Power your business with service design

The premise of service design is user-driven design of the service experience or product, so that they correlate as comprehensively as possible with the needs of the user. For the entrepreneur service-design is an essential part of evolving the business, but it does not have to be experienced as dull or “forced”. At best, service-design is creative and inspirational learning, with the core thought of the customer participating at the development of the service or product.

In the spring 2021 Entrefox held a set of service design workshops, which proved to be highly popular. Spring workshops were based on so called double diamond model, where the key is in creative problem solving. The idea of the double diamond is in the grinding of the two diamonds during the development process. The first diamond is formed by understanding the “central” problem of the product or service. In practice, this means that we will take control of the problem by, for instance, observing or interviewing the customers.  Analysing the acquired information helps the entrepreneur to get closer and understand the customers expectations and behaviour.

The second phase of the diamond holds the development of the solution. In this process, the entrepreneur has the possibility to test the solutions with simple prototypes and improve the product or service together with the customer. According of the British Design Council, the double diamond model excellently illustrates the divergent and convergent thinking of creative problem solving. Divergence means open attitude, where information and ideas are acquired without judgement. in the convergent phase information will be analysed and evaluated, so that we can pick the best encapsulation or point of view.

Service design is becoming more and more important in the world where customers are consumption-conscious, and the freedom of choice is at its peak. Even if the business idea is brilliant, the customer does not necessarily find the product. Service design gives the entrepreneur a competitive advantage, for it helps to focus on the right things for the customer and the business and come up with original ideas and solutions. At the same time new ideas can be implemented with lower risk and cost.

The popular EntreFox service design workshops will be held again in the fall of 2021. This time the language will be English. The activities have started in the middle of September, but we are still taking new applications until the end of the month. More information and the registration link can be found here: https://entrefox.fi/free-service-design-course-for-entrepreneurs-aged-55/

Saara Vainio and Tytti Steel