Marketing loves to celebrate extremes: the viral launch, the breakthrough ad, the lightning-bolt moment that makes headlines. But the customer’s experience? That’s lived in the middle.

It’s not the best thing you ever did that defines you. It’s what you usually do.

Years ago, I stayed at a boutique hotel that welcomed me with champagne and a handwritten note. A week later, a friend stayed there and got room service with cold eggs for breakfast  and a 45-minute wait at check-in. My review? “They’re hit or miss.”

The peak couldn’t save the average.

In a world where brands obsess over flash, consistency becomes a competitive edge. It’s why Starbucks trains baristas down to how the foam should sound. Why Chick-fil-A’s “my pleasure” matters. Why Zappos built a billion-dollar brand not on prices, but on customer support that was reliable—even when it wasn’t remarkable.

If you want to be known, yes—create a moment. But if you want to be trusted? Master the middle.

Because in the long arc of a brand relationship, the memory that sticks isn’t the sizzle. It’s the steady.