On this episode, we’re talking about why I drove two hours just to get a cookie and how to build a tribe of customers.

My name is Adam Erhart, and welcome to the Modern Marketing Show, where we take different marketing tactics, tools, tips, and strategies, and break them down into bite-size, actionable clips that you can use to take your business to the next level.

Now, you may be wondering why I’m standing out here freezing in the rain just to get a good cookie. Well, stick with me, and I’ll show you in just a second.

All right, so we’re 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.

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.

First, got to get those cookies.

All right, so here we are at the bakery.

Now, we’ve got cookies in store, so I’m going to make this quick.

Anyways, point number one, is that you want to be remarkable.

It’s a really old-fashioned bakery, so it’s a really kind of eclectic mix between old on the inside and new on the outside.

It’s essentially just worth talking about.

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 next 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.

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.

Consistently delivering an authentic experience in a remarkable way.

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, you want to be consistent, you want to be authentic, and you want to have patience.