If there’s ever an industry that’s accustomed to rapid change, it’s the B2B technology industry. While the industry’s tech is always evolving at a breakneck pace, one thing has always remained the same. Customer service is constantly at the forefront of the technology industry’s ethos.
You’ve probably heard the word ‘productization’ banded about in the past few years. It’s become a serious focus in the sector due to its increasing popularity. If you haven’t already become acquainted with the concept of productization, we’ll quickly define it for you: Productization is when professional service companies package their services into products. That’s it! No haggling or contract negotiations. Just a set price and an established set of tasks. It improves scalability and streamlines processes. All sounds great, right?
To help you get started, we’ve put together everything a B2B technology company needs to know about productizing their services.
Packaging Your Services
Productization is a result of B2C and B2B becoming increasingly homogenised. If B2C and B2B are on opposite ends of a scale, both industries are gradually meeting in the middle. To best understand how to begin packaging your services, it’s important to take notes from the crowd that started it all.
Imagine you’re looking at a boxed product on a shelf. Let’s say it’s a box that contains wireless headphones. On the front of the box, you’d expect to see the product aesthetically displayed with the company’s branding and a catchy or provoking name. On the back, you’d find some key details about what the product does and its benefits. Maybe some testimonials from influencers you trust or admire, too. On the side, you might see further details about the company, how the headphones were made and some contact information. And then, on the back, once you’re invested in the product and convinced it’s right for you, you’re sure to find the price tag.
It’s a very similar process to productizing your B2B technology services. The framework we’d advise you to follow for a productized service would be as follows:
- The product should be fully branded with a distinctive, catchy name
- Clearly outlined details of what the product includes/a fixed scope
- The benefits of the product with some great testimonials (from clients or thought leaders)
- Most importantly, the cost
By productizing your services, you’re making your customer’s experience much simpler. A productized service is easier to select and purchase. There’s limited room for scope creep on the company’s end and the client knows exactly what they’re getting, too.
Defining your offering
Once you’ve identified what your product will be and what it will include, you can then begin to further refine your processes. As a standard, it’s useful to break this product process down into 3 stages:
- Sales phase
- Delivery phase
- Post-sale phase
The sales phase defines the part of the customer journey when a lead is committed to becoming a client. It’s useful to send a small token to the client at this stage to create a kind of emotional debt and push them over to fully committing.
The delivery phase covers all the work that’s to be carried out. This covers all deliverables as well as any meetings or other communications outlined in your product offerings.
The post-sale phase is, as the name suggests, the period of time after the work has been completed. Too many companies are content to deliver their work to a good standard and call it a day. In reality, a huge amount of work is sourced through referrals and word of mouth. So, leaving a lasting impression counts. Follow up with the client in some capacity and show them how much you valued them.
For each stage, you’ll want to very clearly define what tasks you’ll be undertaking to ensure nothing slips through the cracks. Your customer journey will develop as you go on and you’ll be able to identify points for improvement.
If you’re a B2B technology company looking for more help with your services, check out our Ultimate Guide for in-depth marketing strategies specifically for your sector. Looking for even more solutions to drive results? Contact us today for a free consultation, or head over to our digital marketing page to see the other services we can offer to help your business grow.
