I was driving on the interstate the other day when I passed two service vans for the same company – A Perfect Climate. I happened to notice that both vans had Riley Hospital license plates. I thought to myself “That company supports Riley Hospital, which makes me want to support them!”  About a mile down the road, I noticed another company’s service vehicle and the driver was texting while driving – on the interstate! That is definitely not a company that I would want to do business with.

This is not marketing. The behavior may or may not be intentional (clearly the texting and driving is not intentional). But it matters. To current customers, to potential customers. These are the little things that make a big impact. These are your employees’ behavior – whether or not they are in front of a customer.

It is how fast you reply to customers on social media (if you reply at all). Can you imagine a customer walking up to you in your store or place of employment and you just turn your back and walk away? That is basically what you are doing when you don’t interact with your customers online. Do you have a contact form on your website? Do you actually reply to people who submit information?

Another recent example I came across was at Kohls. In their dressing rooms, they have several hooks with signs above them. One says “Back on the Rack”, one says “Still Thinking…” and the other says “Gotta Have It”. It is just a little thing, but it really helps when you are trying to sort through clothes that you have just tried on.

McDonald’s recently introduced its new mobile app (iTunes, Google Play) that includes 5 – 10 ‘deals’ every day. I love this. Would I still eat at McDonalds without the deals? Sure. Do I eat there more because they now offer deals on my phone? Yep. McDonalds has learned what their customers crave and are continually innovating – in ways big and small – to keep and grow their customer base.

What is your company doing in those small moments to keep and grow your customer base? Put yourself in the shoes of your customers. What are their small pain points? Things where they might say “Well, this is a bummer.” or “I really wish they would do this.” about your company? Fix those little pain points to ensure customer loyalty.