Creating customer loyalty is personal. Ask any small businessperson and they will tell you that business is very personal. My drycleaner is a perfect example.

There are other drycleaners closer to where I live and work, but I like Lori. She greets me with a smile, she always seems happy to see me and makes sure that my shirts and suits look great. It would probably be easier for me to stop at someplace closer, but I like Lori.

It doesn’t matter how much I splash.

That’s what he used to tell me. I once worked for someone who told me that his company was like a bucket of water. He could stick his arm in –– swish it around, and no matter how much he splashed and spilled, when he pulled his arm out, he still had a bucket of water.

To him, employees were expendable. Anyone could be replaced. He felt it was his business and products that created loyal customers, not the expertise and relationships built with his customers by his employees.

I thought it was naive back then. Now, over 20 years later, I think it’s downright stupid. Products and specifications mean much less to people than personal relationships and trust. Unless you’re Walmart and are able to offer the lowest price all the time, building positive customer relationships and creating loyalty is paramount to business success.

Loyalty isn’t a program.

Many businesses confuse frequency with loyalty. They create a nifty punch card, call it a loyalty program and feel like they should reap the rewards of loyal customers. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

A punch card may increase customer frequency, but as soon as one of your competitors comes up with a better offer, they’ll simply stop using your punch card. To really build customer loyalty, you need to start long before you make a punch card.

Walk the talk to build customer loyalty.

Andrew Carnegie said, “As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.”

You can’t just tell your customers their loyalty is important to you. You have to show them.

If you were to visit with the CEO’s of Wendy’s, McDonalds or Burger King and ask, “Do you make superior customer service and creating loyal customers a priority?”

They would all claim that it is a top priority. Yet, it doesn’t matter the restaurant, I’m still handed a sticky, dripping cup almost every time I use the drive-through. A punch card and contrived allegiance to great service aren’t enough … when I spoil my suit because of a slimy soda cup.

Fortunately, I can still trust my drycleaner.