Experienced marketing professionals know about human behavior and psychology. These professionals play a critical role in helping businesses promote and market their products and services. One psychological strategy some marketers use has been named the “Ikea Effect.” This principle is named after the Swedish company famous for manufacturing and selling furniture that must be assembled at home.
psychology [ saɪˈkɑlədʒɪ ] n. 心理學 psychologist [ saɪˈkɑlədʒɪst ] n. 心理學家
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Essentially, the “Ikea Effect” states that consumers place a higher value on products they have helped build or create. Besides Ikea, another business using the strategy is YouFoodz, an Australian company which offers “ready-to-create” meal kits. These packs contain the rawingredients that people need for cooking for themselves. The “Ikea Effect” was coined by academic researchers from Harvard Business School, Yale University, and Duke University in 2011. However, their research is actually based on a phenomenon originally noted in the 1950s.
Back then, a food brand named Betty Crocker wanted to increase sales of its cake mixes. It hired a psychologist named Ernest Dichter, who advised General Mills (the owner of the Betty Crocker brand) to change its recipe. Based on Dichter’s advice, General Mills stopped using a dried egg powder in its Betty Crocker cake mixes. Instead, housewives would need to add a fresh egg when making the cake.
After General Mills made the change, sales of its cake mixes improved dramatically. It was determined that if housewives were required to add an egg to the cake mix, then the product was viewed more desirably. Academic researchers wanted to test if the required participation by consumers in the creation of a product was the reason.To do so, the research team asked subjects to assemble Ikea boxes, build shapes with Lego blocks, and fold paper to make origami figures.
They found that people were willing to pay more money for items that they had a hand in making. This confirmed the theory that when people are involved in making something, they perceive it as more valuable.
