Customer loyalty is one of the hottest topics in business — and one of the most misunderstood.

As Seth Godin pointed out today, if you have the cheapest price and customers keep coming back, that doesn’t mean they are loyal to YOU!

To me, customer loyalty means that with all else being equal — or, even moderately unequal — the customer chooses to return and do business again with you.

We cannot reasonably expect customers to return if we are not competitive in terms of price, service, and quality. However, when we create Ultimate Customer Experiences, we can become the preferred choice, even if we aren’t offering the superior price or product.

But, we can’t misunderstand the elements that are creating that loyalty.

With the NFL kicking off tonight, I am on a football-high! And, my beloved Indianapolis Colts start their season on Sunday. The Colts have — especially for a smaller market like Indy — a pretty big national fan base. (Amazing for the fans who vividly remember the 3-13 years!)

My guess, though, is those Colts fans in Albuquerque aren’t really “Colts fans” at all. They are rooting for the team where Peyton Manning plays quarterback.

(You sure don’t see as many Bulls jerseys since Michael Jordan retired.)

Do you have employees who are responsible for creating the customer loyalty you may mistakenly believe is directed at your business? How well are you taking care of them? What would happen if they would leave and work for your competition?

Are you busy growing your other team members to become that type of “customer magnet”? Are you surveying customers to ascertain what is generating their loyalty?

We had better get busy.

In business, there is no “off-season.”

You probably know the phrase “jump the shark”…it means the single moment where there is a turning point where something previously successful begins to decline.

You probably also know the phrase came from that moment in the hit TV series, “Happy Days” in the episode where the Cunninghams and Fonzi go to Hollywood, and — in a challenge with a surfer dude — Fonzie proves he is cooler by taking a motorcycle and jumping a shark tank.

From an article in the LA Times:
“In 1987, Jon Hein and his roommates at the University of Michigan were drinking beer and had Nick at Nite playing in the background. They started talking about classic TV shows when someone asked, “What was the precise moment you knew it was downhill for your favorite show?” One said it was when Vicki came on board “The Love Boat.” Another thought it was when the Great Gazoo appeared on “The Flintstones.” Sean Connolly offered, “That’s easy: It was when Fonzie jumped the shark.” As Hein later recounted, there was silence in the room: “No explanation necessary, the phrase said it all.”

Have you worried sometimes if your business or career has “jumped the shark”? Thought maybe your best days are behind you?

If so, you need to know this:

In the LA Times article — written by Fred Fox, Jr., who actually penned the infamous episode — an amazing fact is revealed. The “shark” episode was one of three-parts to launch the new 1977-78 TV season…where “Happy Days” was the most popular program on television.

Fonzi jumping the shark was the 91st episode for a show in its fifth season. As Fox writes, “If this was really the beginning of a downward spiral, why did the show stay on the air for six more seasons and shoot an additional 164 episodes? Why did we rank among the Top 25 in five of those six seasons?”

In other words, the show did not “jump the shark” when the Fonz jumped the shark.

And, the writer of the show went on to even greater Hollywood success.

Keep going…even when others may think you’re done. There’s more in your tank than you may realize.

OK, I will admit from the beginning that I am biased.

Scott Stratten was the first “big name” on Twitter to truly engage with me. He was the first to ask what I thought about something…well before I had a lot of followers, or my latest book was released.

However, there is a reason that’s important: it clearly proves Scott walks his talk. There wasn’t anything he thought I could do for him…it’s just that he doesn’t market — he engages.

That’s the fundamental point of his new book, released today, titled, “Un-Marketing.” He suggests — strongly — that marketing has been fundamentally flawed. We need to stop marketing…and start engaging.

He’s absolutely right.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was thrilled and honored to be mentioned in the book. However, the reason I am recommending it to you is for a more important reason: I honestly believe it is a terrific book that will provide you with a highly refreshing and insightful look at an often-examined topic.

Want to grow customer loyalty? How about engaging the customer before you’re breaking their back to buy something from you? Scott clearly demonstrates that marketing — and marketers — have to change. And, he shows us WHAT we need to become, as well.

Follow Scott Stratten on Twitter: @Unmarketing…and, get the book!

And, again so you know, I do not have any financial “deal” with any author to promote his or her books, nor do I — as some bloggers do — receive compensation from Amazon or anyone else if you click on the link and make a purchase. I’m recommending to you the books I personally read and enjoy…

Hope you're having a GREAT weekend!

I’ve always found it a bit ironic that the way we celebrate “Labor Day” here in the United States is by not laboring at all.

We use it to mark the last big weekend of the summer…swimming pools have their last hurrah before closing, some cities have huge fireworks displays, we may eat or drink a bit too much…and then start Laboring all over again.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, there is still disagreement on the history of the holiday.

The USDOL website states, “Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor” had the original idea, while others suggest “Matthew Maguire, a machinist, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York.” (Either way, it was somebody called “McGuire/Maguire”)

Nonetheless, by June 1884, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday.

So…let me throw out just a little idea…

The reason for Labor Day is obviously to celebrate the worker.

However, the worker — no matter where he or she labors — has no job without a customer.

When you return to your place of business on Tuesday…whether it is an office, factory, farm, store, or in your home…let’s make it Customer Day.

Let’s make a special effort to recognize and celebrate the people and organizations spending their money and time with us, making it possible for us to continue to work.

…that’s not really a bad idea for EVERY day, by the way.

I’ve often caught myself saying something that may have crossed your lips a time or two about television news: “Why does EVERYTHING have to be so negative?”

Well, unfortunately, after a couple of years of writing blog posts, I think I know.

It’s a point of pride that the readership here is growing consistently, and with ever-increasing rapidity. I sincerely hope what we share together here is a resource of value on many levels for you.

(And…thank you so much for spending a bit of time here. I’m grateful.)

However, it is very interesting when I examine specifically which posts have substantial readership…and which ones absolutely rock.

Call LeBron James a disloyal jerk…it explodes! Write about a single Merrill Lynch financial advisor raising almost as much money for charity in his community as the United Way…a tiny percentage of the readers.

Blast Office Depot for swiping a small-biz speaker’s story and like thieving creeps, turning it into a commercial…over the moon! Post about how the company is sorry, doing the right thing, and coming to terms with the speaker…under the radar.

When I wrote about “overselling and under-delivering”…but, titled it the “Obama Mistake,” exploring his inability to deliver on campaign promises…we almost cooked the server. I wonder what would’ve happened if I titled the post simply, “Don’t promise more you can deliver”?

You know the answer — a fraction of the readership.

I understand why — and worked in television and literally SAW — news directors sit there, worried about their own jobs, and come to the conclusion, “If it bleeds…it leads.”

Yet, in this allure of the negative, it’s very, very easy to overlook another important point.

While a negative post — or news story — may ATTRACT a first-time reader or viewer…it won’t KEEP them, long-term.

The “haters” will view and post asinine “told you so” responses…then move on to something else. The true readers, friends, and participants don’t want to be down in the dirt everyday, every time.

In your business, blasting a competitor might get you attention — and even a few sales. However, it is NOT a sustainable, long-term strategy.

Use the analogy of your personal life. Do you desire to be around negative, whiny, complaining, bitter people all of the time? Of course not.

Then, why would you ever imagine your customers, viewers, readers, or prospects would want it in their face…everyday…all of the time?

…or, that you would create loyalty if that is what you consistently deliver?

You may have read the recent post here about my good friend, Jeff Slutsky, and how his signature story from a speech somehow wound up being repeated — practically word-for-word — on an Office Depot commercial without his prior knowledge or permission.

Good news! Office Depot has stepped forward to resolve the situation!

Jeff’s wonderful wife, Helene, sent along this message from her blog, which I’ve excerpted here…

“Here is an update to end all updates! My Office Depot Drama has ended well.

Thanks again for helping me, help Office Depot, take care of business.”

And, my thanks, too…to Office Depot for stepping up to the plate and doing the right thing.

I’ve heard it somewhere before…it’s never bad business to do what’s right.

Let me run two events from today — seemingly disconnected – by you, and see if you reach a similar conclusion.

My Friday morning started with coffee at Starbucks with Pete Dunn — better known as “Pete the Planner.”

We’ve been connecting on Social Media, but had never met in person. Pete’s a really terrific guy — and a truly brilliant example of what my friend, Nido Qubein, calls “intentional congruency.” In other words, he is involved in a number of projects, but they all contribute to the meaningful whole of what he’s all about — helping people of all ages improve their financial health.

I was tremendously impressed with Pete for many reasons — he’s making a true contribution to helping the lives of his audience, he’s providing specific techniques and coaching, he’s sincere about growing his craft, and more.

Now…here’s the kicker…in the segment of his business that involves being a personal financial advisor, many of his clients are in their 60′s and older.

In other words, senior citizens are going to this Gen-Y professional and asking HIM what THEY should do with their money!

(Why? In part…Pete simultaneously exudes smarts and sincerity. He sure seems like a high-knowledge/high-trust kind of guy.)

Second…did you see this story? It seems that social networking use by Internet users ages 50 and older nearly doubled in the past year, going from 22 percent in April 2009 to 42 percent in May 2010. And, 92 percent of those ages 50 to 64 — and 89 percent of those ages 65 and older — say they send or read e-mail, and more than half of each age group e-mails on a “typical” day.

Use of social media is growing faster for those over 50 than those under 29!

What’s the connection?

I think it is starting to matter less and less every day what your chronological age might be. We are placing a higher value on competence and wisdom than seniority and tradition.

Can a Gen-Y’er in his early 30′s be more profound with his financial advice than someone with years of experience at a big firm? Of course.

It’s just that in the past, we probably would have been reticent to listen to him or her. We valued seniority and tradition, instead.

Can a senior citizen be a social media superstar? Of course.

It’s just that in the past, we probably would have thought a person of experience in other forms of communication wouldn’t participate in something new and non-traditional.

That can be scary to someone like me — between the two groups. You can feel the younger crowd growing by leaps and bounds, and the older crowd revitalizing themselves to stay in the game.

However…and this is the best part…it’s also wildly exhilarating.

It means as long as you can stay fresh and relevant…and can “kick butt and take names”…there WILL be a place at the table for you…and you can continue to make significant contributions…regardless of your gender, race, or age.

I’m thinking that’s about as cool as it gets…

My great friend, Don Hutson, has done it again!

A #1 New York Times bestselling author, he is back with a new book, “The One Minute Negotiator” that is just fantastic. I recorded a message about it, and wanted you to see it.

And, if you order the book, you’ll receive:

* (52) VideoZine Tips: weekly 90-second video tips on how to be a better negotiator. (Value: $149)

* (4) Twenty Minute Teleseminars on negotiation strategies, tactics, and tips. (Value: $495)

That’s $644 of programs — not counting the value from this sure-to-be mega-bestseller, just for buying “The One Minute Negotiator” now.

Here’s the link: Order your copy at a special price now!

It’s important for me to note…I’m not getting a single penny out of this. I don’t make a commission on the sale of books I recommend, the way some bloggers do from Amazon. I’m not gaining in any personal manner by making this recommendation. I just think it is a terrific book that will help you and your business…and it is written by a wonderful guy and extraordinary professional I want to support.

If you’ve ever had a feeling in the pit of your stomach before a negotiation because you don’t want to leave a pile of money on the table — this remarkable book has the cure.