But here\u2019s the thing: Customers expect services to work just as smoothly as product purchases, with clear, helpful content at every step. They also expect support teams to be equipped with the right info when things go sideways.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s where service design \u2014 and its goldmine of content touchpoints \u2014 comes in. It’s the key to turning fragmented service moments into seamless, satisfying experiences for both your customers and your team.<\/p>\n
![\"In](\"https:\/\/www.clearvoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Service-Design-Marketing_definition.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Service by Definition<\/h2>\n
To better understand what service design is, it may be helpful to first distinguish between a product and a service.<\/p>\n
In a virtual workshop titled\u00a0Getting Started With Service Design<\/a>, offered by\u00a0Think Company<\/a>, products and services are defined as follows:<\/p>\n In the book ‘Service Design: From Insight to Implementation<\/a>,’ authors Andy Polaine, Lavrans L\u00f8vlie, and Ben Reason write that service design shares its origin with other modern design disciplines that can be traced back to industrial design, a field that saw its rise in the 1920s.<\/p>\n The authors write, \u201cWhat [first generation industrial designers] had in common was a drive to use new industrial technology to improve people\u2019s standard of living\u2026[they] strove to turn industrialization into a force for good.\u201d<\/p>\n In more contemporary times, G. Lynn Shostack first (re)introduced the concept of service design \u2014 and more specifically, the differentiation between products and services \u2014 in a 1982 article titled\u00a0How to Design a Service.<\/p>\n Shostack wrote, \u201cThe difference between products and services is more than semantic. Products are tangible objects that exist in both time and space; services consist solely of acts or process(es) and exist in time only. The basic distinction between “things” and “processes” is the starting point for a focused investigation of services. Services are rendered; products are possessed. Services cannot be possessed; they can only be experienced, created, or participated in.\u201d<\/p>\n Now that we have a clear understanding of what differentiates a product from a service, let\u2019s take a brief look at the roots of service design, how it is defined, and why it\u2019s an important tool for service providers.<\/p>\n This\u00a0definition of service design<\/a>\u00a0comes from the Nielsen Norman Group:<\/p>\n Similarly, the Interaction Design Foundation\u00a0defines service design<\/a>\u00a0this way:<\/p>\n There are myriad design methodologies and frameworks that overlap with service design but are distinct in their approach to designing experiences. Let\u2019s take a look at a few of the more popular approaches to better understand the relationship with service design.<\/p>\n Though this process has firm roots in design, it is often used outside of creative teams to approach and solve problems.<\/p>\n Authors Polaine et al explain the distinction between service design and design thinking this way:<\/p>\n Digital Product Manager Franki Lake offers this definition of human- or\u00a0user-centered design<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cUser-centered design is the\u00a0overarching framework of processes<\/em> [emphasis added] that integrate a broad set of practices around understanding the needs, wants, and limitations of end-users.\u201d<\/p>\n By this definition, user-centered design is a framework, and service design is one of several methodologies within that framework that designers can use to create value for customers.<\/p>\n For those who are more visual, picture human-centered design as the hub of a wheel, with user experience, service design, experience design, interaction design, and design thinking as spokes on that wheel.<\/p>\n In answering the question, \u201cIs service design just customer experience, user experience or interaction design?” Polaine and his co-authors answer, \u201cNo. They are close cousins to service design, but they are not the same…Interaction and user experience design are often understood as design for screen-based interactions but service design covers a broader range of channels than this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTurn to service design when you\u2019re looking at a customer experience that occurs over time with multiple touchpoints and you need to understand and address the details of that experience.\u201d \u2014 Think Company<\/p>\n As we begin to dive deeper into service design with a content point of view, remember this: as with design thinking (and any other design-centric methodology),\u00a0content (in its many forms) is a driver \u2014 or an integral component \u2014 of many products and services.<\/p>\n It\u2019s difficult for customers and service providers to connect the proverbial dots without the right content at critical touchpoints to help reduce or eliminate friction or confusion. Although we\u2019ve been focusing on design as a discipline, content is a crucial part of the service design approach. From this point on, we\u2019ll be looking at the principles, components, and parts of service design through a more content-centric lens.<\/p>\n The Interaction Design Foundation refers to the following\u00a0five principles of service design<\/a>, first identified by\u00a0This is Service Design Thinking\u00a0authors Marc Stickdorn and Jakob Schneider:<\/p>\n As content creators, when we\u2019re given the opportunity to establish\u00a0an agreed-upon set of principles with our design partners at the start of a project, it helps foster the relationship by using a common language and ultimately helps to facilitate a collaborative process to ensure that there is useful content in support of every touchpoint identified as part of a service transaction.<\/p>\n The Nielsen Norman Group identifies\u00a0three main components of service design<\/a>:<\/p>\n Each of the components above involves content: people encounter content that helps them use a service; props, whether physical or digital, usually rely on signage or contextual help to facilitate wayfinding and securing the service needed; and processes are supported by content as well, such as the knowledge bases used by customer service representatives to render service, and microcopy in digital experiences that helps customers get the service they need.<\/p>\n \u201cService design helps us visualize all the touchpoints and supporting activities to identify the real problems before focusing on a solution.\u201d \u2014 Think Company<\/p>\n As we look at how to begin leveraging service design to find solutions to service problems \u2014 problems that are encountered by both consumers and service providers \u2014 we\u2019ll first need to identify the parts of what the Interaction Design Foundation calls the service encounter:<\/p>\n Here again, there are opportunities for content to play a role in service delivery, such as providing the necessary information for employees to initiate service workflows or supporting the information provided to associates to render the service.<\/p>\n As we move into implementing the work of service design, here are some questions that you\u2019ll want to keep in mind:<\/p>\n Service design is all-inclusive: it considers every person involved in the service experience, including customers, employees, and stakeholders.\u00a0As you begin the work of service design, you\u2019ll want to identify people from each group to interview by way of questionnaires, surveys, or workshops.<\/p>\n Next in the process is to identify the service being sought after or offered. Here you\u2019re seeking to understand the goal of the service from the standpoint of the customer and from the service provider, including the aforementioned employees and stakeholders.<\/p>\n This is the stage where you\u2019ll begin to look at what\u2019s happening before, during, and after the service experience, or as Think Company describes it, looking at\u00a0a series of interactions\u00a0that create experiences \u2014 the end-to-end journey \u2014 or how \u201call these interactions and activities work together to create one seamless experience.\u201d<\/p>\n As with most methodologies and frameworks, you\u2019ll need a tool (or tools) to capture findings and map touchpoints on the service journey.<\/p>\n Enter the service blueprint.<\/p>\n \u201cWith a service blueprint, we can take a step back to look at the whole picture, and how everything works together before making changes.\u201d \u2014 Think Company<\/p>\n In addition to capturing the processes or steps involved in securing a service, the Nielsen Norman Group notes that service blueprints also include:<\/p>\n Frontstage components:<\/p>\n Backstage components:<\/p>\n This information can be captured during workshop sessions with customers, employees, and stakeholders, either on a physical whiteboard or virtually, as shown in the example of a\u00a0hospital service blueprint<\/a>\u00a0below\u00a0from Miro.<\/p>\n Start by listing the service process steps, plus frontstage and backstage components, down the left side, from top to bottom. Then, working from left to right, use virtual or physical sticky notes or cards to capture the steps and components in a linear fashion.<\/p>\n For more complex services with multiple phases or stages, you may want to add swimlanes to group similar steps, as well as front-end and back-end activities that occur along the way.<\/p>\n A service blueprint is a critical tool that will help you capture:<\/p>\n As you move from the current state, the service blueprint will also help you identify service gaps that will reveal opportunities to make changes and solve problems that will help create change and move towards future state goals that support holistic service experiences.<\/p>\n Now that you know the who, what, and how of service design, it\u2019s time to put in the work. To be clear, the process is quite involved and requires adequate time and resources to make measurable change.<\/p>\n The Interaction Design Foundation lays out a comprehensive\u00a0list of things to consider<\/a>\u00a0when doing service design, saying,\u00a0\u201cRemember to design for the complete experience. That means you should accommodate your users\u2019\/customers\u2019 environment\/s and the various barriers, motivations, and feelings they\u2019ll have.\u201d<\/p>\n Highlights from that list include:<\/p>\n In\u00a0Designing Services that Deliver<\/a>, G. Lynn Shostack wrote, \u201cA service blueprint allows a company to explore all the issues inherent in creating or managing a service.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Shostack, investing time and resources in service design activities, and specifically in creating a service blueprint, \u201c…encourages creativity, preemptive problem solving, and controlled implementation. It can reduce the potential for failure and enhance management\u2019s ability to think effectively about new services.\u201d<\/p>\n By now, it\u2019s quite evident that it takes a village to do the work of service design. And while it might be easier to show how poor service delivery hurts the financial bottom line, it might be more difficult to make the case for securing the resources needed to do the work, especially if your team is already strapped for time or doesn\u2019t have the expertise to do the work.<\/p>\n The most important thing is that the work necessary to do service design \u2014 the research, the ideation, and the prototyping \u2014 gets done thoroughly and to completion. Bringing in freelancers can help with that effort and can help you succeed in improving service experiences for both your customers and service providers.<\/p>\n \u201cContent is a fundamental component of how users engage with a service, and content strategy is the mechanism that enables that service experience to be delivered holistically and consistently across all touchpoints.\u201d \u2014\u00a0Jennifer McCutchen, Fjord<\/a><\/p>\n As the service and the accompanying customer journey is being mapped out and documented on the service design blueprint, content creators can and should be involved to ensure that clear and useful content is being mapped to those journeys. Again, this is where the gaps and opportunities are surfaced, and where content creators can add value to the process.<\/p>\n Content marketers who create branded content in support of services can look for opportunities to create marketing materials for a variety of channels to not only announce the availability of a service but to offer collateral that helps customers navigate the service being offered.<\/p>\n And digital content strategists and UX writers might identify existing content that is lacking or confusing, or worse yet, missing, that would help a customer seeking services through a digital interface.<\/p>\n No matter what label you identify with inside the content universe, the touchpoints identified in the service blueprint \u2014 and in fact, the entire service design process \u2014 are goldmines for those concerned with providing content that guides, instructs, and delights customers in need of services of any kind.<\/p>\n Or as McCutchen put it, \u201cIllustrating how content is delivered on the frontstage but created and managed on the backstage, as well as how content can either strengthen or weaken the service experience, [helps to] drive home the symbiotic relationship between service design and content strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps you\u2019re ready to take a deeper dive into service design, and you want to add more knowledge and methodologies to your toolbox.\u00a0Or maybe your company has been tasked with figuring out a way to improve the service experience of your customers.<\/p>\n Luckily, there is no shortage of service design resources in the form of books, interactive tools, free resources, and more, with many available online. Here’s a bunch to get you started.<\/p>\n\n
What is service design?<\/h2>\n
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![\"There](\"https:\/\/www.clearvoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Service-Design-Marketing_differentiation.jpg\")
<\/p>\nDesign Differentiation: What’s in a Name<\/h2>\n
Design thinking and service design<\/h3>\n
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![\"Talk](\"https:\/\/www.clearvoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/ClearVoice_Inline-Ad_1.png\")
<\/p>\nHuman- (or user-) centered design and service design<\/h3>\n
![\"Human-centered](\"https:\/\/www.clearvoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Service-Design-Marketing_HCD-Chart.jpg\")
<\/p>\nUser experience, interaction design, and service design<\/h3>\n
Service Design: Principles, Components, and Parts<\/h2>\n
Service design principles<\/h3>\n
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Service design components<\/h3>\n
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Service design: a sum of parts<\/h3>\n
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![\"Service](\"https:\/\/www.clearvoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Service-Design-Marketing_people-process.jpg\")
<\/p>\nService Design in Action: People and Process<\/h2>\n
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The who: customers, employees, and stakeholders<\/h3>\n
The what: satisfactory service<\/h3>\n
The how: service blueprint<\/h3>\n
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![\"hospital](\"https:\/\/www.clearvoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Service-Design-Marketing_SS1.jpg\")
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Service Design in Action: Approaches, Methods, and Teams<\/h2>\n
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Core issues<\/h3>\n
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![\"Intersection](\"https:\/\/www.clearvoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Service-Design-Marketing_touchpoints.jpg\")
<\/p>\nTouchpoints: Intersection of Content Marketing and Service Design<\/h2>\n
![\"Customer](\"https:\/\/www.clearvoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Service-Design-Marketing_SS2.jpg\")
Go Deeper: Resource Roundup<\/h2>\n
Books<\/h3>\n
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Interactive tools<\/h3>\n
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Free resources<\/h3>\n