Service Innovation in the Era of Digitalisation: What Should Service Providers Look Out For?

Digital disruptions hit retailers a couple of decades ago when companies like Amazon showed up on the scene. Brick-and-mortar retailers have had to make big changes in order to stay relevant in the digital age. Now, service companies are also being affected by the era of digitalisation. Think about Uber, Airbnb and AngelList and you’ll see how service companies are rethinking their business models in order to stay competitive.

Whether or not your industry has already been disrupted by the digital age (it’s difficult to think of an industry that hasn’t been touched), you should be on the lookout for the following things so you can preserve your competitive edge and even capitalise on the changing times:

Higher Customer Expectations

As customers experience new technologies in one industry, they expect to see them in others. For example, we see self-service kiosks in many industries now: airline check-in, grocery check-out, department store self-service. Customers expect service to move faster, they want to be more involved in the process, and they expect more personalisation.

You can use these higher expectations to your advantage if you think of ways to cater to customers in ways your competition hasn’t thought of yet. Could you incorporate more mobile technologies into your system? Could you digitalise any of your processes that aren’t currently digital?

Service Innovation

We think of products as having a shelf life, but we often forget that services have a shelf life as well. Changes in lifestyle and expectations, as well as changes in technology, affect the demand for services. Therefore, it’s important to regularly examine the services you offer and dedicate resources and attention to developing and refining your service offerings.

Personalisation

In the past, companies would find out what customers were looking for by conducting focus groups and surveys. Today, though, companies can take advantage of big data and analytics to pinpoint exactly what customers want. Once you find out what customers are looking for, you can personalise your service just for them.

 

 

For example, Disney developed a way to personalise the experience of visiting their theme parks by offering MagicBands. These wrist bands hold all the information related to customers’ visits. They contain information about hotel and dining reservations, Fastpass data, Photopass photos, room key information, and more. If customers volunteer more personal information, the bands can even help costumed Disney characters to greet guests by name when they encounter them in the park. Not only does this technology personalise customers’ experiences, but it also makes their lives easier, which brings us to the last item to watch for.

Simplification

Often, digital disruptors are successful when they can make something that was complicated become more streamlined and simple. For example, calling a taxi is now as easy as tapping a button on your Uber app. You don’t have to know the phone number of a taxi service, and you don’t even have to have any cash; the Uber app performs the digital exchange of money. How can you make your services as streamlined and as simple as possible? When you answer this question and follow through with implementation, you’ll be tough to compete with. You will have become the digital disruptor.

Just because you provide a service doesn’t mean you can remain blissfully unaware of the monumental changes that accompany the digital era. On the other hand, there is enormous opportunity for companies that are willing to look for new possibilities and change the way they operate. Embrace the changes and enjoy the positive outcomes.