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The search for scale in a business normally leads to one of two options:

1. More team members OR
1. Productised services

I'm not going to dive too much into point 1, as this is well trodden ground. 

It is the default mode for most businesses:

>More work = More bodies

Option 2 is of more interest, especially in the age of digital, where the incremental cost of shifting more digital units is not far off £zero.

**Today, it seems like the development of digital products is the holy-grail** - we started with e-books in the early 2000's and now we're well into the realm of memberships, online courses and other digital productised offerings.

The key benefit for the business owner is that you build it once and then you set it and forget it - customers rock up and buy it, consume it and (hopefully!) get the solution that they were looking for. You can then go on to rinse and repeat with other new productised offerings to "add to the range".

Add in the prospect of monthly recurring revenues for online memberships etc and it looks even better i.e. predictable revenues.

*And here in lies the rub.*

If you are a creative or service based business, the allure of productised services is huge. But what might you lose if you travel down this path?

Instead of teasing out your specific client's specific problem and then crafting a bespoke solution that aims to delight them; you end up having to scroll through your list of generic 'one-size-fits-all' "products" to sell to them. 

Okay, on the plus side for the customer, they will probably get a much cheaper price if they opt for one of your one-size-fits-all products, but what might they lose in terms of ending up with a half-baked solution for their problem - and therefore, a sense of underwhelm? This leaves your team feeling a little underwhelmed too.

*As you've ended up pleasing no-one.*

I do think that productised services can work well as part of a range of services - maybe as a "try before you buy" option, but as your full offering, it might be potentially costly for your business in the long run.

*What's your experience?*


*Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@austindistel?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Austin Distel</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/scaling?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>*