#134

You're Cheating on Your Regulars (The Loyalty Lie)

You're Cheating on Your Regulars (The Loyalty Lie) artwork

Brand Retro · Ep. 134

You're Cheating on Your Regulars (The Loyalty Lie)

20:41

What does a brand new customer get from you that your best customer doesn’t? Usually a welcome offer or a promo. Now flip it. What does the person who’s been with you for five years get? For most businesses, honestly, not a whole lot.

In this episode of Brand Retro, Mike Brevik digs into the loyalty lie and why brands quietly take their best customers for granted. He breaks down how comfort and habit get mistaken for real loyalty, why deep new-customer discounts can backfire, and why the highest return move in your business might be the one you’re already ignoring: taking care of the people already in the room.

About this episode

Mike Brevik calls out the loyalty lie: the gap between how brands treat brand new customers and how they treat the people who’ve stuck around for years. He breaks down why this happens, what it costs, and how to close the gap without giving away the store. This one lands the Brand Retro Mindset squarely on your existing customer list.

Key takeaways

  • Most businesses put more energy, incentive, and discount into landing new customers than into keeping the ones already paying them, and that imbalance is quietly expensive.
  • What looks like loyalty is often just habit and comfort. If you don’t know why a customer is sticking around, you’re taking them for granted.
  • Deep discounts at the start of a relationship set a bad precedent. Clients who show up for price rarely become partners.
  • Added value, not freebies, is what makes existing customers feel like the relationship is worth staying in.
  • Taking care of the audience you already built is the cheapest marketing, the highest margin, and the strongest referral engine you have.