Chapter 41
Why I Changed My Coffee Religion
I have a morning ritual that I know many of you share. Coffee around here is a bit like a religion. You choose your brand, you pick your favorite, and then you stick with it. In the Toronto area, Tim Horton's is the church of coffee. It is a part of the culture up here, part of the vocabulary. When you say you're going for coffee, you go to “Tim's” or you're going to go to “Horton's.”
I'm sure you have your own coffee chains in your area that have the same kind of following. They become a part of our routine. This has to be the ultimate goal for a business, whether it is service- or product-based. Work to become a part of somebody's routine. If you can, it is worth an incredible amount of money. The lifetime value of each and every somebody who spends $2 a day with your company is incredible. Think about that for a second—$2 a day equals more than $700 a year. Over 10 years you're looking at more than $7,000 in revenue from one person. Companies have a vested interest in making sure you become a regular, and you should be working hard to make your customers lifelong clients. Unfortunately, just like many personal relationships, when you become used to one another you take each other for granted, and companies do this far too often with loyal customers.
Tim Horton's had me. I was loyal as could be. But recently I have done something I never thought I would do. I changed brands. Being a loyal Tim Horton's customer, almost ...
