Improving solution selling process with service design methods

Abstract

Service design is well-recognized for the facilitation of healthy communication and collaboration between service provider and customer but there is not much literature available that focuses to analyse the application of service design methods and tools for improvement of the communication and collaboration within service provider organization. Therefore, a new perspective of service design methods and tools is explored in this thesis. The objective of the thesis is to develop an improved solution selling process with service design methods and tools, by improving the communication and collaboration of internal stakeholders in a solution selling organization as well as to evaluate the suitability of service design methods and tools for this purpose.

In this research study, action research is used as research method. The literature review has been done to find appropriate service design methods and tools. Based on literature review, service blue-print and participatory workshop has been selected for empirical study. Both qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques have been utilized in empirical study, such as 20 interviews, a participatory workshop, notes, observations and survey.

During empirical study, a service blueprint for existing internal solution proposal process of the case organization was prepared, to visualize whole service process as sequenced process. The participatory workshop was found very beneficial for collaboration support. It revealed that both service blueprint and participatory workshop have positive effects on the communication and collaboration of internal stakeholders in solution selling organization. A big picture of entire process can be visualized by service blueprint which enhance common understanding of process and ease internal communication in organization. Furthermore, the participatory workshop facilitates to create an environment to support healthy communication and collaboration for experience sharing and analyzing improvement ideas regarding the organizational processes. The empirical study results were utilized to prepare a new version of the internal process visualization of case organization, in the form of service blueprint. This new service blueprint presents the improved internal solution proposal process of the case organization, for more efficient solution selling process.

The core value of this thesis is to state practicality of service design methods in improving collaboration and reduce communication gaps between internal stakeholders in solution selling organization, to improve solution selling process. The results of research study suggest that service blueprint and participatory workshop are very useful to facilitate deep understanding of entire process across the organization as well as for improvement in organizational internal processes for solution selling. It is concluded from results of research study that service design is very beneficial to facilitate for the improvement in the solution selling process of organization.