Service design software enables you to boost output, elevate customer support, and much more.
It’s all about content, right? This vintage wisdom of advertising seems to hold true now as much as ever. Furthermore, it bears a particular significance in our own digital age, where businesses and buyers are being spanned with an incredible speed and instant availability of services and products. As for online presence, there are several ways of utilizing it: some work, others don’t. At the end of the day, your customer is all that matters; the quality, speed, and diversity of communication channels either result in successful client outreach or fail to get your message through.
(On service design) What we need is an approach to innovation that is powerful, effective, and broadly accessible, that can be integrated into all aspects of business and society, and that individuals and teams can use to generate breakthrough ideas that are implemented and that therefore have an impact. Tim Brown
Change By Design
To that end, there is another essential component that nobody talks about loudly enough, apart from the handful of respectable industry experts and bold innovation theorists. Standing at the very crossroads between technology and creativity, service design software is increasingly becoming a sink-or-swim ingredient in every coherent digital strategy. As an inventive, engaging, and all-encompassing interaction is becoming the top priority across the business scale, the concept itself needs a short introduction.
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Click here to learn about TallyfyWhat is service design?
While the currently dominant type of service economy is rapidly evolving into an even more personalized, customized and value-based model, digital platforms become the single most important means of interaction between providers and end users. At the very beginning, it is crucial to remember that service design thinking does not subscribe to any particular definition or an officially established mindset. On the contrary, it is entirely based on the disruptive dynamics and practices: diversity of approaches is among the basic tenets of service design. The very idea of service design can be more precisely explained as a user-oriented set of experiences and empirical experiments than defined in any unifying theoretical sense.
Service Design Software in an Agile Environment
As an iterative approach to software development, Agile embodies some of the most important ideals of service design software. With the emphasis on each project stage, dedication to team involvement throughout the process, and focus on user needs and concerns, it functions incomparably better within the service design thinking discourse than as a part of the rigid, non-adaptable classical frameworks.
How does service design thinking work with software?
Shortly, it elevates software development to an entirely new level of efficiency. As Marc Stickdorn famously elaborated in the seminal work on service design thinking, this concept is best explained by the five core principles.
User-centered
In a nutshell, this means: steer clear of the experts-only approach. More often than not, users and providers misinterpret each other, due to a plethora of factors. Communicational limits and polarized standpoints, objective or perceived, are the most common ones. In order to enhance trust and include users in the process, service design thinking centers on the possibility of mutual understanding, beyond the narrow professional and social boundaries. Also, it is crucially important to personalize the approach toward each customer’s specific needs and circumstances, to the greatest extent.
Co-creative
Here, an even more diverse range of actors is being involved in the process. Everybody’s creativity plays the essential role, and it includes different customer groups, as well as various teams and individuals on the provider’s side. Even the non-human factor is vital (website interfaces, software platforms, vending machines, etc.).
Sequencing
Every service process includes the three-step transition circle: pre-service period – the need for a service is perceived and the offer is learned by a customer; actual service –a customer’s interest is enticed by the quality of experience, and a narrative that seeks to ensure a lasting interest; post-service period – a positive customer experience – in terms of a service/product quality, financial benefits, and a prompt delivery – paves the way for a rewarding feedback, via online comments and word-of-mouth.
Evidencing
While users want to learn the immediate assets and perks upfront, some important but intangible service/product elements tend to go largely unnoticed in the post-service period. In order to prevent a sense of customer disaffection, the process of creating memorable evidence is essential, along with the emotional association it ensues. It may include physical memorabilia (souvenirs, gifts, brochures, etc.) as well as digital evidence. However, adding a tangible quality to online experience is a multifaceted effort. It is crucial to create a powerful message to customers, and appreciate their loyalty via appropriate and timely means of post-service communication. However, it must not result in generic offers and unwanted emails. Again, every user values a personalized approach. It may ensure the increase in trust, and result in a long-term loyalty to your brand, along with recommendations to other prospective customers.
Holistic
Companies often love to hear how irreplaceable their brand is. On the other hand, there is a significant (and growing) disparity between the self-perception within a corporate mindset, and the result, as perceived by an end user. Also, experiences of corporate actors – developers, marketers, agents, salespeople, etc. – should be taken into account as well, in order to achieve a long-term customer success. An interdisciplinary approach is the key, as well as an all-encompassing analysis of alternative touchpoints and sequences. Note on touchpoint – it’s one of the sequencing tenets, elaborated at length in “This is Service Design”. 
Why Tallyfy?
Service design software is what we excel in, and we partner with the best service design practitioners to deliver successful customer engagements. Founded by a team of successful entrepreneurs and creators, Tallyfy has already made its mark, and our backers include some of the most competitive startup accelerators in the world. You may like to try out our platform as well, so sign up for a free 30-day trial anytime. Also, make sure to keep an eye on the blog, and let us know if you have any comments or questions. We deeply believe in sharing knowledge, so there’s plenty more to come on service design software.
