In this post, we’re talking about why I drove two hours just to get a cookie and how to build a tribe of customers.
So I’ve got my family in the car, and we’re driving about an hour away just to get a cookie. So, all in all, it’s about a two-hour round trip, and again, just for a cookie.
Now granted, these cookies are pretty good, but that’s not the only reason that our family likes to make these outings to some of our favorite spots.
In fact, some of the secrets behind this business are exactly the same, and have prompted me to make similar kind of epic trips just for food before…
I’m not really that much of a foodie, and yet, I still find myself either waiting in line for a couple hours at Magnolia Bakery in New York, or making reservations for one of the top restaurants weeks, or even months in advance, just to get in.
What is it about these businesses that prompts such loyalty and builds such, sort of loyal ‘brand ambassadors’, that keep either driving good distances or booking so far in advance?
Basically, filling up their business with those loyal customers.
Well, I’ve identified four different things that you can use in your business to build the same kind of loyalty tribe, loyal audience, or brand ambassador.
Point number one, is that you want to be remarkable.
In the case of this particular bakery, there’s some interesting art on the wall.
It’s a really old-fashioned bakery, so it’s a really kind of an eclectic mix between old on the inside and new on the outside.
It’s essentially just worth talking about.
So, good food, good prices, really interesting combination of different things.
Essentially what it makes is for a remarkable business.
Point number two, you want to be consistent.
Now, I’ve got a few places that I absolutely love, but sometimes the hours of availability aren’t always what you’re expecting.
Which means, you’ll show up and they’ll be closed, or they’ll carry different hours.
With this place, you always know what you’re going to get, which means they have consistently, the same hours.
They have consistently, the same kind of products.
You know when we’re going to be driving two hours just for a cookie, that those cookies are going to be in stock.
That’s important if you want to build a loyal following.
The same comes with your marketing, and with your content.
With anything else you’re putting out there–you have to be consistent.
The third thing is that you need to be authentic,
which means staying true to your brand, and to your business, and to what you stand for.
That’s exactly what this business and so many other businesses that built loyal followings do.
They’re authentic to themselves and to those that they serve.
The last and final piece of the puzzle is: you need to be patient.
These successes don’t happen over night.
In fact, in the case of this bakery, they’ve been around for over 30 years.
Consistently delivering an authentic experience in a remarkable way.
Sometimes, that takes time.
A quick recap of everything we talked about:
To build a loyal tribe of customers that want to come back to your business again and again, you want to:
be reliable,
be consistent,
be authentic,
and you want to have patience.
