The multidimensional customer
In an era defined by uncertainty, the companies that get closest to their customers will emerge ahead of the pack. This begins with an “outside-in” view, building new ways of understanding how and why people make decisions.
You already know that customer behavior is changing. Power has shifted from companies to consumers, the mobile phone has become the remote control of our lives, trust in institutions and traditional advertising has diminished. Customer trade-offs and decisions are more opaque and moving faster. You’re already aware that the structure and composition of industry has changed. New entrants with radically new business models are enacting disruption across the value chain, reshaping ecosystems from sector to sector. Meanwhile, company lifespans are shrinking and the paths to billion-dollar valuations are accelerating. All these challenges are well documented across business media, research reports and conference presentations. But how should you use this information to understand not only where your customers are today but where they’ll be tomorrow? How can you rethink the basis of competition and pivot your operations and business models to win in the battle for growth? It’s time for a new approach. One that employs a multidimensional framework to engage what is now a multidimensional consumer.
Genesis of our findings For several years, we’ve worked shoulder to shoulder with clients to understand customer attitudes, behavior and expectations in our present era of disruption and uncertainty. Faint signals of change grew louder and bigger patterns began to emerge beyond one individual sector, building a sense of urgency and leading to our belief that we’re witnessing a structural change, not a temporal one. As our teams constructed a new way of thinking about a changing customer, we embarked on a multifaceted research program to validate our thinking and bring to bear the voice of the consumer. Combined with the extensive, worldwide experience of KPMG’s network of member firms, this has enabled us to identify how best to engage the 21st-century consumer, and our approach provides a tangible framework to help companies identify, understand and respond to today’s changing customer.
The Five Mys
Through a multi-dimensional lens called the Five Mys, businesses gain access to predictive insights that navigate the complexity of consumer decision making. The Five Mys include: My Motivation, My Attention, My Connection, My Watch and My Wallet. Each of the Five Mys in isolation tells only part of the story: together they provide companies with a clear picture of the collective influences on today’s consumer and how those affect decisions, preferences, choices and spending.
“For years, marketers have touted demographic segmentation for targeting customers. Looking at demographics alone, however, risks missing the multifaceted way in which people make decisions.”
My Motivation: Characteristics that drive behaviors and expectations
My Attention: Ways we direct our attention and focus
My Connection: How we connect to devices, information and each other
My Watch: How we balance the constraints of time and how that changes across life events
My Wallet: How we adjust our share of wallet across life events
More: KPMG Report. Me, my life, my wallet