San Diego Comic-Con starts tomorrow night and then runs through Sunday.

I attended for the last five years.

Not this year, though.

An inconvenient lottery-based ticketing system, bureaucratic registration, inflated hotel prices during the event, overcrowded ballrooms and trade floors, and surly security personnel have all diminished my enthusiasm for Comic-Con.

So instead of rubbing elbows with some 130,000 geeks this week, I’m staying home.

(No worry. My fanboy cravings were quenched this past March by WonderCon, Comic-Con’s much smaller brother in Anaheim. And next month, I’m attending a small centennial celebration of Tarzan, another geeky obsession of mine.)

All of which illustrates an important business lesson…

Tastes change.

Five years ago, I was thrilled by the reputation and size of Comic-Con.

No longer.

I also used to think that In-N-Out Burger made the world’s greatest hamburger.

Now, I don’t bother with ’em.

My tastes — my interests, likes, passions — are always shifting.

And that’s the case with your customers.

Never assume your customers will stick with you through thick and thin.

Some may.

But most won’t.

Not unless you keep in touch with them and discover their latest cravings. Or even what they’re thinking about you and your business.

When was the last time you spent some time talking with your customers?

If you do, you’ll stand apart from any crowd.