We see trends come and go. Outside of maybe AI right now, one of the hottest topics in the design world is exploring how we work through services you see advertised a lot more lately — Productized Design.
We live in a fast-paced world of commoditized products.
When it comes to scaling a service, there is a model that is becoming popular which explores the concept of positioning a service you offer as if it were a product.
Enter the productized service era.
Oh, great…not another one! Subscription fatigue is also real. The Netflix and SaaS models have transcended products and blurred the lines between service providers and people selling their services as products.
Full disclosure: We’re exploring this model through Brand on Tap and adjusting it to make it work for us and our clients.
Where it all came from
Several companies, including freelancers (solopreneurs) and agencies, have been exploring this model. Some have great success, others with “me too” copies that are not long-term sustainable.
It’s been slowly happening over the last few years and has become more popular due to social media, enabling us to share ideas faster.
It is attractive because it provides a means to simplify your offering, independently focus, and scale your business in a way that can work for all involved.
Streamlining your services
Think about what you do daily and how you can condense that into a product. It might be designing advertisements or identity systems. Or perhaps you sell SEO or website services.
How can you reduce it to its basic form and create a lean revenue machine?
Remember that the model doesn’t always work well for all types of services. If you can break down what you do into straightforward tasks, this is how you start to realize what is possible.
For example, custom work with longer timelines or consulting work that can’t be optimized into a deliverable would be challenging.
Making it work
This approach is not for everyone. Influencers might frame it in a certain way where it’s not entirely transparent regarding how it might work versus how it works.
Everybody has a way of doing things and finding something that works for them. What might work for one person may not work great for another.
As with anything, it’s worth exploring and trying out. You can continually refine and optimize a system that works best for you.
To make it work, you must be rigid with the offering, clear on how it works and able to make asynchronous communication and collaboration work. This takes both parties (you, your team and your client) to be on board for it to work correctly.
It can work well if everyone is clear on what you’re aiming to accomplish.
How to scale design services
The benefit of monthly recurring revenue is comparable to an old-fashioned design retainer.
The main difference is that it might only be used for a month or two and paused or cancelled when no longer required.
The flexibility and freedom benefit both parties since it enables you to move quickly and without significant budget commitments.
In another way, it’s a great way to try a working relationship.
This model has other challenges, such as customer life cycle, managing leads, and capacity issues. You might only be able to realistically service a handful of clients each month depending on your team size, how fast you work and the scope involved.
Why you should consider it
It’s an effective way to sell design services attractively.
And this model could be applied to other service industries as well.
Simplifying your offering in a manner that forces you to consider how the work you’re doing can operate at a more efficient and significant scale is a business challenge.
It might not be a good option for everyone.
What’s good for you is not suitable for everyone
For clients needing more specialized work, custom work or a more in-depth approach – project-based pricing is still a valid way to make it happen. Today, we have a wealth of choices.
Whether it’s hiring in-house or outsourcing, solopreneurs and agencies have opportunities to make the most of this system if they can carve out a path for themselves.
After trying it out first-hand, I can tell you the road to making it work is not easy, but it is possible. Scaling your offering is a reality when you understand what you’re doing and how to make it work for a client willing to go down this path with you.
It’s not an excellent fit for every service provider or client. But it’s good to be aware that it exists, it’s an option and there are folks out there making it work for them.
We are continuing to explore and refine this model with Brand on Tap.
Check it out and let me know what you think!
