High-end professional services firms, unlike product companies,
traditionally experience only linear revenue growth. That’s because
selling more services means adding more professionals, which limits
profit margins. However, savvy providers of consulting, legal,
accounting, and other services are using technology to their benefit.
They are automating certain routine aspects of their work to essentially
“productize” those tasks. By combining those products with human
attention to matters requiring more knowledge or judgment, they can give
clients better service at a lower cost. This article provides a guide
to product development for professional services firms. The author
describes the three key stages of the process: (1) To discover potential
products, identify opportunities for automation by looking for patterns
in your services and zeroing in on the tasks that are performed
frequently and require little knowledge. (2) To develop products, use
algorithms and artificial intelligence to create “smart” tools to handle
high-volume, low-sophistication tasks. (3) To monetize your products,
stop charging for time and materials, and shift first to
transaction-based pricing and then to an outcome-based model. In
conjunction with this process, it’s important to create a
cross-functional team that focuses on product development. And take the
long view—you’ll have to invest time and money before you reap the
benefits of embedding products in services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]