As one of the world’s leading consumer behaviourists, Ken Hughes is a trusted advisor to Fortune 500 companies, helping them decode consumer psychology, drive innovation, and create cutting-edge customer experiences. His expertise spans multiple industries, from retail and finance to entertainment and technology, shaping how brands engage with the modern consumer.

CONSUMER & BUSINESS STRATEGIST

Global Authority on New Consumer Values and Behaviour

Ken is the author of The Blue Dot Customer, a widely followed marketing and branding blog with over 20,000 monthly readers. Through his expert analysis of behavioural economics, digital transformation, and consumer psychology, he challenges businesses to rethink how they connect with their audiences and stay ahead in an ever-evolving marketplace.

Renowned Customer Experience Strategist

As one of the most in-demand keynote speakers on customer experience, Ken is recognised globally for his expertise in consumer behaviour and brand engagement. His ability to decode what drives modern consumers has made him a sought-after strategist for businesses looking to enhance customer and employee experiences.

Blending behavioural economics, digital anthropology, and social futurology, Ken provides forward-thinking strategies that help brands foster loyalty, create meaningful connections, and stay ahead of evolving customer expectations. His insights empower organisations to navigate the challenges of modern marketing and customer engagement with confidence.

SPEAKER

Known for his energetic and engaging stage presence, Ken captivates audiences worldwide with his signature blend of deep expertise, storytelling, humour, and Irish wit. His TED talks and keynote performances consistently earn him ‘best speaker’ accolades, making him one of the most sought-after voices in customer experience, innovation, and business disruption. Whether inspiring executives, guiding brands through change, or delivering unforgettable keynotes, Ken is at the forefront of consumer and business strategy.

WHAT DOES KEN SAY?

“Your customer is no longer interested in waiting or has any patience for friction/complication in their customer journey. We are now a one-click, one-swipe society. We expect everything to be hyper-personalised to our specific circumstances and contextually relevant. The commodity product, brand, or business is dead.

Customers are no longer an inconvenient endpoint on a customer journey. They are at the centre. Yes, customer lifetime value is possible but it takes authenticity, vulnerability, a clear brand purpose, and a focus on customer collaboration. With our pending AI agent future, this deep emotive connection with our customers is critical.

For most of us, other brands also do what you do, other people sell what you sell. To stand out, to set yourself apart, you must differentiate yourself, and one of the easiest ways of doing that is to use creative, emotive CX interactions. You have to make people feel special, true of employees as well as customers. They must feel they belong, that they are part of something bigger, that their own values are shared by the brand they invite into their lives. CX is about fostering a sense of belonging and evoking emotion.

AI will bring consumer-facing brand interaction to the next level of ‘easy’. Brands that don’t invest will quickly appear clunky and cold to the next generation of customers. When our AI Assistants take over the information search/evaluation element of the consumer decision-making process, the boring part, the hard part, what then? When we trust the system to buy the products we need, the nature of consumer marketing changes forever.

How do you expect to be creative if you do the same things every day, with the same people, in the same place? It was one of the reasons the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns damaged the innovation cycle. We were denied the external stimulus of the new, the different, and the varied. We need to encourage new perspectives if we are to fuel the innovation engine.

Failure and success are not opposites; it is not a continuum. They are the same thing. Failure is a catalyst for success, the foundation. We all need to develop a far healthier relationship with risk and failure. Fear, risk, and failure need to be celebrated and become stronger elements in everyday corporate vocabulary.”

SPEAKING TOPICS

– Understanding the Modern Customer Connection

– How to Use Customer Experience to Build Brand Success

– The Effect AI Will Have on the Consumer Decision-Making Process

– How Creativity and Risk Drive the Innovation Engine

Call +44 1753 439 289 or email Great British Speakers now to book Global CX speaker Ken Hughes for your next live event.

Contact us.