now have access to essentially anything they want to buy. They don’t have to wait for the product to appear on shelves. Furthermore, the searching and browsing capabilities of Web-based shopping allows consumers to find products that they may have never known existed otherwise. This gives consumers complete control of their shopping experience—they can find exactly what they want when they want it, and their choices are no longer limited to whatever the hottest items of the month are.

While the theory makes sense, I question the reality of it. In his book, Scott references three companies to demonstrate the truth of the Long Tail theory:

“Some of today’s most successful Internet businesses leverage the long tail to reach underserved customers and satisfy demand for products not found in traditional physical stores. Examples include Amazon, which makes available at the click of a mouse thousands of books not stocked in local chain stores; iTunes, a service that legally brings niche music not found in record stores to people who crave artists outside the mainstream; and Netflix, which exploited the long tail of demand for movie rentals beyond the blockbuster hits found at the local DVD rental shop” (Scott 18).

I believe that all three of these companies bring consumers products—be it book, song, or movie—that may not be available in stores. But all three of these companies bring consumers everything—blockbuster hits as well as niche choices. Therefore, I think it’s inaccurate to say that they owe their success to their exploitation of the Long Tail. They may sell a small number of niche products to niche markets, but I believe their profit margins depend on the sale of hits, and their homepages prove it.

• Right now on the Amazon books homepage, placed above-the-fold, is a list of books they would like to sell me placed under the heading, “Spring Reading Preview: Blockbusters.”

• Right now on iTunes is a list of top singles and albums that I can conveniently purchase with the click of a mouse right from the homepage. I heard each and every one of these on the radio yesterday.

• Right now on the Netflix browsing homepage is a scrolling list of newly released DVDs that I can rent from them. The new Bruce Willis movie is up there, along with Michael Jackson’s This Is It, and a number of other options, all of which I have seen advertised on TV.

If I dug deep and knew exactly what I was looking for, I could find products on these sites that I have not seen in the bookstore, previewed in the theater, or heard on the radio. But I am a mainstream girl. I have mainstream friends. I exist in the head of this long-tailed beast, and based on a quick glance at the homepages of these leading Web-based companies, I believe that I represent the consumer demographic they are catering to. They know where they make their money, and that is in selling the hits. Based on Scott’s example of the Long Tail theory, I believe a company must be an industry leader in the first place—able to offer their consumers everything that is available—in order to find any success in the Long Tail.