SRM Lecture 4 Service Blueprinting

Lynn Shostack, “Designing Services that Deliver.” Harvard Business Review, 1984.

" Leaving services to individual talent and managing the pieces rather than the whole make a company more vulnerable and creates a service that reacts slowly to market needs and opportunities." 

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Service Design

Service design comprises three interconnected elements:

• People: All individuals involved, including employees, customers, partners, and even other customers encountered during the service.

• Props: Physical or digital artifacts used in service delivery, ranging from physical spaces and objects to websites and digital platforms.

• Processes: Workflows, procedures, and rituals performed by employees and customers, encompassing everything from handling customer issues to sharing files.

These components are further categorized as:

• Frontstage: Elements visible to the customer, like products, touchpoints, and interfaces.

• Backstage: Behind-the-scenes elements like policies, technologies, and infrastructure, critical for shaping the customer experience.

​https://www.nngroup.com/articles/service-design-101/

Service Design

Service Design vs. Designing a Service:

• Service design tackles the "experience of the employee" by optimizing internal processes and how things get done.

• Designing a service focuses on the "experience of the user" by shaping the customer journey through touchpoint design.

Benefits of Service Design:

• Surfacing conflicts: It highlights misalignments between business models and actual service delivery.

• Fostering hard conversations: Enables open discussions about internal processes, exposing weak links and fostering collaborative solutions.

• Reducing redundancies: Provides a bird's-eye view of the service ecosystem, identifying duplicate efforts and inefficiencies.

• Forming relationships: Aligns backstage processes with frontstage personnel, ensuring seamless information flow and better customer interactions.the customer experience.

​https://www.nngroup.com/articles/service-design-101/

The Case of the Missing Cupcakes

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Labelling

Match the following

Drag labels to their correct position on the image

Developing a marketing campaign

Gaining additional market share

Overcoming the competitive pressures

Optimising the service

Improving advertising social media press

Reducing waiting times

Developing training materials

Identifying problems, offering solutions

The primary focus of a service blueprint is on the customer experience, whereas the focus of a flowchart is on the process steps and their sequence.

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Symphony of efficiency, not a wasted motion 

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Multiple Choice

Why is it important to begin building a blueprint with the customer in mind?

• To ensure that the final product meets the customer's needs and expectations.
• To ensure that the final product does not meet the customer's needs and expectations
• To ignore the customer's input and preferences
• To make the project more expensive for the customer

Multiple Choice

What is the primary difference between a customer journey map and a service blueprint?

• A customer journey map focuses on the customer's experience, while a service blueprint encompasses all aspects of service delivery.

• A customer journey map is used for internal processes, while a service blueprint is used for external customer interactions.

• A customer journey map is a visual representation, while a service blueprint is a written document.

• A customer journey map is used for new service development, while a service blueprint is used for improving existing services.

Multiple Choice

What is the significance of identifying the physical evidence in a service blueprint?

• It helps to understand the customer's physical environment.

• It provides insights into the service's brand identity.

• It reveals the tangible elements that contribute to the service experience.

• It allows for the assessment of the service's sustainability.

Multiple Choice

What is the significance of defining the scope of a service blueprint?

• It allows for the identification of potential risks and challenges.

• It helps to ensure that the blueprint is comprehensive and includes all relevant information.

• It provides a framework for measuring the success of the service.

• It helps to determine the budget and resources required for the project.

Multiple Choice

What is the key difference between front-stage and backstage interactions in a service blueprint?

• Front-stage interactions are handled by customer service representatives, while backstage interactions are handled by internal staff.

• Front-stage interactions are focused on sales and marketing, while backstage interactions are focused on operations.

• Front-stage interactions are digital, while backstage interactions are physical.

• Front-stage interactions are visible to the customer, while backstage interactions are not.

Multiple Choice

What is the importance of assigning time durations to each step in a service blueprint?

• It helps to identify potential bottlenecks in the service delivery process.

• It allows for the calculation of the cost of each step.

• It provides a clear understanding of the time required to complete the service.

• It enables the comparison of different service delivery methods.

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Poll

Which one do you prefer?

• Traditional

• Smart

Open Ended

Why traditional? or Why smart?

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Summary

The concept of services marketing and focuses on service process design, including flow charting and blue printing. It explains the four categories of services based on their underlying processes and the nature of the service act. The document also highlights the importance of service distribution and provides examples of service blueprints. Additionally, it covers the key components of a service blueprint and the steps involved in developing one. The document further explores the role of customers in the service delivery process and the necessity for service process redesign. It explains how service process redesign can improve service quality and productivity. The document also discusses the benefits and adoption of self-service technology and the hierarchy of new service categories. Finally, it addresses the challenges and considerations in developing new services, the distribution of services through electronic channels, and the strategic location considerations for service businesses.