Customer loyalty, beware of change.

Surprising your customers may have the opposite impact. Instead, concentrate on what is familiar.

Buying your favorite toothpaste is all about habit. You know the look, feeling, smell, taste, and the result. But, more importantly, you know where to find it on the shelf. It is available and accessible. So, as long as the toothpaste producer delivers on their promise, why change?

The goal is to make the buying experience effortless. The clever marketers see it as reducing the friction that may come in the way of the user. So, instead, enforce the habit.

Others believe that no competitive advantage is sustainable. It may be better to update your business model, strategy, and communication frequently. After all, you need to keep up with the ever-evolving environment to stay relevant. This assumption relies on the notion that customers make conscious and rational decisions based on available information. Well, Coke tried it once.

Maybe we are expecting too much of the brain. Research shows the brain love filling those gaps in incomplete pieces of information. We like making decisions because it feels right. The more you repeat a decision, the easier it becomes.

Bottom line: If you want customers to return, focus on their habits. Never make a clear break with the past. Rather, concentrate on progression because the gap created may be too scary.