Cracking the Code of Customer Contradictions
Cracking the Code of Customer Contradictions  
Podcast: The So What from BCG
Published On: Wed Sep 24 2025
Description: AI and data help tell us what people do, but not why. Lauren Taylor, global leader of BCG’s Center for Customer Insight, makes sense of the mixed signals that consumers give off. To truly understand what drives people, businesses of course value robust, real-time data. But they also must uncover the context, motivators, and human truth behind every choice. Learn More:Lauren Taylor: https://on.bcg.com/4nfwZ1A BCG’s Latest Thinking on Customer Insights: https://on.bcg.com/46iy6Yt The Paradox of Pessimism: Why Gloomy Consumers Keep Spending: https://on.bcg.com/3Ir7FH2 Unpacking the $15 Trillion Opportunity in Leisure Travel: https://on.bcg.com/4gGyCTI Mapping the Consumer Touchpoints That Influence Decisions: https://on.bcg.com/3IBLBcD GenAI’s Role in Customer Insights: Think "And" Not "Or": https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/genais-role-customer-insights-think-ajr3c/ Chapters 00:00-01:25 Introduction/Lauren’s ‘So What’ 01:26-02:39 How can businesses cut through the contradictions and truly understand what customers want? 02:49-03:18 Should we just ignore what people say? 03:19-04:37 What is consumer sentiment? 04:38-05:35 What can businesses really learn from consumers? 05:36-06:20 What factors play into the say-do gap? 06:21-07:45 How much does emotion shape what people buy? 07:46-09:08 How and why should businesses deaverage the customer? 09:09-10:17: How nuanced is motivation across different regions? 10:18-12:10 What parts of the customer journey actually shape what people choose? 12:11-12:52 Has AI helped us better understand customers or made things more confusing? 12:53-13:51 How can companies make sense of conflicting signals? 13:52-14:46 How is AI changing the way that we understand consumer behavior? 14:47-16:19 With data available, why is it critical for businesses to still talk to customers? 16:20-17:07 What mistakes are companies making when it comes to listening to their customers? 17:08-17:32 What should companies look for in sentiment signals? 17:33-18:04 Lauren’s ‘Now What’ 18:05-18:27 Do milestone moments matter? 18:28-18:42 Outro This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp