Imagine that every Thursday morning you take your suits to the dry cleaners. The main benefit of the dry cleaner you use is that it is on the way to work.
The dry cleaner is good. For the time that you’ve been using them, they’ve never lost, damaged, or ruined an item. Their price is reasonable. Their customer service is friendly.
All in all, a good business that gets the job done. If you rated them on Yelp, maybe you’d give them four out of five stars. Not exceptional. Not excellent. Simply good.
Now, imagine that someone opens up a dry cleaners in an even more convenient location, closer to your house. This dry cleaners is more or less exactly the same quality as your usual dry cleaners.
How long would your loyalty last?
I’m guessing probably about as long as it takes to realize you can save a few minutes on your commute with no down side.
The problem with being good is that there are hundreds–even thousands–of businesses out there that are also good.
To your customers, it makes exactly no difference.
People chop and change all the time for petty or insignificant reasons. Or maybe no reason at all.
If you’re simply good, what’s stopping them from going down the street?
Nothing.
So, what can you do to stop them from going to someone else?
Easy: Be remarkable.

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