Article

From Products to Services: Why It's Not So Simple

The expansion of services may be the most important business trend of the past two decades. But adding a focus on services can create unexpected obstacles.

By Sarabjit Singh Baveja, Jim Gilbert and Dianne Ledingham

First published on abril 01, 2004
min read


The expansion of services may be the most important business trend of the past two decades. But adding a focus on services can create unexpected obstacles. Product companies that enter services often do not meaningfully outperform their "pure play" product counterparts in terms of revenue growth and profit margins. Such moves tend to fall short because they are based on one or more false assumptions about services commonly held by product executives. Read about the four most commonly held "service traps." Purchase the full text of this article from Harvard Business Online.

The expansion of services may be the most important business trend of the past two decades. But adding a focus on services can create unexpected obstacles. Product companies that enter services often do not meaningfully outperform their "pure play" product counterparts in terms of revenue growth and profit margins. Such moves tend to fall short because they are based on one or more false assumptions about services commonly held by product executives. Read about the four most commonly held "service traps."

Purchase the full text of this article from Harvard Business Online.