Last week I contacted a business with a simple query using the contact form on their website. This is the kind of micro-interaction that occurs millions of times every day. When I submitted the form I was told that I should expect a reply within two business days. Four business days later I received a reply. Does this mean I wouldn't do business with them again? Of course not. Does this mean that I trust them just a little bit less and will be just a little less enthusiastic in recommending them to others? Absolutely.

Every interaction, however small, presents both an opportunity and a threat to your business. Every interaction is an excellent opportunity to establish rapport, build trust and provide a memorable customer experience. Every interaction also presents the threat of delivering disappointment, sowing seeds of distrust and damaging the reputation of your business.

For the business committed to providing a memorable customer experience, careful attention must be given to these micro-interactions. Each of these interactions is small but has the potential to have an impact far beyond its size. For example, what happens when a customer or potential customer...

• Visits your website?
• Visits your website on a mobile device?
• Subscribes to your email newsletter?
• Sees a targeted advertisement after visiting your website?
• Views your Google My Business profile?
• Reads reviews on TrustPilot?
• Posts a comment on your Facebook page?
• Submits a query via your contact form?
• Shares feedback or a suggestion?
• Contacts the call centre to follow up on an order that hasn't arrived?
• Receives a notification that their order is on its way?
• Receives and unboxes their order?
• Sends an email to ask a post-sales question?
• Tweets about their experience?
• Asks to be removed from future communications?
• Requests a refund?

These micro-interactions can leave the customer feeling valued and eager to both return and also recommend your business to their network. They may reflect on their experience and think:

• “That was so easy!”
• “They were so friendly and helpful!”
• “That didn’t take long at all!”
• "That was better than I expected."
• "I'll definitely do that again."

These micro-interactions can also have the opposite effect on your customers. Their reflections may instead be:

• "This is so confusing."
• "That took so long."
• "This isn't worth the effort."
• "Why did I have to chase them up?"
• "I wouldn't do that again."

Customers and potential customers experience your business through these micro-interactions and taking the time to review and improve these micro-moments can have a multiple benefits. As Walt Disney famously both said and modelled:

“Whatever you do, do it well. Do it so well that when people see you do it, they will want to come back and see you do it again, and they will want to bring others and show them how well you do what you do.”

If you want to maximise the positive impact of micro-interactions in your business, create a list of how customers interact with your business and then ask these two questions:

1. How could we make the customer's experience easier?
2. How could we make the customer's experience more memorable?

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