My family and I have been making many of our own pizzas at home lately and this got me thinking.  Although they were not as fancy or had as many toppings as the pizza that we sometimes order from our local place, they seemed better to us somehow.  Why was that?  It’s simply because we made them.

Along those same lines, researchers have found something interesting when studying the success of IKEA that is described as “The IKEA effect”.  The effect states simply that people perceive more value in something they have built or created themselves.  That would explain the success of a company that provides a lot of particle board based products.  This may be hard to believe but, 

“Two groups were given IKEA boxes, with one group given fully-assembled versions, and the other given unassembled boxes, which they were told to put together. This second group were willing to pay much more for their box during the subsequent bidding process than those with pre-assembled boxes.”

The decision to purchase a Kitchen or Bath design is an emotional decision.  As such, your client will feel more emotionally attached to the project if they feel that they have been involved in the design process from the beginning.

One example that comes to mind is a couple I had met that worked with their designer to create a kitchen that was themed in style and color to match an imported hand-painted ceramic plate that they adored. They loved their new design, largely due to how much they contributed to it!

With all of your years of experience in design, you probably can create a beautiful space for your client, but if you include their ideas and suggestions even in small areas or elements of their space and complement your client on their ideas, you will help create the emotional attraction necessary in order to compel them to buy from you.

“You obviously have put a lot of thought and research into this!”

If you provide them with all of your ideas and show them how nice your design is they may like it but will not be nearly as invested in the outcome which means it still could possibly come down to price.

Encourage your clients to contribute to the project, get them involved from the beginning, and when you are done, the price will be less relevant, and they won’t want to work with anyone else!

Source: “How IKEA used psychology to become the world’s largest furniture retailer” by Jennifer Clinehens