4 Digital Customers: Ana, Andi, D.J. and Syndi

Herman Gyr and partner Lisa Friedman, developers of the Enterprise Development Framework, talk about the the "Changing Audience in the Digital Era – Implications for the Contemporary Media Enterprise" in an article authored by Alex Gyr. For more about their work, visit the Enterprise Development website. Here is an exerpt from Alex's paper.

The Four Digital Customers
As we studied how customers were changing in the digital era, we identified four major mindsets that were emerging that we will call the “Four Digital Customers:”

* Ana (for analog),
* Andi (for analog-digital),
* D.J. (for Digital Joe or Digital Jane),
* Syndi (for synthesizing).

Each of these customers symbolizes a different set of consumer values that must be addressed by the successful contemporary media company. While imagining these four customers as four individuals helps to illustrate the concept of differing consumer mindsets, in reality every media customer exhibits all four of these mindsets at one time or another, usually many times a day, sometimes even in parallel.

Humans exhibit a natural capacity for multi-dimensional states of mind. There are times when we want to be passive, when we want to sit back and be entertained(=Ana). There are times when we want to be playful or interactive(=Andi). And there are also times we want to express ourselves creatively (=D.J.) and when we want to feel part of a community(=Syndi).

New Technology to Meet Divers Customer Mindsets
Traditionally, the media has done an excellent job of providing for the analog, passive mindset. But now, this is no longer enough. Through new technology, the media can and must provide for a range of mindsets and human expression.

Thanks to the exponential growth reflected in Moore’s Law and the emergence of a new era, media technology can now satisfy all four of the “Digital Customers.” This was not possible even five years ago. Understanding what motivates and excites the four mindsets or digital customers can help companies understand their marketplace on a much deeper and more meaningful level.

The Future (which may be right now)
So what is the future of the “Four Digital Customers?” The answer is that no one really knows. Ana, Andi, D.J. and Syndi, and thus every media consumer, will discover new products and services that appeal to them and some that don’t. However, by understanding the four digital customer mindsets, media companies can take some of the mystery out of what makes their consumers tick. By grasping the multi-dimensional nature of the needs and emotions that drive every customer, it becomes easier to evaluate why certain creations work and why others don’t.

Ana, Andi, DJ, & Syndi help explain why the modern media consumer is no longer satisfied with only passive-reflective, one-way content. With the exponential growth of digital technology, it is possible for the media to connect with all four of its customers’ habits— and that is what people want. Basic human behavior isn’t changing, but the way that consumers can act on their desires is.

What we see today is only the beginning, but Ana, Andi, D.J. and Syndi point the way to what is coming tomorrow. See more here.