Nathan Beaver is a Partner at KPMG UK and in 2020, he shared his insights on the “integrity economy”, and how consumer behaviour evolved during the global pandemic.
With 91% of customers saying they do NOT want to return to the pre-Covid world, he explained some of the principles that loyalty programme managers need to keep in mind to connect with their most valuable customers.
Trust has become an essential ingredient in business and KPMG revealed some dramatic research findings on what they are calling the “New Customer”.
Listen to this short show to capture the key highlights of my interview with KPMG UK.
1) Nathan Beaver – Partner at KPMG UK
2) Let’s Talk Loyalty Episode #50 with KPMG
PAULA: Welcome to Let’s Talk Loyalty, an industry podcast for loyalty marketing professionals.
PAULA: I’m your host, Paula Thomas.
PAULA: And if you work in loyalty marketing, join me every week to learn the latest ideas from loyalty specialists around the world.
PAULA: This show is sponsored by Comark, a global provider of innovative software products and business services.
PAULA: Comark’s platform is used by leading brands across all industries to drive their customer loyalty.
PAULA: Powered by AI and machine learning, Comark technologies allow you to build, run, and manage personalized loyalty programs and product offers with ease.
PAULA: For more information, please visit comark.com.
PAULA: Hello, and welcome to Episode 162 of Let’s Talk Loyalty.
PAULA: Kpmg is one of the world’s big four accounting and consulting firms, and they actively invest in consumer research that supports business owners and anyone focusing on driving customer loyalty.
PAULA: In the summer of 2020, the firm invested in two major pieces of research to help brands understand what they were calling the new customer.
PAULA: Nathan Beaver, a partner at Kpmg Uk, joined me to share his understanding of the underlying changes in consumer behavior through the pandemic and beyond.
PAULA: He described the impact of COVID as the trigger for the most profound consumer behavior change since the 1950s, and shared his view that the new habits emerging will stay for the long-term, as they are becoming deeply ingrained in our lives by the time the pandemic has passed.
PAULA: In fact, having researched and tracked customer sentiment, Kpmg found that 91% of people said they don’t want to return to a pre-COVID world, and they told us they’re questioning a lot of the fundamental ideas that we had previously taken for granted.
PAULA: Big ideas like our purpose in life, our health, and even on a practical level, what channels we like to use when we are engaging with brands.
PAULA: Now, at the time of the interview in August 2020, much of the shift to digital channels was driven by safety concerns.
PAULA: But Nathan’s view was very much that these channels are here to stay.
PAULA: Because people had taken the opportunity to overcome their previous inertia and reluctance to use these new channels, they had actually been very pleasantly surprised about how well they actually enjoyed using them.
PAULA: On a more emotive level, Nathan shared the emergence of different values, and a new mindset focused on the integrity economy, a way of doing business that’s anchored in trust.
PAULA: Short term, customers said their focus was simply on their health and safety.
PAULA: However, longer term, they were clear that they want to do business with brands that are focused on people, on purpose and on the planet.
PAULA: Now, clearly, loyalty schemes can offer a powerful foundation to respond to these changing customer needs.
PAULA: And in Nathan’s view, they are taking on an even greater role supporting brands and becoming a core part of the business.
PAULA: And they’re often seen as a key differentiator for companies who in the past have had to compete on price and product.
PAULA: Nathan highlighted the increased use of third-party partnerships, such as charity options and local relevance for programs and their rewards, with a focus on allowing consumers to spend on things that really matter to them.
PAULA: It was a notable change from our focused in the past of CSR led initiatives, with charity and community interests becoming critical to both customers and now also to employees.
PAULA: Kpmg’s research covered 25 markets globally, and Nathan confirmed that these trends and the need for integrity and purpose are truly global.
PAULA: And all over the world, customers are telling us they want to do business with brands who focus on things that are important to them.
PAULA: Nathan also highlighted the continuing importance of making it easy for customers to do business with us.
PAULA: Using technology to be of service rather than to complicate or even confuse customers.
PAULA: So that’s it for this short summary of Episode 50, outlining Kpmg’s global research on the impact of COVID on customers’ mindset and priorities.
PAULA: So if you’d like to hear more, you can listen to the full interview on letstalkloyalty.com and you can connect with Nathan Beaver in Kpmg Uk on LinkedIn if you’d like to learn more.
PAULA: That’s it for today’s episode of Let’s Talk a Little Loyalty.
PAULA: Please do join me again this Thursday when I’m sharing an interview with Accor, the gorgeous European hotel brand, which has done some incredible work with its Live Limitless loyalty concept.
PAULA: This show is sponsored by The Wise Marketeer, the world’s most popular source of loyalty marketing news, insights and research.
PAULA: The Wise Marketeer also offers loyalty marketing training through its Loyalty Academy, which has already certified over 170 executives in 20 countries as certified loyalty marketing professionals.
PAULA: For more information, check out thewisemarketeer.com and loyaltyacademy.org.
PAULA: Thanks so much for listening to this episode of Let’s Talk Loyalty.
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