mornin’ merrymakers 🎯💎🤝💬🧠🌟

last week we talked about true fans & i hope y’all are working on that reporting this week so you can connect with them soon.

one of the most fascinating thing about true fans is that initially they may discover you because of your product, price, or location.

but what keeps them coming back & telling their friends is….

how you make them feel.

before we dive in, i want to make you feel the best when reading my content so will you please answer this quick poll:

ok now back to making the best feelings for your visitors.

store design, marketing materials, visual merchandising, & the likes can help improve the odds theses feelings positive. but the really good feelings what i refer to as merry come from the micro moments.

tiny gestures that have an outsized impact on how people remember you.

today i’m going to explain how i think about this for you as my reader and give you 8 micro-moves to make merry in your stores.

last week a reader asked me my why i call y’all merrymakers so im clearly overdue on giving yall an explanation.

first quick backstory.

merry makery was originally the name of my business long before it became this newsletter. i wanted a name that embodied the feeling i wanted to create in the world, was fun to say, & was free as i’m a bootstrapped entrepreneur.

the og readers know my business and this newsletter changed shape a lot in the first few years, but i’ve always thought of my customers and readers as merrymakers.

merrymaking is really just creating small moments of joy, connection, and delight in everyday life. nothing huge. nothing performative. just tiny interactions that make someone feel seen & celebrated.

retail spaces are an excellent place to make merry.

stores are one of the few places people still gather in real life. where strangers talk. where recommendations become conversations. where someone remembers your name. where you leave feeling slightly better than when you walked in.

but merrymaking in retail isn’t just the employee’s job.

it’s co-created.

it happens when a team shows care.
it happens when a customer shows openness.
it’s the energy between people, not just the transaction.

so not all retailers and customers meet this definition, but if you’re reading this newsletter you do because it’s what i preach.

one common misconception is that merrymaking requires grand gestures.

when really it’s much smaller

merrymaking is a pattern interrupt. a small moment that makes someone's brain perk up & return to the present. seconds long. disproportionate impact.

in an effort to always give y’all actionable advice + cute animal memes, here are 8 micro moments to make merry as an employee or as a customer. bc it goes both ways!

1. remember + use their name

not just at checkin. during the experience. "sarah, this would look great on you." people are hardwired to respond to their own name.

hearing your own name activates the brain's reward center. same area as food and money. free dopamine. it's called the cocktail party effect.

2. compliment something specific

not "love your style" but "those earrings are stunning. where'd you get them?" specificity signals you actually see them.

specific compliments are perceived as more genuine than generic praise. our brains know the difference between "nice shirt" and noticing the actual detail.

3. share the why behind recommendations

not “this is popular” instead " say "i've used this for 3 months and my skin finally calmed down." real experience beats polished prose. every time.

92% of consumers trust peer recommendations over brand messaging. your staff's honest take carries more weight than any marketing copy.

4. acknowledge the wait

if they waited, recognize it and apologize. "thanks for waiting. i’m really sorry and will be helping you soon." we all just want to be seen.

customers who receive a wait acknowledgment rate their experience higher than those who don't even when actual wait times are identical. always over communicate.

5. teach one thing they didn't ask for

don't just sell the product. show them how to get more out of it. one unexpected tip that makes them excited to use it.

product education drives both increased spending on future visits and higher retention. when you make someone better at something, they come back to get even better.

6. break the script

everyone says "you're welcome" or "no problem." say something else. chick-fil-a says “my pleasure.” different phrases become your signature.

distinctive language increases brand recall and makes interactions more memorable. pattern interrupts stick in people's brains.

7. notice the non-customers

the person waiting for their friend. the kid getting restless. direct them to the boyfriend seating or see if they want to try something they they wait.

people who feel noticed while browsing even if they don't buy are far more likely to return later. you're planting seeds for future sales.

8. end with energy

generic goodbyes get ignored as they happened. personalized send offs and celebrations are way more likely to get remembers.

people judge experiences based on the peak moment and the final moment. how you end has outsized impact on what they remember and whether they return. it’s called the peak end rule.

we're already drowning in the sea of artificial.

chatbots that say "i understand your frustration." ai assistants that generate perfectly polite, perfectly empty replies. customer service scripts designed to close tickets, not help humans.

online, everyone's optimizing for efficiency. speed. scale. automation.

which is exactly why physical spaces (and the humans in them) matter more than ever.

when someone walks into your store, gym, clinic, studio, they're choosing real life. they're showing up. they could've ordered online. they didn't.

that's your opportunity.

not to efficiency your way through the interaction. not to treat them like ticket #47. but to actually see them. make them feel something. give them a reason to keep choosing real over convenient.

these 8 micro moves are about being a very present animal.

creating moments of merrymaking when you notice people. remember details. break patterns. surprise someone just because.

your team gets happier. your customers become fans. and you're doing your small part to fight the loneliness epidemic with genuine human moments.

the world has enough robots.

be the human.

p.s. please scroll up to answer my survey if ya forgot 🙃