Dr. Kees Smeets
Renowned consumer psychologist at the University of Amsterdam
Kees Smeets is the consumer psychologist who learned his trade not in lecture halls but with his feet in the mud. For years, his own businesses served as testing grounds: how do buyers really react, rather than how a model prescribes? That search for the why behind purchasing behavior led him to the top of academia. He earned his doctorate at the internationally renowned Bayes Business School in London and has been affiliated with the University of Amsterdam for nearly a decade. His message is uncomfortable but useful: the consumer has changed drastically, the models have not. National newspapers and radio stations call on him for his razor-sharp insight into what truly drives today's buyer.
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Biography
From mud to academic excellence
Kees' fascination with understanding the consumer began in practice. For years, his own businesses served as a testing ground to examine how buyers actually react, rather than according to outdated marketing models. That quest for the "why" behind our purchasing behavior ultimately led him to the academic pinnacle.
Promoting to the Modern Consumer
Kees wrote his dissertation on the modern consumer at the internationally renowned Bayes Business School in London. As a university lecturer, he has been affiliated with the University of Amsterdam for almost a decade, where he continues his research and trains a new generation of marketers.
New consumer, old models
In his research, Kees saw his practical experience scientifically confirmed: the consumer has changed drastically, but traditional marketing models are hopelessly lagging behind. In an era of endless choice, sky-high expectations, and infinite information, too many brands still rely on theories from the pre-smartphone, pre-social media, and pre-online reviews age.
Antidote for unexplained customer loss
The result of this gap is unforgiving: customers who leave without a clear reason and conversions that fail to materialize. Kees offers scientifically-backed antidote to this problem and equips organizations with the compass to win back the modern consumer. His perspective on today's buyer also makes him a sought-after expert for national newspapers and radio.
Expertise
Scientific foundation
With nearly a decade of experience as a university lecturer and scientist at renowned institutions at home and abroad, Kees possesses deep-rooted knowledge of current consumer psychology. Through this scientific lens, he deciphers the complex behavioral code of the modern consumer and helps organizations successfully capitalize on the drivers of their buyers.
Bridge-builder between science and practice
Scientific insights only become truly valuable when they deliver results on the commercial workplace floor. As a bridge-builder, Kees translates complex psychology into clear and directly applicable marketing and communication strategies. No theory for theory's sake, but knowledge you can put to work on Monday.
Tailored solutions per organization
Every industry, brand and target audience faces its own unique challenges. That's why Kees' lectures are always tailor-made. Beforehand, he dives into the DNA and market dynamics of the organization, ensuring the audience receives scientific ammunition that aligns with daily practice.
Persuasion Techniques and Storytelling
Understanding the consumer is step one, but it doesn't guarantee conversion. Kees knows the psychological mechanisms behind persuasion and storytelling: why one message sticks and another slides past people, and how to deliberately design that difference into your communication.
Themes
Consumer Psychology
The consumer is evolving at breakneck speed, with new habits, values and ambitions. Kees translates the latest insights from leading scientific journals and his own research into directly applicable knowledge for the workplace.
Marketing strategy
Without fundamental insight into the consumer, every strategy is built on quicksand. Kees teaches organisations to critically examine their own assumptions, and proves that a gap in the market doesn't necessarily mean there's a market in that gap.
Marketing communication and storytelling
How do you touch both the heart and mind of the consumer? Kees goes beyond the debate about channels and platforms, diving into the psychological persuasion techniques and storytelling strategies that make your message land.
Behavioral Science in Practice
How to turn scientific insights into choice behavior into decisions you make tomorrow: from proposition and pricing to the design of the buying process.
Why Dr. Smeets
Science and entrepreneurship
Kees obtained his PhD from an internationally renowned business school and ran his own companies. He knows the theory and understands what happens when you have to apply it on a Monday morning.
Almost a decade as a university lecturer
At the University of Amsterdam, he stands before a lecture hall weekly. You can tell from his routine: complex psychology becomes understandable in his hands without sacrificing depth.
Always tailor-made
Before each lecture, Kees dives into the DNA and market dynamics of the client. This ensures the audience receives scientific ammunition for their own practice, not a standard story with a different logo slapped on top.
Current instead of classic
While many marketing speakers rely on models from decades ago, Kees draws on recent research and his own promotional work. That's exactly the gap he wants to bridge in organizations.
Recognized as an expert by national media
Newspapers and radio stations call on him for expert analysis on consumer behavior. That recognizability gives your program extra weight.
Confrontational about assumptions
Kees challenges organizations to take a critical look at what they think they know about their customers. Uncomfortable, but often exactly where the profit lies.
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