Hi Chris,

I posted part of this comment over at CustomerThink, but wanted to engage your thinking here as well. I especially agree with your point that knowing how customers think and what they do is important for businesses to understand the import of their brand to consumers. I would also add that knowing how customers feel about the brand is of equal import.

I've spent a great deal of time and energy thinking about sense-making practices so your points resonate with me, though I prefer to think of them as sociocultural in nature rather than cultural per se. Making sense is a symbolic process, but I'd suggest that it is accomplished through shared practices and experience (as your point about identity implies). The distinction is important since research increasingly depends on consumers to act as observers of themselves and others in marketing and design research.

Larry R. Irons, PhD
Principal
Customer Clues LLC