There's something funny about buying an IKEA furniture.

You pay for it, you take it home, you open a box full of pieces, you look for the instructions and you spend a while trying to find out which screw corresponds to which piece.

In theory, it might seem like a worse experience than buying a fully mounted furniture.

However, when you finally finish, you put the furniture in place and look at it, something interesting happens:

You feel it's a little more yours.

That is precisely what the IKEA effect.

The concept describes the tendency of people to attribute greater value to those objects that have contributed to building themselves. The term was popularized by a study by Michael I. Norton, Daniel Mochon and Dan Ariely published in 2012, in which they analyzed how assembly work could increase people's assessment of certain products.

And IKEA is probably the best known example of how to turn this psychological principle into a real business strategy.

Because IKEA doesn't just sell furniture.

He sells furniture designed for you to build.

And that seemingly small difference completely changes the consumer's experience.

What is the IKEA effect?

The IKEA effect is a psychological phenomenon that explains that people can value a product more when they have participated in its creation or assembly.

The logic is quite simple:

"If I have, I give him more courage."

This does not mean that any consumer-mounted product will automatically like you more.

For the effect to work, the effort must be reasonable and the consumer must succeed in completing the task.

And that's where IKEA's strategy is especially interesting.

IKEA does not simply deliver a disassembled product and say:

"Now get down."

The whole system is designed around consumer participation.

The pieces are ready to fit.

The products are divided into components.

The instructions use mainly illustrations.

Packaging is designed to facilitate transport.

And the assembly process is structured so that a person can do it without being an expert in carpentry.

I mean, customer effort is not an accident: it is part of the business model.

And there begins the really interesting of IKEA effect.

IKEA could ride your furniture, but decide that you will.

This is probably one of the most interesting marketing questions:

Why would a brand make the client do part of the work that the company itself could do?

The answer is in part in efficiency.

If IKEA manufactures, stores, transports and sells disassembled furniture, it can considerably optimize the space that its products occupy during storage and transport.

The concept of flat packaging (flat-pack) is a fundamental part of the history of IKEA. The company itself explains how this idea began to develop when the feet were removed from a table to facilitate its transport.

But there's another much more interesting dimension.

The customer is not only saving costs to IKEA. It is also participating in product creation.

And that participation can generate a different relationship with what you just bought.

There he comes. IKEA effect.

From "I sell it to" you build it. "

Most products are designed to minimize consumer work.

You buy a phone and it's ready to use.

You buy a coffee maker and you practically just have to connect it.

You buy a garment and you can wear it immediately.

In many markets, the trend is clear:

less effort, more comfort.

IKEA takes a different path.

The customer has to:

1. Choose the product.
2. Transport.
3. Open the packaging.
4. Identify the pieces.
5. Follow the instructions.
6. Ride it.
7. Place him at home.

And yet experience can be satisfactory.

Why?

Because assembly ceases to be simply an obligation and can become part of the experience.

This is one of the great learning of IKEA effect:

the effort does not always destroy value. In certain circumstances, you can create it.

The instructions are also part of the marketing

Here we find one of the most interesting details of the IKEA strategy.

When we think about marketing, we usually think about ads.

Campaigns.

Social media.

Packaging.

External advertising.

Influencers.

But the IKEA effect It forces us to extend the definition of marketing.

Because assembly instructions can also be part of the brand experience.

The IKEA instructions are designed to make the process as accessible as possible.

Illustrations.

Number of steps.

Few words.

Visual representations of the pieces.

Indications on how to place them.

The intention is to reduce the perceived difficulty.

And this is fundamental.

Because if IKEA wants the customer to mount the product, it needs to get something apparently contradictory:

make a task that requires effort seem easy.

There's a lot of strategic work there.

The IKEA effect is not to make the customer work

This nuance is important.

We could play the IKEA effect in a way too simplistic:

"Make the customer work and value the product more."

It doesn't work exactly like that.

If you buy a closet and need three hours, five tools and help from a professional to ride it, you probably don't end up thinking:

"How wonderful, now I value it much more."

You probably think:

"Why didn't they sell it?"

The effort must be balanced.

The consumer must perceive that he can complete the task.

And above all, you must experience a sense of progress.

That's why IKEA doesn't just sell parts.

It designs a whole system so that the consumer can complete the work.

Why do we value what we do more?

The IKEA effect It connects with a very human idea: we tend to value what we have invested time and effort in.

When we participate in the creation of something, we stop perceiving it only as an external object.

There's a part of us in it.

We didn't just buy a shelf.

We've set up our shelf.

We didn't just buy a table.

We've built our table.

The difference is linguistic, but also emotional.

The object begins to be part of our history.

And that can increase the attachment to him.

The original study on the IKEA effect found precisely that the assembly work could lead consumers to better value the products they had built, provided they could properly complete the task.

That's why the concept is so interesting to any marketing professional.

Because it shows that consumer participation can become perceived value.

IKEA turns a disadvantage into an advantage

From a conventional point of view, selling a disassembled product might seem a disadvantage.

The client has to do more.

You have to transport it.

You have to ride it.

You have to spend time.

A company might think:

"We have to eliminate all these inconvenience."

IKEA proposes another possibility:

"What if we design all the experience so that these drawbacks can be assumed and are also part of the value?"

Here we find one of the great strategy lessons of IKEA.

It does not necessarily try to eliminate consumer participation.

He designs it.

It does not attempt to hide that the product needs assembly.

It makes the assembly simple.

It does not attempt to compete only by offering a finished product.

It builds a system around how the consumer buys it, transports it and finally incorporates it into his home.

And that converts the IKEA effect in something much more interesting than a simple psychological phenomenon.

It becomes an experience design tool.

The customer becomes part of the production

There is another especially powerful idea behind the IKEA effect:

the consumer is no longer only a consumer.

It is involved in the creation of the final result.

This connects with a much broader trend in current marketing: brands are increasingly looking for ways to make their consumers participate.

Personalization.

Product configuration.

Construction.

Design.

Content generated by users.

Communities.

Interactive experiences.

The consumer no longer necessarily wants to receive all finished.

In certain contexts, he wants to participate.

And when that participation is well designed, it can increase the connection with the brand.

IKEA takes him to the physical field in a particularly clear way.

The real IKEA product is not just furniture

Imagine that IKEA sold exactly the same furniture, but completely mounted.

I would still have a product catalogue.

But it would change an important part of the experience.

Because the intermediate process would disappear.

You wouldn't have to open the box anymore.

You wouldn't have to interpret the instructions anymore.

You wouldn't have to put every piece in it anymore.

You would no longer have that final moment when you look at the furniture and think:

"I set it up."

The IKEA effect It allows us to understand that this intermediate process can also have value.

This is very important for any brand.

Because companies often try to reduce all the steps that separate the consumer from the product.

But perhaps some of these steps are precisely the ones that make the experience memorable.

What can other brands learn from the IKEA effect?

This is where this concept ceases to be simply a curiosity about IKEA and becomes a marketing tool.

The question is not:

"How can I get my customers to ride my product?"

The question is:

"Where in my experience could the client participate to increase their involvement?"

And the possibilities are huge.

1. Personalization

Allowing the consumer to participate in product configuration can increase their perception of ownership.

For example:

"Design your own combination."

"Configure your product."

"Choose the finishes."

"Create your pack."

The final result is no longer completely standard.

The consumer has participated in it.

2. Products that are completed at home

It doesn't necessarily have to be a furniture.

It can be a kit.

A product that requires a small customization.

A set that the consumer combines.

An element that ends at home.

The key is that the effort is small enough to be accessible and significant enough to generate participation.

3. Interactive experiences

The IKEA effect It can also be applied to digital services.

For example, a platform can allow the user to build their own plan.

A training mark can make the user set up his itinerary.

A software company can allow the client to create his own dashboard.

En lugar de recibir una solución completamente cerrada:

el usuario participa en su construcción.

El error sería confundir esfuerzo con valor

Una de las conclusiones más importantes del IKEA effect es que no debemos pensar que cuanto más trabajo haga el consumidor, más valor percibirá.

No.

La clave está en diseñar correctamente el esfuerzo.

Demasiado poco:

el consumidor no participa.

Demasiado:

el consumidor se frustra.

El punto óptimo está en crear una experiencia en la que el usuario pueda decir:

“He participado en esto.”

Sin llegar a:

“He tenido que hacerlo todo yo.”

IKEA es un buen ejemplo de este equilibrio.

El cliente monta el producto, pero no tiene que diseñar desde cero cómo se construye.

Las piezas ya están preparadas.

Los componentes están definidos.

Las instrucciones existen.

Los pasos están ordenados.

El consumidor aporta el trabajo, pero la marca ha hecho previamente el trabajo de diseño necesario para que ese trabajo sea posible.

El efecto IKEA aplicado al marketing de servicios

Y aquí aparece una aplicación especialmente interesante para empresas que venden servicios.

Imaginemos una agencia de marketing.

Puede ofrecer un servicio completamente cerrado:

“Nosotros hacemos todo y tú no tienes que participar.”

O puede crear determinados puntos de participación:

• El cliente define su posicionamiento.
• Elige entre diferentes territorios creativos.
• Participa en la definición del tono.
• Selecciona determinadas propuestas.
• Aporta información sobre sus clientes.
• Valida conceptos.
• Participa en sesiones estratégicas.

El servicio sigue siendo profesional.

Pero el cliente siente que ha ayudado a construir la solución.

Esto puede cambiar radicalmente la percepción del resultado.

Porque no es exactamente lo mismo decir:

“Mi agencia me ha hecho la estrategia.”

que:

“Mi equipo y yo hemos construido la estrategia con la agencia.”

La segunda frase transmite una sensación diferente de propiedad.

Y ese es precisamente uno de los aprendizajes más interesantes del IKEA effect.

IKEA y el poder de las pequeñas victorias

Otra clave está en cómo se estructura el proceso.

Montar un mueble puede parecer una tarea grande.

Pero IKEA la divide en pequeños pasos.

Abre la caja.

Identifica las piezas.

Une dos componentes.

Coloca un tornillo.

Añade otro.

Levanta la estructura.

Coloca el siguiente elemento.

Poco a poco, aparece algo que antes no existía.

Y cada paso genera una pequeña sensación de progreso.

Desde el punto de vista de experiencia de usuario, esto es muy potente.

Porque el consumidor no solamente ve el resultado final.

Ve cómo está creando el resultado.

Y esa sensación de progreso puede hacer que el proceso sea más satisfactorio.

La gran lección del efecto IKEA para las marcas

The IKEA effect plantea una idea que puede parecer contradictoria con muchas de las tendencias actuales del marketing:

a veces, hacer que el consumidor participe puede generar más valor que hacerlo todo por él.

Pero solo cuando esa participación está bien diseñada.

IKEA no obliga simplemente al cliente a montar muebles para ahorrar costes.

Construye productos y experiencias alrededor de esa realidad.

El packaging.

El transporte.

Las piezas.

Las instrucciones.

El diseño.

El precio.

La experiencia de compra.

Todo está conectado.

Y esa es probablemente la parte más importante del caso.

El éxito no está en que el cliente monte el mueble.

Está en que toda la experiencia está diseñada para que el cliente pueda hacerlo.

¿Qué puede enseñarnos IKEA sobre estrategia de marketing?

El caso del IKEA effect nos deja varias lecciones.

1. Una desventaja puede convertirse en una propuesta de valor

Que el cliente tenga que montar un producto podría parecer un inconveniente.

IKEA demuestra que puede convertirse en parte de la experiencia.

2. La experiencia empieza antes del producto

El producto no existe únicamente cuando está terminado.

También importa cómo se compra, se transporta, se abre y se monta.

3. El consumidor puede crear valor

El cliente no siempre tiene que recibir una experiencia completamente terminada.

Puede participar en ella.

4. El esfuerzo tiene que estar diseñado

No se trata de hacer trabajar al consumidor.

Se trata de darle una participación que pueda completar y que tenga sentido.

5. El producto puede generar una relación emocional

Cuando una persona participa en la creación de algo, puede desarrollar una mayor sensación de propiedad sobre el resultado.

Y eso puede ser muy poderoso para una marca.

El efecto IKEA: cuando el cliente deja de ser espectador

El gran aprendizaje de IKEA no es que las personas disfruten montando muebles.

Es algo mucho más interesante.

Las personas pueden valorar más aquello en lo que han participado.

Y eso abre una enorme cantidad de posibilidades para el marketing.

Porque una marca puede limitarse a decir:

“Esto es lo que hemos creado para ti.”

O puede plantear:

“Vamos a crearlo juntos.”

La segunda opción convierte al consumidor en participante.

Y cuando una persona participa, deja de relacionarse con el producto exactamente de la misma manera.

Ese es el verdadero poder del IKEA effect.

No consiste simplemente en vender muebles desmontados.

Consiste en comprender que el trabajo del consumidor puede formar parte de la experiencia de marca.

Y, si está bien diseñado, ese trabajo puede dejar de sentirse como una obligación y convertirse en parte del valor.

IKEA no solo vende una estantería.

Te da las piezas, las instrucciones y el espacio para construirla.

Y cuando terminas, ya no tienes simplemente una estantería.

Tienes una estantería que has construido tú.

Ahí está el efecto IKEA.