The Library.

A chef has a recipe for a great meal—tried, tested, and reliably satisfying. In much the same way, those of us crafting outstanding customer experiences need a formula that works across every interaction. Here’s ours:

More than ever, I notice leaders and managers announcing huge stretch goals that seem unlikely to be achieved. Elon Musk is a past master at this, frequently setting his teams massive targets that are missed — and yet, even when missed, the performance is often impressive.

When we think about a product, we usually think about the thing itself. If you buy a car, you think about the engine, the wheels, and the steering wheel. If you book a flight, you think about the ticket and the destination. But if that’s all there was to it, why do we choose one brand over another?

At its core, marketing is about one thing: changing behaviour. Every campaign, advert, and promotion ultimately tries to persuade someone to do something. Most often that “something” is to buy a product or service. But the first purchase is only the beginning. The real success comes when customers return and buy again, turning a one-off action into a habit.

It often amazes me how many managers in large corporations seem blind to the obvious. The starting point of any marketing programme is to make your product visible. Traditionally, in large consumer companies, this involves advertising in mass media and, increasingly nowadays, on social media.

I wrote the first edition of The Business Models Handbook more than five years ago. It was based on 25 frameworks that I frequently used and valued in my job as a market researcher. As a market researcher,