Ask any happy couple what they love most about their other half… is it the grand gestures of affection? Great birthday presents? Thoughtful Valentine’s gifts?

Of course not, invariably the answer is: “it’s the little things”. Little, tiny, sometimes unnoticed actions that constantly remind them that they’re loved and valued.

If these little interactions and experiences are so powerful, then why don’t we apply them to business?

The truth is that there are companies are doing so. In fact, some of most popular brands are doing so.

You’ve probably already experienced some form of microexperience recently:

In the packaging for your new MacBook.
That smell of a new pair of shoes.
How the staff in your local cafe remembers how you like your coffee.

You might be thinking “that’s just a cynical ploy to improve sales”. Fair enough, that may be the reason why some businesses do it. But when the microexperience is genuinely to make an individual happy, it becomes much more powerful and satisfying.

Creating new, positive microexperiences doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. Sometimes it’s completely unintentional (like the smell of coffee the first time you open it, or those extra big bubble wrap packages).

Here’s the criteria we use for any microexperience:

1) It could be removed without affecting the functionality or effectiveness of the service.
2) It creates a little moment of pleasure or satisfaction for the customer.

All of these little touches might seem individually insignificant, but when accumulated over time, are incredibly powerful. And is being nice to your customers such bad thing?