y best people who buy into your vision and purpose and give them a level of autonomy so high that they provide a service quality people can’t help but want to review and glow about. The social proof rolls in fast and gives new customers something tangible to base their decisions. The cycle begins, loyalties are formed quickly. Yes, I know it’s costly and not without risk. Plus, startups run at a loss for a good while, and have to paddle like hell to start turning a profit. But this combo of back-end grind and front-end personality establishes a culture of service at all costs. Then comes the inevitable shift that comes with scale – service peaks then drops. Enter stage two – the loyalty program. As an established retailer it makes sense to rely on an automated loyalty program. According to the Australian Loyalty Association Annual Loyalty Insights Report nine out of 10 of us are members of a loyalty program, while the average Aussie is a member of around six programs. They’re wildly popular for a reason. While they’re not the only driver, they really do matter. Significantly more so than the quality of the service. In fact, the Point of Loyalty Group report For Love or Money cites the second biggest driver leading to loyalty is a dedicated program at 55 per cent. A couple of spots down, the quality of the product or service sits at just 34 per cent. I’d argue it’s even less now as our dollars are tighter. Still, this is a pretty flabbergasting stat. While the programs generally keep us coming back it doesn’t take much for people to drop off when a big new shiny thing leaps out of the bushes – even temporarily. This is where the door opens a little.  Personally, I sway like the breeze across sectors, stores and websites for the same reasons as everyone else. Price, promos, add-ons, convenience, an extreme need at a very specific point in time… So when I do go all-in on a brand, I tend to do so based on something extraordinary. Even if it’s very small. A small operational decision, or a deed, by an actual person.  To show you what I mean, here are three moments from the last 12 months that weren’t just swiping my loyalty card. The first one is operational and that’s the revelation that Bob Jane T-Marts repair your tyre punctures for free if you live locally. I found out one day by chance while in there, holding my credit card expecting to pay $40. Do the other tyre stores do this? I care way too little to find out. But Bob Jane was my first, so now they’re my only. Then there are the people examples. Bailey Nelson needs 20 minutes to complete your eye test. I was five minutes late so they crammed it into fifteen with a smile. Then, as I ummed and aahed over frames from the next 45 minutes their three staff, the smart one, the sassy one and the sycophantic one, triple-teamed me to perfection while giving me just enough alpine time. Such fun. I’ll be back. And finally the Telstra partner store, Swipe8, after realising they’d sold me the wrong product in-store, the manager left his Christmas party to deliver the right one personally to my house. I so love this guy now. So before you pile more money into that rewards program and all that expensive (and sometimes hard to quantify) back-end mucking around, it may be prudent to move back into startup mentality for a bit. Give some love to the surprise and delight element of your one-to-one.  If you hire based on personality then that’s where the power lies. Empowering your people to go over and above, small deeds if need be, but in their own way, will always be accepted gratefully. By the staff, and pretty much every customer you want to one day return.