Service development and Design

Meaning
Service design is the activity of planning and arranging people, infrastructure,
communication and material components of a service in order to improve its quality, and the
interaction between the service provider and its users.
Service design is the activity of planning and organizing a business’s resources (people,
props, and processes) in order to (1) directly improve the employee’s experience, and (2)
indirectly, the customer’s experience.
Challenges of Service Design
Service design is a complex and multidisciplinary field that aims to create and improve
services to meet the needs of customers or users. While it offers many benefits, it also comes
with several challenges. Some of the common challenges of service design include:
1. Intangibility: Unlike physical products, services are intangible and can be challenging to
design because they often involve human interactions and experiences. Designing for
intangible elements like emotions and perceptions can be complex.
2. User-Centered Design: Ensuring that the service truly meets the needs and expectations of
users can be challenging. Understanding user preferences and designing for diverse user
groups can be difficult.
3. Complexity: Many services are intricate, involving numerous touchpoints, stakeholders,
and processes. Managing this complexity and ensuring a seamless user experience can be a
significant challenge.
4. Consistency: Maintaining consistency across all touchpoints of a service, whether online
or offline, and ensuring that it aligns with the brand identity can be tough.
5. Human Element: Services often rely on human interactions, and the quality of these
interactions can vary. Designing for consistent and excellent customer service is a challenge.
6. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Service design requires collaboration among various
departments and teams within an organization. Aligning different stakeholders and ensuring
that they work together can be a challenge.
7. Customer Involvement: Engaging customers in the design process can be difficult,
especially when their needs and expectations are diverse or not well understood.
8. Data Privacy and Security: Many services involve the collection and handling of
sensitive customer data. Ensuring data privacy and security is a significant concern in service
design.
9. Technological Changes: Rapid advancements in technology can disrupt existing services.
Service designers need to keep up with the latest technological trends and incorporate them
into their designs.
10. Regulatory Compliance: Services often need to comply with various regulations and
legal requirements, which can pose challenges in terms of design and implementation.
11. Resource Constraints: Limited budgets, time constraints, and resource availability can
restrict the scope and scale of service design projects.
12. Measuring Success: Determining the effectiveness of a service design can be
challenging. Measuring user satisfaction, ROI, and other key performance indicators can be
complex.
13. Resistance to Change: Implementing new service designs may face resistance from
employees and stakeholders who are accustomed to existing processes.
14. Sustainability: Designing services that are environmentally and socially sustainable can
be a challenge, especially in industries with significant environmental impact.
Types of New Services
In the context of service marketing, "new services" can refer to innovations or additions to a
company's service offerings. Here are some types of new services in service marketing:
 Service Extensions: Expanding an existing service by adding new features or
options. For example, a car rental company might offer GPS navigation as an add-on
to its basic rental service.
 Customization Services: Providing customers with the ability to customize services
to their specific needs. This can be common in industries like software development
or interior design.
 Service Bundles: Combining multiple services into a package at a discounted price.
Telecommunication companies often bundle TV, internet, and phone services.
 Membership and Loyalty Programs: Offering exclusive services, discounts, or
benefits to loyal customers who join a membership or loyalty program. Airlines and
hotels often have loyalty programs.
 Digital and Online Services: Developing new digital services, such as mobile apps
or online platforms, to enhance customer experiences. These may include self-service
portals, chatbots, and virtual assistants.
 Consulting and Advisory Services: Offering expert advice and guidance on specific
topics or issues. This is common in areas like financial services, legal services, and
management consulting.
 After-Sales Services: Extending support and services beyond the point of purchase,
such as warranties, maintenance, and technical support for products.
 Co-Creation Services: Involving customers in the design and development of
services. Crowdsourcing and feedback mechanisms are used to gather ideas and refine
services.
 Collaborative Services: Partnering with other businesses to offer joint services. For
example, a fitness center might collaborate with a nutritionist to provide
comprehensive health services.
 Green and Sustainable Services: Introducing eco-friendly or sustainable practices in
service delivery to appeal to environmentally conscious consumers.
 Innovation Services: Assisting clients in developing and implementing new ideas
and technologies to enhance their products or services.
 Core and Supplementary Elements
Core Elements/Core Service
The core service seeks to address some specific needs of the consumer. Examples can be
transportation from one place to another, treatment of a particular ailment, professional
services regarding a problem, repairing or servicing any equipment, etc.
The core service seeks to address two critical questions:
1) What is the customer really interested in buying?
2) What is the business that is our core competence?
Supplementary Elements/Supplementary Services
The supplementary services augment the core product of the company by adding value and
appeal and increasing its application. They are provided as a tool, to differentiate the core
product from other, competing services. It increases the, value of the service for, the customer
and it also allows the company to charge a premium for the extra services that are being
provided.
The applicability of core services is enhanced with the help of supplementary services. They
have a wide range of options like information provided, documentation facilities, advice or
help, problem resolution for the consumers, etc. example of a hotel. Here, the supplementary
services can be online reservations or room service. It is very necessary that the delivery
mechanism is specified for both core and supplementary services. Higher the price of the
hotel, more will be the level of services attached to it. In case of hotels, these services may
include valet parking, concierge services, gourmet food, etc. Additional services can also be
in the form of business facilities, spa and recreational facilities, pool and gymnasium, etc

New Service Development Process

Developing a new service in service marketing involves a systematic process to ensure that
the service meets customer needs, is competitive, and is well-received in the market. Here is a
step-by-step new service development process in service marketing:
 Idea Generation: Begin by generating ideas for new services. These ideas can come
from various sources, such as customer feedback, market research, competitive
analysis, or internal brainstorming sessions.
 Idea Screening: Evaluate and filter the generated ideas to identify those with the
most potential. Consider factors such as feasibility, alignment with organizational
goals, and market demand.
 Concept Development and Testing: Develop a detailed concept for the new service.
This includes defining the service's features, benefits, target audience, and pricing
strategy. Test the concept with a small group of potential customers to gather
feedback.
 Business Analysis: Conduct a thorough analysis of the new service's financial
viability. Consider costs, revenue projections, and profit potential. Assess the impact
of the new service on existing operations.
 Service Design and Development: Create a detailed service blueprint that outlines
how the service will be delivered. Develop the necessary processes, procedures, and
technology infrastructure. Design the customer interface and user experience.
 Market Testing: Before a full-scale launch, conduct a pilot or limited release of the
new service in a specific market or among a select group of customers. This helps
identify any issues and fine-tune the offering.
 Full-Scale Launch: Launch the new service to the entire target market or customer
base. Monitor its performance closely during this phase.
 Customer Feedback and Iteration: Continuously gather feedback from customers
and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the service's success. Make
adjustments and improvements as needed.
 Monitoring and Evaluation: Regularly evaluate the new service's performance,
including its profitability, customer satisfaction, and market share. Adjust strategies
and tactics based on performance data.
 Service Blueprint
Service blueprint is a diagram or map of the steps in a service delivery process, making it
easier to design a new process or to improve an existing one
Service blueprint is a diagram or map of the steps in a service delivery process, making it
easier to design a new process or to improve an existing one
Service blueprint is a diagram or map of the steps in a service delivery process, making
it easier to design a new process or to improve an existing one.
Nature of Service Blueprinting
Following points describe the nature of service blueprinting:
1) Service blueprints help to reinforce a customer-orientation among employees as well as
clarify interfaces across departmental lines.
2) Service blueprints are relatively simple and their graphical representations are easy for all
stakeholders involved - customers, managers, front-line employees ,to learn, use, and even
modify to meet a particular innovation's requirements.
3) Service blueprinting upholds the focus of a service innovation on the human-to-human and
human-to-technology interfaces at the firm boundaries, rather than at the software engine
level, allowing service designers to drill down into the firm without losing the connection to
customer actions and process.
4) It makes possible to understand service creation and delivery systems possible through an
extensive description of the service process.
5) Service blueprints elucidate the interactions among service users, digital touchpoints, and
employees providing services, comprising the frontstage activities that affect the customer
directly, and the backstage activities which the customers do not see.

Need of Service Blueprinting

Service blueprints fulfil a number of uses but most often they're used for:
1) Improving a Service: By understanding the original service in detail - it's possible to
identify and eliminate or ameliorate pain points.
2) Designing a New Service: A blueprint for a new service allows for the creation of service
prototypes and testing before a service is launched to customers.
3) Understanding a Service: There are many services which have become so engrained in
corporate culture that they are no longer understood by anyone. Blueprints can reveal silos
and areas of opacity in existing processes.
4) Understanding the Actors in a Service: When there are many actors (customers,
suppliers, consultants, employees, teams, etc.) it can be very useful to have a blueprint to help
manage the complexity of a situation.
Process of Service Blueprinting
Service blueprinting is a visual technique used to understand, document, and analyze the
service process, its components, and customer interactions. This method is particularly useful
for service design and quality improvement. Here is the process of service blueprinting:
 Select the Service: Choose the specific service process you want to blueprint. This
could be an existing service you want to improve or a new service you are planning to
develop.
 Define the Scope: Clearly define the boundaries and scope of the service blueprint.
Determine which customer interactions and service components will be included in
the blueprint.
 Identify Customer Actions: Begin by identifying the customer actions or steps
involved in the service process. These are the actions that customers take to interact
with the service, such as making a reservation, asking a question, or receiving a
product.
 Identify Frontstage Activities: Frontstage activities are the visible, customer-facing
interactions that occur during the service process. These can include interactions with
staff, self-service kiosks, websites, or other customer touchpoints.
 Identify Backstage Activities: Backstage activities are the internal, behind-the-
scenes processes that support the frontstage activities. These are the actions that
employees and systems perform to deliver the service. This may involve data entry,
order processing, inventory management, etc.
 Service Line of Interaction: Create a horizontal line or "line of interaction" on the
blueprint to represent the sequence of customer actions, frontstage activities, and
backstage activities. This line provides a clear visual representation of the service
process.
 Indicate Customer Touchpoints: On the service line of interaction, place symbols or
icons representing customer interactions or touchpoints at the appropriate points in the
process.
 Connect with Lines and Arrows: Use lines and arrows to connect the customer
touchpoints, frontstage activities, and backstage activities to illustrate the flow of the
service process. Connect frontstage and backstage activities with dashed lines to
distinguish them.
 Include Time and Evidence: For each step in the blueprint, indicate the time
required for the step to be completed and the evidence or information needed to move
to the next step.
 Service Failures and Recovery: If applicable, identify potential failure points in the
service process and indicate how the service can recover from these failures.
 Measurements and KPIs: If desired, include key performance indicators (KPIs) or
measurements for each step to help assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the
service.
 Review and Refine: Review the service blueprint to ensure it accurately represents
the service process and interactions. Refine the blueprint as needed based on feedback
from stakeholders.