Innovation. Creativity. Excellence.

I have heard the following statement many times. “Customer aren’t loyal any more”. Although it is true that customers aren’t loyal to companies the way they used to be, I believe loyalty still exists. Look at companies like Amazon, Apple, Starbucks, Panera Bread to name a few. What is it about these companies that create a loyal following?

I believe there are three elements: Companies need to be Innovative, Creative, and do it with Excellence in order to create a loyal customer base. The companies that complain about loyalty are the companies that are complacent. Today customers have more choices than ever before and if your company isn’t continually Innovating, Creating, and striving for Excellence you will be left in the dust wondering what happened.

A good example is Chipotle. They came on the scene with all of the elements intact, A Creative menu, an Innovative approach done with Excellence. Their business soared. Then they stopped Innovating their menu and their offerings became stale. On top of that they had food poisoning issues which hurt their perception of Excellence. Now they are struggling to gain the confidence of their once loyal customers who have moved on to other options like Panchero’s, Moe’s and Q’doba.

I don’t believe companies have to worry about the competition as long as they are continually Innovating, Creating and doing it with Excellence. If you are continually striving for all three you will I.C.E the competition.