Customer loyalty is the willingness of customers to consistently choose a brand over another and recommend it to others.

Culture is the beliefs and behaviors that shape choices and actions in an organization.

Most business leaders, myself included before the research project that led to these insights, calculate ROI as a number on a spreadsheet: How much did we spend? What did we get in return? Maybe that is why we often miss the high-impact, yet easily accessible growth opportunities around us.

But there’s a different kind of ROI. One that doesn’t show up immediately, yet quietly changes the trajectory of a business over time.

• It’s the ROI of culture.

• The ROI of care.

• The ROI of the moments that matter.

• The ROI of everyday choices that plant trust, love, and happiness in customers and inspire lasting loyalty.

Zappos understood this kind of long-term ROI. It shows up in the customer who not only returns but tells five friends. In the review that goes viral because it captures a moment of unexpected delight. In the staff member who is empowered to go the extra mile because the culture allows it.

The Zappos way: what made them different

What exactly is Zappos? To someone who has never heard of or interacted with the brand, it might seem like just a clothing and shoe retailer. But ask their customers, and they will tell you it is a company that makes people feel seen and cared for.

Zappos runs on the core belief that they are a customer service company that just happens to sell shoes and that mindset changed everything for them. With every customer interaction, their goal is to deliver a WOW experience—to leave the customer happy and delightfully surprised.

So even the way Zappos hires, trains, and supports their people is intentionally designed to spark lasting memories. Everyone from tech to finance to customer service goes through the same culture and service training, because at Zappos, delivering WOW experience is not a department’s job. It is everyone’s job.

Instead of following a script or rushing customers off the phone, Zappos reps are encouraged to connect. They can spend an hour on a call if that was what the customer needed. They can send flowers or upgrade shipping overnight just to create a memorable experience.

There is even a story of a rep who helped someone order pizza when they could not find a place open nearby. 

What Zappos did is very simple, they 

• Defined exactly how they wanted customers to feel after every interaction

• Empowered their team to do whatever it took to make that feeling real and make every interaction memorable  

• Made work joyful and meaningful for employees

• Hired only those who naturally shared their beliefs

Loyalty through memory 

What really sets Zappos apart is the memory they leave with customers.

Also read: How Memory and Emotion Inspire Customer Loyalty

They create moments that stick—moments that make people feel good and turn first-time buyers into lifelong fans. These small, consistent, and human interactions compound over time, so much so that Zappos relies on repeat purchases and word-of-mouth marketing to drive its growth.

Even in 2008, when the e-commerce industry faced a downturn, Zappos exceeded its goal of one billion dollars in gross merchandise sales. Hitting that goal was impressive, but achieving it two years ahead of their original 2010 timeline made all the difference.

In the words of Tony, “We didn't know it at the time, but all the hard work and investments we made into customer service and company culture would pave the way for us to hit our goal of $1 billion in gross merchandise sales in 2008-two years ahead of our original goal of 2010”.

As a business leader committed to impacting lives or the planet positively, this is the kind of loyalty you need from your customers. You do not have to chase it. You only need to nurture it consistently across every aspect of your company and watch it compound. Watch it become a cycle that keeps turning.

Key lessons you can learn from Zappos 

1. Loyalty is built through everyday choices, not campaigns.

2. Your culture can be a powerful growth lever and competitive advantage if intentionally maximized. It brings the kind of profit that marketing tactics or loyalty programs alone cannot create. It’s the kind of profit that grows from trust, alignment, and a culture that makes people feel good about doing business with you – whether they’re customers, employees, suppliers, or investors.

3. A genuinely loyal customer base is one of your greatest competitive assets.

Questions to reflect on

1. Is your culture making it easier for customers to be loyal?

2. What feelings do customers associate with your brand?

3. Would your team go the extra mile without being told?

4. Is your culture lived out daily, or is it just words in a handbook—or tucked away in a hallway poster?

5. Is your daily operation creating the right conditions for customer loyalty to thrive?

Loyalty as a trans-generational asset, not only a growth strategy 

At Potior Satori, we see customer loyalty as more than a marketing outcome or a retention strategy. We see it as a legacy.

It’s the kind of asset that outlives founders, survives economic downturns, and stays relevant even when trends fade. It lives in stories people tell, in the reputation built over time, and in relationships passed from one generation to the next.

I'd recommend you do a little search about Zappos from their early days, maybe read a few pages of any edition of their culture book. You'll realize they didn’t only win customers, they also won trust, love, and a community of supportive customers who spread good words about them.

And what happened?

In 2008, during a global financial crisis that slowed down most of e-commerce, Zappos still exceeded their goal of $1 billion in gross merchandise sales. Not only did they hit their target, they did it two years ahead of schedule.

Now, that's the kind of loyalty you need, not short-term hacks or gimmicks. I've included a couple paragraph of the words of Tony to give you a deeper view of what Zappos culture is like.

Summing up

I’ve thought about it deeply and have come to a clear conclusion. So many business problems are actually mindset or culture problems.

The technology we buy, the consultations we pay for, the programs we sign up for—they often don’t work as expected. Not because they’re flawed, but because we hold beliefs and behave in ways that make it impossible for them to work.

The truth is, for a business to grow, the people within it must grow too. A new tool or strategy is not always the answer. The answer often lies within us.

Sometimes we know that our beliefs and behaviors need to change. But we hold on to them.
Because that’s what we were taught in business school.
Because that’s what every other business leader seems to be doing.
Because we’re afraid no one will take us seriously if we do things differently.
Because the mental process of learning, unlearning, and relearning can feel like too much.

But here’s the thing, your culture can either be your greatest asset or your biggest detractor. It’s up to you, dear Change-maker, to decide which one it will be.

If this speaks to you or you’d love to explore it further, I’d be happy to continue the conversation.

Reach out via LinkedIn or Email