Cojoin the Stages of Coproduction

In some sales formats, you ask the shopper to coproduce the item with you by selecting options before purchase or assembling the components into a bespoke design after purchase. A range of studies over the years has found evidence that these types of consumer coproduction can increase customer satisfaction with the item. Attraction to the store or website where the purchase was completed also rises.
     University of Miami and University of Florida findings indicate that for best results, the customization decisions and the assembly tasks should be perceived by the consumer as a continuous process. In fact, when the two were segregated steps, the purchasers tended to find the assembly process unpleasant. In these circumstances, the greater the assembly effort, the greater the dissatisfaction.
     On the other hand, when the customization decisions and construction tasks were conducted as an integrated process, the customer tended to become involved in the assembly as a creative endeavor. Here, more assembly effort led to higher appreciation.
     Researchers at Norwegian School of Economics found that when consumers prepared a meal themselves rather than having it prepared for them, the evaluation both of the meal and of the raw ingredients climbed. Not only that, but the consumers’ reports of the degree of saltiness and spiciness they preferred in a meal changed toward whatever the level of saltiness and spiciness were in the meal they had prepared. These consumers were giving themselves reasons to savor what they’d created.
     Cojoined coproduction goes beyond customization to become personalization, in that personalization takes into account the characteristics of the particular individual. This applies to items the shopper selects for herself as well as to gifts selected for others. Personalization requires the shopper to think in depth about the recipient and so enables presentation of the gift in an especially meaningful way. This dynamic holds true for more than adults. People like to personalize for the children and even for pets they love.
     The more time and mental effort the gift giver devotes to the personalizing, the more that gift shopper will be willing to pay for the item. University of Colorado, Florida State University, and Indiana University researchers say this is because a shopper places value on his time and effort. Therefore, for cojoined coproduction, limit your design support. If asked, “What should I pick?,” give as a first answer, “Well, you know the recipient better than I do.”

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers

Click below for more: 
Effect Endowment via Customer Coproduction 
Limit Design Support for Personalized Gifts 
Turn Away from Turnkey