Value Is A Story We Tell Ourselves

Value is what we believe in the moment and not simply a measure of gain, relative to units of currency. Value is a story we tell ourselves based on what we perceive and what we think is true. Our framing of the value story is the reason that passers by walked past original works of…

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What Do Your Customers Care About?

Let’s look at some cold, hard, and fun facts. A search on Instagram one morning in mid-September for #me, gave me over 123 million results. Just 18 hours later a further 466,000 had been added. Let’s round that up to half a million a day, which means 26,000 photos with the hashtag ‘me’ are uploaded…

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6 Ways To Become Part Of Your Customer’s Story

Think about the rituals that punctuate your days. Freshly boiled water poured over scented tea, your morning workout, or favourite mug. The ten minutes you use to brainstorm ideas in Evernote, checking emails, or meeting colleagues at lunchtime, your ring tone, playlist, date night….each one adding another layer of meaning to your day, becoming part…

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Value And The Macaron Effect

Let’s face it, a macaron isn’t even a bite. It’s gone before you know it and although your brain knows you’ve had one, your stomach could beg to differ. Macarons have been around for centuries, but I don’t remember seeing the dainty, coloured, every flavoured, sandwiched confections that are ubiquitous now, even a few years…

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What Story Are You Selling?

It feels risky to put the words story and selling side by side in the same sentence. ‘Selling’ someone on something has had a bad rap since the days of snake oil salesmen with their bogus claims, snappy taglines and half truths designed to make people buy more of the average this or that. Although…

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Tiny Markets Of Someone

Mr Ryan owned a corner shop in the tiny Dublin suburb where I grew up. It supported his family and employed his children while they studied for over 20 years. He didn’t seem to worry when yet another big supermarket opened close by. Sure, he knew some of his customers would go there for special…

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The Best Brands Are Mirrors

The genius of the ‘Dove Sketches’ campaign wasn’t that it highlighted the issues women have around body image and beauty, it was that it held a mirror up to every one of us. It tapped into our collective vulnerability on a visceral level. Brands like Dove, Instagram, Harley-Davidson, Virgin, Nike, Moleskine, Dyson, Brene Brown, Apple,…

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Make It Look Like Duarte

It’s possible to hire someone to create a slide deck in the style of Duarte for less than the hourly rate of a half decent designer. It’s no longer good enough to have technical skill in a world where a client can access a million freelancers online and hire based on price and need. Yes,…

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Thinking Beyond Customer Needs

The couple at the cafe order two teas and one cake with two forks. The story the woman has told herself is that they are sharing the cake she ordered. Halving the damage. The guy quietly sips his tea as she slices the cake into squares and begins eating the smaller pieces, picking around the…

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