When you think about it, loyalty is probably one of the most coveted assets known to mankind.

Spouses demand it. Dogs live for it. Very few brands ever achieve it. In fact, the likelihood that your upmarket brand will attain a high level of loyalty from a majority of your brand’s users is about the same as the majority of teenagers in America believing their parents are the coolest people they know. In other words – slim to none.

It’s not that your brand doesn’t deserve consumer loyalty. It’s just that the numbers are against you. It is estimated that the typical American is exposed to more than 3,000 paid marketing messages every single day. As much as 90% of all editorial content in our media is generated, not by investigative reporters, but from public relations professionals. And if you happen to be hanging out at a bar, the flirtatious person next to you could very well be an actor paid to impersonate a consumer spreading “word of mouth” about some brand that seeks your loyalty. No wonder brand loyalty is at an all-time low.

Does all this mean you should give up going for the Holy Grail and settle for fickle consumers who would drop your brand like a used Kleenex? Hell, no. Despite the odds, brand loyalty is still worth striving for because loyal upmarket brand users are simply more productive for your company. They contribute more to your brand’s bottom line because they buy more often and in higher quantities, are less enticed by the price-cutting promotions of competitors and, in the best case scenario, will even help market your brand for you. Loyal users give your brand stability, help you get through bad times, and contribute to your brand’s resiliency. According to Dr. Robert Passikoff, president of brand research company Brand Keys, just a 5% increase in loyalty can result in as much as a 95% profit increase.

So now that you want some, how do you build brand loyalty? There is one thing necessary, regardless of your brand’s situation: a clearly defined value proposition relevant to your target audiences. This message is what your brand promises to deliver that its competitors do not.

Steve Jobs believes that unlike most computers, Apple’s should be easy to use. Apple introduced the very first highly successful mass marketed personal computer in 1976 and, within a very short period of time, grew a fiercely loyal audience of computer enthusiasts who have bonded with Apple because of its dedication to an easy-to-use graphical user interface. Today, Apple Computer continues to enjoy a high level of loyalty with a small group of core users who are fanatically devoted to everything Apple. In some loyal minds, using an Apple Computer translates into belonging to a superior part of the human race – the computer elite – who “get” why Apple Computers are better than all those other computers.

Despite its relatively small share of the personal computer market today, Apple Computer is tremendously successful at building upmarket brand loyalty. They do this by continually improving, adapting and evolving with the needs and values of their most loyal users. The result? Every year as MacWorld Expo approaches, loyalists wait in anticipation for Apple to unveil innovations even greater than the year before. Meanwhile, Apple branded products sell at a significantly higher price than competitors who enjoy less brand loyalty.

Building loyalty to the point of advocacy like Apple Computer has achieved is about the total brand experience. In other words, making sure that each Apple user has an “ease of use” experience. That is why every Apple Store features a resident Mac genius ready to solve any Mac problem you may have. And, each month, Jack Daniels responds to each of the 14,000 or so letters it receives from its loyal brand users.

Roger Brashears, Director of Marketing for Jack Daniels, believes in taking care of their “ultimate customers” by building community. Since 1956 Jack Daniels has been granting brand loyalists one square foot of Jack Daniels land. Every once in a while, landowners receive correspondence from the company asking permission to utilize their one square foot in some way — such as giving a neighbor the right to hike through, go fishing or hunt varmints.

The occasional acknowledgment of the consumer as stakeholder is a powerful tactic. Mr. Brashears talks about these loyal brand users as being part of the Jack Daniels family. He declined to give further specifics about the landowner program, saying that “family doesn’t talk about family.” Once part of the family, the likelihood of that Jack Daniels drinker switching brands is remote.

Brands can even turn a negative experience into a loyalty-building one, if it is handled right. Coca Cola was able to retain their loyal consumers by quickly restoring Coke Classic when they displayed outrage at the new recipe. Ford and Firestone, on the other hand, both lost public trust because of their finger-pointing accusations about tire failure and stability problems, instead of coming forward with quick solutions. And now their loyal brand users are cheating on them.

Loyalty is almost an anomaly in our society today. You can’t go a day without reading about a politician, rock star, actor or sports figure who has cheated on his or her significant other. If people can’t be loyal to their spouses will they ever be loyal to a brand? Steve Jobs would probably answer “yes.” And, although it may be harder to come by than a silicon-free actress in Hollywood, once you find a way to create upmarket brand loyalty, hold on to it.