The twin forces of human behaviour

Illustration: E. Wikander/Azote

The primary motivating factor behind all human behaviour is the desire to avoid pain and the desire (or need) to gain pleasure. My values are “old school”, as I think selling is the process of motivation after you have discovered the reasons why the buyer should buy your products or services. Those of you who are from my school of thought, believe that people don’t buy needs, they buy wants. And then the big question is, how do you build tremendous wants for your products?


We know that if you can make people want your products or services badly enough, they will find a way to justify their purchase. For example, online shopping for luxury goods has soared, doubling its market share from 12% in 2019 to 23% in 2020. This indicates the profound shift in consumer behaviour as well as the results of people shopping from home due to Covid 19. The key to succeeding in these times will be for brands to meet customers’ expectations in a more seamless manner across all of their channels. Especially as brands contend with store closures, travel disruptions and ongoing threat of future lockdowns. Contact me via e-mail for workshops around improving your online customer support, click and collect initiatives and contactless payment procedures.

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Take a look at yourself

I think that we are all selling solutions to external problems and customers are buying solutions to internal problems. The story should always be about how the hero is feeling about their external problem. For example, I recently watched a show on Netflix where the hero is trying to disarm a bomb. A few years ago, he tried and failed. Lots of people were hurt, now he is full of self doubt. He asks himself, can I do this? He feels ill equipped, self doubt has kicked in and he is not sure whether he can get the job done. Does this sound familiar?


Customers wants us to guide them on their internal journey as they also have an external problems. The external problems are causing them frustration and unpleasantness, and this is exactly what they are trying to resolve. Companies try to resolve external problems but people buy resolutions to internal problems. Do you understand what I mean? If not send me an e-mail and I will explain it to you.

Just Do It

NIKE is above everything else, a master storyteller that also happens to make well designed products. Products that become an emblem, declaring one’s cultural alliance with the brand. The actual things that NIKE sells are simply an outward symbolism of that cultural affiliation, thus the relationship with a brand like NIKE becomes transformational whilst the majority of their competitors have only a transactional relationship with their customers. I don’t think that NIKE could have predicted the pandemic, but the decisions it make 4 years ago have powered its performance through it and has provided a roadmap for others. 

The lessons for retailers across categories are clear: 

1. No single customer or level of sales volume is worth sacrificing your brand as In reality, the brand is all you have!

2. Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) sales is just a throwback to the way retail has been performed for generations. In fact, the true value of a brands rests in the power of the stories it tells - “Lose the story and you lose the brand and lose the brand and you will lose everything!”

3. Bricks and mortar shops have opportunity to become the most powerful media channel on earth, real life stages from which those unique brand stories can be told.

We all see things from different perspectives. Don’t be shy, contact me via e-mail when you are ready for an external perspective on your brand engagement.

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Do you know your customers?

The customer experience, both physical and digital, begins the moment someone is exposed to your brand and can extend through their entire lifetime depending on the memories you have created from their experience – both as an employee and customer. Satisfying and exceeding both the functional and emotional needs, values and aspirations of your customers and employees cultivates brand love, advocacy and loyalty. Brands must know their customers better than the customers know themselves.


I think success will no longer defined by giving customers what they want, when they want it. Instead, brands must anticipate what customers need before they need it, and offer it at the best price and deliver it quickly. The new success criteria will be measured by how well retailers can personalise, customise, digitalise and socialise. As consumers, we should support the brands that are not just talking about the important humanitarian issues of our day, but are also contributing to bettering the lives of those affected.

From my perspective

I met somebody new last night and he said that the was an avid reader of my site. I was humbled and explained to him that I am on a 6 week online digital marketing course which has affected the length and depth of my writing. He asked me how to start a business from scratch doing work you love with people you care about? My short answer was that due to the global COVID-19 pandemic a new consumer behaviour has emerged and I would approach all business problems from a design and experience led angle. Everything is going digital and there are so many different perspectives to take into account when creating and developing new products and services.

The American trend forecaster, Sarah Owen said, “When it comes to social media bragging, the youth have a new social currency - culture and lifestyle. We see this demographic invest in the experiential, and the ultimate bragging rights are in the wellness, travel, and lifestyle sectors. Posting a photo of a designer handbag is no longer associated with the changing notion of luxury. What is considered to be a luxury today is time and travel, it’s wellness and well-cultured individuals. That’s the new currency.”


Are you curious? Contact me via e-mail when you are ready to look at your engagement.

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The market conditions are not ideal

The last ten years was really about going online to save money. I think the next ten years will be about going online to save time and to buy things not available in your local retailers. Customer service will be more important as well the quality and range of product on offer. Send me an e-mail and let me know what you think?

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We must be willing to fail and to appreciate the truth that often life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived.”

— M. Scott Peck

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The customer is the hero

Many companies position there marketing around benefits and features of their product or service, but how can they make the customer the hero of their story? By making the customer the hero and communicating in a way that demonstrates empathy for the customer is most powerful in the long run. I think that it’s best to focus on strategic outcomes that your customer needs. Not talking about yourself, your services or offerings as it loses people, because it makes you the star of the story and this in turn makes the client not the star of the story!


We all wake up self identifying as heroes in stories. If I am a hero and meet you at a dinner party and you tell me about yourself my subconscious begins to process you as a hero as well. And sometimes we subconsciously believe that there is scarcity of resources, so if you are the hero and I am a hero - Who’s the best? In reality, you should be stepping aside as the client is looking for someone to help with their story. It’s OK that another character comes into the story and their purpose is to help the hero win type day. I don’t want to be the hero in your story, I just want your business to succeed - I want to be the character that exists to help the hero win. I’m actually here to help them have success and the client is the star of the story. Contact me via e-mail to arrange a meeting or workshop about how to include your customers in your storytelling.

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We are living in interesting times

c/o Heineken

The European Super League was a proposed annual club football competition to be contested by twenty European football clubs. It was planned as a breakaway competition to replace the UEFA Champions League. The announcement of the Super League received almost universal opposition from fans, players, managers, politicians, as well as footballs governing bodies (FIFA and UEFA). Much of the criticism against the European Super League focused on elitism and lack of competitiveness and the backlash against the announcement of the league's formation led to all six of the English clubs (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham) announcing their intention to withdraw within 3 days after being officially announced. Over the last seven days we have witnessed that some of the wealthiest men in the world are totally out of touch with their end users.


The basic rules of communication says that the art of being an effective communicator is predicated in part by your ability to translate your thoughts into the language that your audience understands. I wonder whether the billionaire owners of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham have the courage to come out of their bubbles and talk to the fans, players and managers. Not showing up as the teachers but to come into the room as humble students. I think that if you want to be a great speaker, you must first learn to become a great listener.



When you lose your ability to hear eventually it will affect your ability to speak, because there is a correlation between what the ear hears and what the mouth articulates. Every great orator is a great listener and I think we have not only lost our ability to speak but also our ability to listen. Nowadays, people are pausing while they formulate their next approach to attack, and that’s not listening. If we actually take the time to listen, most of us all want the same thing - to be loved, to be appreciated, to be accepted as we are and we all want what’s best for our children. Contact me via e-mail to arrange a meeting about your customer experience, communication strategy or if you want to introduce me to the owners of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United or Tottenham.

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Always try to change things for the better

You can use data, data and more data if you are serving people. Are you aware that every single click you make, everywhere you go is now recorded in a database? And more than that, there is software that allows the marketer to watch while you are shopping, watch you while you rage click on a button. You can get a report that tells you that 28% of the visitors pressed on this button first, we are watching everything. The direct marketer is busy moving tiny little pieces around to try to get a 3% boost, but the intuitive marketer can see how people are interacting and discover what they are seeking. We are stuck in the same circle to see which parts work and which parts don’t.


The purpose of marketing is this generous act of helping people figure out their problems and solving them. The only way to this is to keep doing it and the internet has made it cheaper, faster and easier to do than ever before. The big takeaway is just do it, get the feedback from those people - see how they behave, see how they buy, whether they buy it or whether they don’t. Listen to what they tell you, listen to the questions they ask and the objections they may have, learn from that and do it better the next time and never stop. We don’t have the power to do things to people against their will, contact me via e-mail to arrange a meeting about your organisations use of data.

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Contrast sharpens the desire

My first summer job was in retail, so since my school days whenever I enter a shop, I always ask myself about how retailers are being inclusive in their retail environment. What’s important to the customers? I think the ability to make it really easy for consumers to buy your products regardless of their knowledge. Mixing customer experience with great technology from your customers point of view will allow you to control the relationship.

For the very first time in our existence we have the necessary resources, capability and technology to address every human problem on the planet. I think the only thing that we are missing is consciousness, so in order to improve the customer experience, start with the employee experience. Do you deliver a consistent customer experience, and if so how? Contact me via e-mail if you would like to deliver sustainable, extraordinary growth by creating an inspiring, unique and convenient customer experience.

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Turns on the lights

Consumer behaviour considers the many reasons why people shop for products those reasons could be personal, psychological, situational or even social. Knowing and understanding customer needs is at the centre of every successful business, whether it sells B2C or B2B. You can't persuade anyone that they want or need to buy what you are offering unless you clearly understand what it is your customers really want. As marketers we need to know what makes our consumers take action and why they buy.


I don’t think that your consumers buy from you because they care about you, they buy from you because they care about themselves. Ask yourself if you would drink that brand of coffee if George Clooney wasn’t endorsing it or if you would take that advice if it wasn’t coming from Oprah. It’s for you that you are doing it, and yes it has something to do with the celebrity, but it’s not because of the celebrity. It’s because of your own narrative - how it makes you feel in the eyes of your friends, family and colleagues.

Authentic leaders don’t see helping people as a pain, they see it as their purpose. Don’t be shy, contact me via e-mail.

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Willingness to listen

““Living with integrity means: Not settling for less than what you know you deserve in your relationships. Asking for what you want and need from others. Speaking your truth, even though it might create conflict or tension. Behaving in ways that are in harmony with your personal values. Making choices based on what you believe, and not what others believe.” - Barbara De Angelis”

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Life lessons from children

Yesterday, I went to Copenhagen Central Station to purchase a new travel card. It was an amazing experience as the expedient and I hit it off immediately - banter, humour and playing up to our inner child. Therefore, this morning I was inspired to think about some life lessons we can learn from children.

1. Be courageous and try new things

2. Adopt a beginner's mindset

3. Have fun and laugh more

4. Make new friends

5. Fall and get back up

6. Ask lots of questions

7. Believe in miracles

8. Colour outside the lines

9. Love playing

10. Wander around

This pandemic is offering the entire planet a similar opportunity. This is the first time in human history that the entire world turned unitedly against a common foe. We are being presented with an opportunity - how will you use it? Contact me via e-mail for coaching, mentoring or workshops.

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How do you figure it out?

Tim Cook (CEO, Apple Inc.) understood that the majority of people don’t buy Apple products because they are better, they buy them because it raises their status. People wait in line because owning an Apple product increases their status and they feel good when other people see what’s in their hands. Apple uses the technology ratchet to turn the handle on status and luxury. Tim Cook understood this metrics and all he had to do was to watch and understand what was going on in the Apple stores. This turned Apple into the biggest and most profitable luxury brand in history.


I have spent many hours doing “mystery shopping” - watching what happens when people visit stores. Martin Lindstrom was hired by some of the world's leading brands to find out what makes their customers tick. As consumers do not tell you how they see the world, on the other hand they give it all away by the stories they tell. I would recommend that you read Martin Lindstrom’s book “Small Data” as it has many small clues that may help you uncover the next trend.

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That's OK

Our stories are being carried forward by our customers and I think user-generated content is currently social media’s greatest gift to marketing. I also think the customer is the most effective marketer, so how do we earn the right to enter their narrative?

• How do we spend less effort on our stories and more effort on their stories?

• How do we get invited to our customer’s conversations?

““People don’t buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories and magic.” - Seth Godin
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How does what we do change the lives of our customers?

Running a business is very hard. You have to stay true to yourself, your passion and be consistent. You can reduce stress by not having strong opinions on subjects outside of your expertise. Today, customers expect you to know them and know what they want, in the moment.


Contact me for coaching, consulting, workshops or lecturing via e-mail and let’s arrange a non-binary virtual meeting to discuss the opportunities.

“Strategy is a commodity, execution is an art. - Peter Drucker”

Intentional action

I think It’s all about the customer experience, connection and relationships. The goods and services are just commodities! Basically, design thinking asks the following questions:
1. Who is it for?

2. What is it for?

3. What do I seek to accomplish?


And design thinking says, I’m here on purpose with an intent and a reason. And that’s hard because it puts you on the hook and the majority of people don’t want to be on the hook. The reason being is that if you announce it and it doesn’t happen then you have to say I failed - “It didn’t work!”. Whereas if you don’t  announce it, there’s a lot more room to manoeuvre. 


Do you have a nagging issue? Would you like to know how to rest and finally achieve the 360-degree view of your customers that fuels the relevant, consistent experiences your customers crave? If so, send me an e-mail and let’s arrange a non-binary virtual meeting.

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Need I say more

Our choices reflect and determine who we are.

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Discovery Process

I use the discovery phase to start the relationship and to understand what the customer needs and how I might (or might not) be able to help them. Here's how to run an EFFECTIVE discovery process in just 4 steps:

1) Learn their role and fit,

2) Learn their business milestones,

3) Learn their priorities to achieve those milestones,

4) Learn what they are doing today to get there

That’s the formula and every step starts with learning! Send me an e-mail and let’s arrange a physical or virtual meeting.

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This is going to be an interesting journey

Via Getty Images

On Tuesday morning, I heard that Supreme had been sold to VF Corp (the parent company of The North Face, Vans, Timberland, Eastpak, Napapijri and Dickies) for $2.1 billion. VF Corp said the acquisition would give Supreme the "opportunities to leverage its global supply chain, international platforms, digital capabilities and consumer understanding." The streetwear market is based on scarcity and scarcity and growth are polar opposites, so I think the Supreme business model will have to change if the brand are going to move the needle on the VF Corps balance sheet.

The streetwear business model is unique, operating with agility across design, development, marketing and merchandising. Supreme are pioneers of scarcity and exclusivity, yet somehow they still maintain an accessibility with frequent curated drops and a limited supply philosophy are key elements to driving continuous brand energy and strong consumer engagement. As Supreme is my 15 year old son’s favourite brand, I have had the honour to visit both their stores in New York, as well as the London, Los Angeles, Paris and Tokyo shops. Not to mention the soft corners in the Dover Street Market stores in New York and Tokyo. For many consumers wearing Supreme was the epitome of cultural credibility and as their products had a high resale value, it was seen as good investment pieces. 

What now, will Supreme become too commercial? 

I think part of Supreme's enduring brand loyalty lays in its early understanding of the power of "social influence" where unlike most luxury and mass consumer brands, expensive celebrity endorsements and glossy advertisements are traded in for the more engaging marketing power of its own community. In the short run, everybody will still want a piece of Supreme. I think the brand will continue to drive "social influence" across every touch point where it interacts with its audience, whether it be via its e-commerce shop, in person, or on its social channels. From a VF Corp’s perspective, they will want to tap into consumer and data analytics to help the brand gain a deeper understanding of their community, and obviously open more brick-and-mortar stores around the world.


Supreme have been around since 1994 and the brand has evolved into a global cult with its own myths, legends, iconography, and loyal disciples. Where it goes from here is really down to the brand and for sure it’s going to be an interesting journey.

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