SERVICE DESIGN FOR IMPACT
Every product, service, or business starts with an idea. As the idea matures over time, it should align with a market need as well as with the founder’s own background, purpose, passions, and skills.
A user-centered approach of development
Before you invest too much time and resources into developing your idea, you should explore the gap and opportunity from the potential user’s point of view. Developing your idea with a user-centered approach makes it much more likely to succeed. To understand how to create something that is valuable for the users, but doesn't yet exist in the market, qualitative research methods is the way to go.
Qualitative methods such as interviews and observations, however, will help you with the “why” and “how”, the in-depth understanding of your target audience. Quantitative research methods such as surveys and big data analysis are more useful to understand big trends, the “what”.
Exploring the gap and the opportunity
By conducting user interviews early in the idea development process will help you to understand: Who is having the problem? What is lacking in the existing solutions? What would make them use your product/service instead?
Based on the user insights, you can adjust the idea and create a simple service concept and revalidate it with your users. What should the brand look like? The customer journey? What are your users’ willingness to pay? Where and how would they like to find out about your product or service?
Based on the insights from the service concept co-creation, you can validate and adjust your concept to meet your potential users’ expectations.
Adjusting the concept to align with the users' expectations
When your product or service concept is adjusted to a good market fit, you are ready to move into the next phase. We call this phase the Service Design Phase. In the Service Design phase, you build a (digital) prototype and conduct a pilot project with a selection of your target group.
In your pilot project, you are continuing to collect insights on the service, business model, brand, and communications. These insights will guide your commercial launch.
Join our Booster Program!
Do you need help with transforming your idea into a product or service concept? Join our Booster Program Service Design for Impact 1 to develop your idea with a user-centered approach.
In the program, you will explore the gap and opportunity of your idea and transform it into a simple service concept. Weekly sessions on Zoom, workbook exercises, downloadable templates, hands-on coaching, and lots of support from experts and peers. More information here!
