Want my business? Customize me!

Guest post by Chuck Smith of Chuck Talks Business.

I was reading Chris Brogan's blog the other day. The topic was the myth of brand loyalty. In the post Chris talks about a recent e-mail that he got from Apple and his disappointment that it appeared they did not customize the communication with him based on his previous transactions with them.

The main point of the piece is essentially that he's had a long standing relationship with Apple making large ticket purchases and there is an expectation of reciprocity of loyalty for customization in the relationship.

I say fair enough. Actually, there are number of things that come to mind where this kind of relationship can be strengthened and the customer could feel more engaged with the vendor. I recently did a show where I interviewed Michael Moran, Executive Vice Pres. of client services and head of Yaffe Direct at the Yaffe group where we discussed direct marketing.

Here are a few things that I would like to see:

1. My grocery store actually use the information that I gave them permission to use on every purchase. You know I like that brand of pasta, just give me an email with coupons customized to my tastes. I like to see the "you saved" bit on the bottom of my receipt, but I would love to feel like you actually customized something for me and my tastes.

2. An end to Robo-calls. I accept it from my credit card company, but even they have a selection to put me in touch with an early fraud detection specialist directly from the call. If you are Robo-calling me and you expect me to call you back - You're doing it wrong.

3. Web experiences that let me make informed buying decisions. California Faucets is a great example. My wife is looking to make changes in the bathroom. I know, I know, every guy just tuned out, but here's the cool thing. She was all about being able to go to this site, choose the spout, the handle and the finish. The site allows you to print a picture of your choices and gives you the option to find a retailer by location.

I want to know what you think. What could brands do to make you feel like you were getting something more back for being loyal?