The more you suffer, the more you care

Unsplash / Lauren Gray

Sometimes, deep down, people don’t want things to be easy.

 A recent article in the Journal of Consumer Research argues that “exerting extra effort makes people feel like better caregivers.” If you are familiar with the introduction of Betty Crocker cake mixes in the 1950s, this will sound familiar.  (Cake mixes made life easier for homemakers, but they also created guilt because they were too easy. In response, General Mills made its cake mix a little less convenient by requiring people to add water and an egg. Sales immediately soared.)

In this new study, pre-made greeting cards are judged to be more attractive, but homemade cards are deemed better expressions of love. Those who made their own cards judged themselves more dedicated family members.

If your partner is sick and they have cooked soup for you in the past, you are more likely to want to cook soup for them instead of buying soup. 

You are more likely to choose cookie mix (the less convenient option) over pre-made cookie dough if you are making cookies for a partner rather than for yourself.

Perhaps this phenomenon accounts for the explosion in family holiday cards. True, they let you show a more personal side of yourself than a card you buy at the store, but they also require a little more effort.

The authors contend marketers may need to reframe the benefits of some products that make life easier.  That starts with asking, “Do consumers really want this part of their life to be made easier?”