Why do customers choose one offering over another—often in a split second? In this episode of The Value Creators Podcast, Hunter Hastings talks with Duncan Berry, PhD, a consultant to leading brands at the intersection of semiotics, psychology, and neurology. Duncan explains how value is meaning from the customer’s point of view, why most behavior is pre-conscious and emotional, and how entrepreneurs can design signals, experiences, and narratives that align with what people actually feel and do.
Key insights include:
- Value = meaning: Start from the customer’s lived experience, not the firm’s internal value chain.
- Emotion and speed: People form judgments in tens of milliseconds; design must communicate instantly.
- Signals & archetypes: Semiotics and association help brands encode meaning customers recognize fast.
This conversation reframes value creation as a human science: understand meaning, design signals, and earn the right to your customer’s next choice.
Resources:
➡️ Learn What They Didn’t Teach You In Business School: The Value Creators Online Business Course
Learn more about Applied Iconology
Connect with Duncan Berry on LinkedIn
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