A service blueprint is a visual diagram that maps out the steps involved in delivering a service, from the customer’s perspective. It shows how the customer interacts with the service, what employees do behind the scenes, and what physical and digital evidence is involved.
Service blueprints are a valuable tool for understanding and improving the customer experience. They can be used to identify pain points, streamline processes, and design new services.
Components of a service blueprint
A service blueprint typically includes the following components:
- Customer actions: What does the customer do at each step of the service process?
- Frontstage employee actions: What do employees do that the customer sees?
- Backstage employee actions: What do employees do behind the scenes to support the service?
- Support processes: What processes are needed to support the service, such as billing, IT, and customer support?
- Physical evidence: What physical evidence does the customer encounter, such as brochures, receipts, and products?
- Time: How long does each step of the service process take?
How to create a service blueprint
To create a service blueprint, start by identifying the different stages of the customer journey. Then, for each stage, list the customer actions, frontstage and backstage employee actions, support processes, physical evidence, and time.
You can use a variety of tools to create a service blueprint, such as whiteboards, sticky notes, and diagramming software.
Benefits of using service blueprints
Service blueprints offer a number of benefits, including:
- Improved customer experience: Service blueprints can help you to identify and address pain points in the customer journey, leading to a more positive customer experience.
- Increased efficiency: Service blueprints can help you to identify and eliminate unnecessary steps in the service process, making it more efficient and cost-effective.
- Improved communication: Service blueprints can help to improve communication and collaboration between different departments involved in delivering the service.
- New service development: Service blueprints can be used to design new services that are tailored to the needs of the customer.
Service blueprint examples
Here are a few examples of service blueprints:
- Restaurant: A restaurant service blueprint would show the steps involved in ordering and eating a meal, from the customer’s perspective. It would include customer actions such as entering the restaurant, choosing a table, and ordering food. It would also include frontstage employee actions such as greeting the customer, taking their order, and serving their food. Backstage employee actions might include cooking the food and preparing the table. Support processes might include billing and customer support. Physical evidence might include menus, food, and receipts.
- Bank: A bank service blueprint would show the steps involved in opening a bank account, from the customer’s perspective. It would include customer actions such as visiting the bank branch, filling out an application form, and providing identification. It would also include frontstage employee actions such as greeting the customer, answering their questions, and helping them to complete the application form. Backstage employee actions might include processing the application and opening the account. Support processes might include credit checks and customer support. Physical evidence might include application forms, identification cards, and bank cards.
Also, from another source:
A service blueprint is a visual tool used in service design and service management to describe and analyze the various components and processes involved in delivering a service. It provides a detailed, end-to-end view of a service, including its physical and digital touchpoints, customer interactions, back-end processes, and supporting elements. The main goal of a service blueprint is to help organizations understand and improve the customer experience, streamline service delivery, and identify areas for innovation and optimization.
Key elements of a service blueprint typically include:
- Customer Actions: This represents the steps or actions that a customer takes when interacting with a service. It shows the customer journey and can include actions such as making a reservation, requesting information, or making a purchase.
- Frontstage: This layer includes all the customer-facing components and touchpoints of the service. These might include physical locations, websites, mobile apps, call centers, and other interfaces where customers interact with the service.
- Backstage: The backstage elements consist of the processes, activities, and systems that are not directly visible to the customer but are essential for delivering the service. This can involve staff actions, data management, and other operational components.
- Support Processes: These are additional processes and systems that support the core service delivery. They may include inventory management, billing, customer relationship management (CRM), or other back-office functions.
- Service Touchpoints: These represent points of contact or interaction between the service and the customer. It can include customer service representatives, self-service kiosks, online forms, or any other medium where customers engage with the service.
- Customer Interactions: These are moments of interaction between the customer and the service that may influence the customer’s perception of the service quality.
- Time and Sequence: A service blueprint often includes a timeline to indicate the sequence and duration of each step in the service delivery process. This can help in understanding how long it takes to deliver the service.
- Service Quality and Metrics: Metrics and indicators related to service quality, such as response times, service level agreements, or customer satisfaction scores, are often included in the blueprint.
Service blueprints are valuable tools for service designers and managers as they provide a holistic view of the service and allow for the identification of pain points, areas for improvement, and opportunities for innovation. By visualizing the entire service ecosystem, organizations can make more informed decisions to enhance the customer experience and operational efficiency.
