How Service Oriented Organisations Can Benefit from Product Commercialisation

Product commercialisation for many service based companies can be a challenge, primarily because it’s a change in mindset that needs to be overcome. The difficulty for businesses which are service oriented is that they’re selling time for money. It’s easy to see why. There’s no actual product. So how do you productise something that isn’t visibly there? By simply leveraging the intellectual property.

What would happen if a business spent time creating methodologies, systems, and processes for the services it provides, is continually repeated, but in a more time efficient manner? Sure, it would take some time to develop and could even cost money, but the long-term benefits are far greater.

Consider these for examples…

Tutors sell their time to help students with their educational needs. Let’s say it’s around $70 per hour which includes the prep work outside that hour. Imagine the time it might take for the tutor to prep each student individually if no system was in place. How would that change if a program was developed that could be used repeatedly as a ‘template’ for each student? Time and materials would go into developing the program initially but the time saved from then on would improve because the tutor wouldn’t need to put as much time into the prep.

Another example would be a Computer Technician. What would happen if he sold his services in packages rather than charge on an hourly basis? With the right methodology in place he could sell the package for let’s say $20,000 but he could deliver it for $15,000 because of the time he has saved in developing an efficient system.

Businesses which insist on delivering traditional professional services by offering time for money don’t necessarily understand their value proposition. Those companies which look at their IP, understand the process of putting it together and then streamlining it, will tend to find they’ll increase their profitability as they save time.

The beauty of a service based business is that there are no limitations, except only what is in the mind. It makes sense to look at a repeatable business model which you can then on-sell. Savvy people know that product commercialisation is in their interest which works for both the business and the consumer. This is because they understand the value of the service being provided and how to leverage it.