I don't get it

Perhaps I am just tired. But after rerread this Fast Company article at least 5 times I just don't get it. John A Byrne writes about an exciting research project unveiled by the Alexandria, VA company Peer Insight offering new ideas of how to initiate innovations in the service sector.

The company stress the difference of innovations in service businesses and in product businesses. But I still don't get this vast difference. Services are created while they are consumed. Yes. They cannot be inventored. Fine. So how does that affect the innovation process?

In my world a service and a product can compete on the same arena and the process of how the offerings will change the behavior of people are quite alike. Take for example the San Diego start-up On Tech. They offer self-heated drink containers that enables you to heat your coffee on the go. It's truly innovative and it may compete with cold drinks, food or even candy. But of course also with Starbucks and Seven Eleven. Why is that? Because both products and sevices do "jobs" for its users and it's the job that really is the innovation. In this case I personally think Seven Eleven and outlets alike are more threatened than is Starbucks as the job Starbucks does is to provide a "third place" and premium coffee. Seven Eleven provides hot coffee. So does On Tech. But they do it whenever, wherever.

When a service organization innovate they has to do it with competitors in both the service and product businesses in mind. And again, an innovation is the use the customer will make of the offer. Service or product doesn't matter. It's not different. In fact it's quite similar.