We’ll pay disproportionately more for something we’ve helped create
Allowing customers to have some involvement in the creation of your product leads to a powerful emotional connection between the two.
Norton, Mochon & Ariely (2011). The ‘IKEA effect’: When labor leads to love. Harvard Business School Marketing Unit Working Paper, (11-091).
Impact
The study
The studies
52 people were split into two groups and given IKEA boxes: either fully-assembled or unassembled that they were asked to put together.
Those tasked with assembling their box were willing to pay a 63% premium for it during the subsequent bidding process over those given the pre-assembled boxes.
52 people were split into two groups and given IKEA boxes: either fully-assembled or unassembled that they were asked to put together.
Those tasked with assembling their box were willing to pay a 63% premium for it during the subsequent bidding process over those given the pre-assembled boxes.
Norton, Mochon & Ariely (2011). The ‘IKEA effect’: When labor leads to love. Harvard Business School Marketing Unit Working Paper, (11-091).
Jerome's Expert View
Key Takeaways
Provide personalization options early in your order flow to engender a sense of ownership and significantly improve conversion. Apple do this with their customizations for a new computer, as do new car showrooms. How can you add a low-risk, satisfying sense of creation into your existing products or services, especially around your USPs?
Don’t create choice overload and stress with too many pre-purchase customizations. Similarly, keep any post-purchase building effort simple, fun and low risk. What core parts of your product manufacture should always remain out of customer hands?
Frame involvement as a value-add experience and not a labour-cost-saving exercise. How much this is felt may depend on your brand, your product and what you allow to be crafted by customers.
Boundary conditions
Future questions
We’ll pay disproportionately more for something we’ve helped create
Allowing customers to have some involvement in the creation of your product leads to a powerful emotional connection between the two.
Norton, Mochon & Ariely (2011). The ‘IKEA effect’: When labor leads to love. Harvard Business School Marketing Unit Working Paper, (11-091).
The study
Impact
The study
The studies
52 people were split into two groups and given IKEA boxes: either fully-assembled or unassembled that they were asked to put together.
Those tasked with assembling their box were willing to pay a 63% premium for it during the subsequent bidding process over those given the pre-assembled boxes.
52 people were split into two groups and given IKEA boxes: either fully-assembled or unassembled that they were asked to put together.
Those tasked with assembling their box were willing to pay a 63% premium for it during the subsequent bidding process over those given the pre-assembled boxes.
Jerome's Expert View
Key Takeaways
Provide personalization options early in your order flow to engender a sense of ownership and significantly improve conversion. Apple do this with their customizations for a new computer, as do new car showrooms. How can you add a low-risk, satisfying sense of creation into your existing products or services, especially around your USPs?
Don’t create choice overload and stress with too many pre-purchase customizations. Similarly, keep any post-purchase building effort simple, fun and low risk. What core parts of your product manufacture should always remain out of customer hands?
Frame involvement as a value-add experience and not a labour-cost-saving exercise. How much this is felt may depend on your brand, your product and what you allow to be crafted by customers.
Boundary conditions
Future questions
Norton, Mochon & Ariely (2011). The ‘IKEA effect’: When labor leads to love. Harvard Business School Marketing Unit Working Paper, (11-091).
We’ll pay disproportionately more for something we’ve helped create
Allowing customers to have some involvement in the creation of your product leads to a powerful emotional connection between the two.
The study
52 people were split into two groups and given IKEA boxes: either fully-assembled or unassembled that they were asked to put together.
Those tasked with assembling their box were willing to pay a 63% premium for it during the subsequent bidding process over those given the pre-assembled boxes.
Norton, Mochon & Ariely (2011). The ‘IKEA effect’: When labor leads to love. Harvard Business School Marketing Unit Working Paper, (11-091).
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Read moreScarcity
We value things more when they’re in limited supply
Social Proof
We copy the behaviors of others, especially in unfamiliar situations
Prospect Theory
A loss hurts more than an equal gain feels good
Reciprocity
We’re hardwired to return kindness received
Framing
We make very different decisions based on how a fact is presented
Loss Aversion
We feel more negative when losing something than positive when we get it
Self-Expression
We constantly seek out ways to communicate our identity to others
Default Effect
We tend to accept the option pre-chosen for us
Priming
Our decisions are shaped by memories recalled from things just seen or heard
Anchoring
What we see first affects our judgement of everything thereafter
Scarcity
We value things more when they’re in limited supply
Social Proof
We copy the behaviors of others, especially in unfamiliar situations
Prospect Theory
A loss hurts more than an equal gain feels good
Reciprocity
We’re hardwired to return kindness received
Framing
We make very different decisions based on how a fact is presented
Loss Aversion
We feel more negative when losing something than positive when we get it
Self-Expression
We constantly seek out ways to communicate our identity to others
Default Effect
We tend to accept the option pre-chosen for us
Priming
Our decisions are shaped by memories recalled from things just seen or heard
Anchoring
What we see first affects our judgement of everything thereafter