Why understanding your customer’s values can unlock serious business growth

Are you missing the mark with your customers—and don’t even know it? In this episode of The Business Behind Your Business, host Paul Sweeney sits down with marketing strategist and author Chris Peterson to explore a transformative idea: your customers’ personal values—specifically whether they lean conservative or liberal—can dramatically shape how they engage with your brand, products, and messaging.

Drawing from decades of global marketing experience and his book Red and Blue Customers: How to Drive Growth and Manage Risk in Today’s Conservative and Liberal Markets, Chris explains how businesses often impose their own worldview on customers, instead of seeing their business through the customer’s eyes. He outlines how liberal and conservative values influence buying behaviour, innovation adoption, trust, and even geographic marketing strategies. You’ll also learn why most businesses fail when trying to scale beyond early adopters—and how to avoid that trap.

Whether you're launching a new product, trying to improve your messaging, or struggling to connect with a particular market segment, this episode gives you a powerful new lens to understand your audience—and boost your bottom line.

Takeaways include:

• How personal values influence customer behavior more than demographics
• Why liberal vs. conservative thinking impacts innovation adoption
• Easy ways to identify the value makeup of your current customer base
• How to tailor your marketing to align with customer worldviews—without getting political
• What sales and marketing teams can learn from their contrasting value systems

Get Chris's book here - Red and Blue Customers: How to Drive Growth and Manage Risk in Today's Conservative and Liberal Markets

Chris Peterson is the Co-Founder of Lifemind, an AI-agent platform designed for national, local, and regional marketers.

With over 30 years as a marketing pioneer and entrepreneur, Chris has founded two digital marketing agencies, working with both fast-growth startups and Fortune 500 companies. In the 1990s, he launched one of the first digital direct marketing agencies, earning recognition from The Wall Street Journal. Publicis Groupe later acquired the agency. Chris later established an early content marketing agency before the term became mainstream, which was then acquired by Rain, a direct-to-consumer advertising agency.

In 2020, Chris discovered Pew research highlighting the deep divide in how Democrats and Republicans perceive the world. This insight led him to explore how political beliefs shape consumer behavior, and was the genesis for Red & Blue Customers. He and his family live in Milan, Italy.

www.lifemind.ai

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Financial literacy isn’t just a buzzword — it’s a survival skill for business owners. In this episode of The Business Behind Your Business, host Paul Sweeney speaks with tax expert and financial educator Michelle Campbell about the hidden financial pitfalls entrepreneurs often face, and how a lack of financial understanding can quietly sabotage your business. Whether you’re avoiding tax obligations out of fear, struggling to understand cash flow, or unsure how to invest while in debt, this conversation is your wake-up call.

Michelle shares not just her professional insights but her personal story of financial recovery — one that began by confronting unopened bills and grew into a mission to empower others through practical financial education. She offers honest, jargon-free advice on tax, budgeting, business planning, and the importance of building emergency savings. Listeners will walk away with clarity, encouragement, and a deeper understanding of how mastering money can mean the difference between thriving and just surviving.

This episode is for every business owner who has ever felt overwhelmed by the numbers — and wants to turn confusion into confidence.

Get Michelle's book here: Bluebird

Michelle Campbell was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, and began her educational journey in South Dakota before relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, to continue her studies. During her academic pursuits, she launched a real estate investment firm, marking the beginning of her entrepreneurial path. Over the years, Michelle expanded her ventures into various industries, including horticulture, where she founded an interiorscape company, and logistics, where she established a commercial trucking business. Drawing on the insights and expertise gained across these diverse fields, she transitioned into a career in the financial services industry. Michelle is also the author of Bluebird, a memoir that candidly explores themes of trauma, heartbreak, and the resilience found in life’s struggles. She is also the founder of a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering individuals through financial literacy and fostering economic stability. She enjoys traveling, cooking, exploring diverse cuisines, organizing, dancing, indulging in spa treatments, and spending quality time with her cherished Pomeranian.

ByMichelleCampbell.com

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Ready to sharpen your e-commerce strategy and stay ahead of the curve?

In this episode, Matthew Stafford joins us to share real-world tips and forward-thinking advice to help business owners thrive in the ever-evolving world of online retail. With years of hands-on experience, Matthew offers a clear perspective on what it really takes to succeed in e-commerce today — and why now is one of the most exciting times to be building online.

You’ll learn:

• Why starting simple can give you a big competitive edge
• The smartest way to use data and customer feedback to shape your store
• Tips for increasing your sales conversion rates
• Why staying focused on the customer experience is crucial

If you’re running an e-commerce business — or thinking about starting one — this conversation will give you the clarity, confidence, and practical tools to move forward with purpose.

Matthew Stafford Over the past three decades, Matthew Stafford has been entrepreneurial and successfully building several businesses across various industries, including Concrete, Brick and Mortar Locations, POD, and Software-based ventures. Matthew Stafford, the Managing Partner of Build Grow Scale and an equity owner of some in-house Ecommerce brands, has knowledge and expertise, enabling him to mentor thousands of store owners through paid Ecommerce groups and live events. His experience has also allowed him to help hundreds of ecommerce brands scale past the million-dollar mark - with many hitting the $10 million mark. To top it off, he's been speaking on stages about ecommerce optimization for the past seven years! In fact, before COVID-19, BGS hosted the largest yearly Ecommerce-focused event in North America - BGS LIVE.

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www.buildgrowscale.com

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