Business Leader Rory Sutherland: The advertising guru's tips to scale your business
30 snips
Jan 27, 2026 
Rory Sutherland, vice chairman of Ogilvy UK and behavioural science advocate, applies psychology to marketing, pricing and customer experience. He questions cost-cutting orthodoxy and champions opportunity-led spending. He explores direct mail, omnichannel strategy, letting customers choose delivery, small delights that build loyalty, and how agencies can use AI to free creative thinking.
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Marketing Is A Way Of Thinking
- Marketing's value is how it thinks about customers, not just what it does.
- Rory Sutherland argues marketing reframes business problems through customer lenses to add unique value.
Charge In Customer-Friendly Ways
- Test alternative pricing and billing models to capture different customer segments.
- Use tactics like subscription-per-unit or split payments to increase perceived affordability and demand.
Don't Let Procurement Hunt Only Costs
- Avoid letting procurement be rewarded only for cost reduction.
- Tie procurement incentives to long-term value so cost cuts don't destroy sales or customer choice.
