37+
Years working with brand strategy
12
Categories quantified and benchmarked
21
Underlying drivers mapped and weighted
3-in-1
Measure, diagnose and stress-test
The Problem
The tools most organisations use to understand customers are broken.
Not because the data is wrong, but because the models behind it are too narrow. Three problems recur across every sector we work in.
Metrics built around organisations, not customers
Customers experience one organisation but most brands measure in silos, missing what drives perception.
Oversimplified models in a complex world
A single number tells you the outcome, not the cause. Without knowing which sources of value customers are responding to, investment decisions are guesswork.
Category context ignored
What drives preference in financial services differs from retail. Generic frameworks produce generic answers.
The Framework
Seven sources. Twenty-one drivers. One framework.
The 7 Sources of Customer Value maps the complete spectrum of what drives customer choice, from hygiene factors that prevent defection to motivators that build active preference.
- Reliability
- Does the job
- Safe choice
- Respected
- Good reputation
- Recommended
- Good overall value
- Worth paying for
- Competitive
- Hassle-free
- Simplifies life
- Straightforward
- Great service
- Enjoyable to deal with
- Meets/exceeds expectations
- Brand trust
- Emotional attachment
- Aspirational
- Communicates appropriately
- Likeable on socials
- Feel connected
Each source breaks down into 3 to 4 underlying drivers, 21 in total, that can be benchmarked, tracked, and weighted by category.
How We Use It
From measurement to action.
The framework is not a model that lives in a report. It is an operational tool designed to inform decisions, from brand strategy to proposition design to experience investment.
Measure what actually drives customer preference
Go beyond satisfaction and loyalty scores to identify which sources of value your customers weigh most, and where you over- or under-index against competitors.
Diagnose with precision, not assumption
Pinpoint exactly where value is being created or destroyed, at the level of individual drivers, so investment decisions are grounded in evidence.
Stress-test new propositions before you launch
Model how changes to your proposition would shift customer preference before committing resources, reducing risk and accelerating confidence.
Track competitive position over time
Establish a repeatable measurement system that lets you monitor movement across all seven sources, quarter on quarter, year on year.
What this produces for your business
Smarter investment decisions
Direct resources to the sources of value that will move the needle, not the ones that feel safest.
A clearer competitive picture
See exactly where you lead, where you lag, and where the category is heading.
Alignment across functions
Give marketing, product, operations and CX a shared language for what customers value.
Reduced risk at launch
Test propositions against the framework before they reach market.
Intentional loyalty, not passive retention
Build preference that competitors cannot easily replicate.
By Sector
What drives preference changes by category.
The 7 Sources framework is category-sensitive by design. Here is how it plays out in three of the sectors we work in most.
Trust earns the account. Utility keeps it.
In financial services, the balance between trust and functional delivery is shifting. Traditional banks still lead on brand fit and reassurance, but challengers are winning on utility and ease.
The risk is gradual disengagement from the most valuable customers, not because trust is broken, but because the everyday experience falls short of what digital-first competitors now offer as standard.
Get the full category pattern analysis — download the Quick Reference Guide below.
Resources
Go deeper.
Explore the framework in more detail through these presentations, recordings and reference materials.
