Endowment Effect
Once something feels like yours, you want more to give it up than you would pay to get it.
What it is
Ownership changes value. The same object is worth more to the person holding it than to the person considering it. Trials, previews and personalisation all work by creating a sense of ownership before any money changes hands, so that the purchase feels like keeping rather than buying.
The research
Students given a mug demanded roughly twice as much to sell it as other students were willing to pay to buy it.
Kahneman, Knetsch and Thaler, 1990
How to use it
Give the full product for the trial
A trial of the real thing creates ownership. A limited trial creates curiosity at best.
Use possessive language
"Your dashboard", "your plan", "your leads". The words do some of the work.
Let people see it in their context
A mock-up with the customer's logo and data on it is already half theirs.
Related
Sources that shaped this entry: growth.design.