What is a Productized Service? How to Start + Examples

Want to build a profitable, scalable service business? You’ll enjoy this article. 

A productized service will help you break out of the hourly rate and create more freedom and profit in your business.

You’ll learn:

• What is a productized service?
• What are the benefits of a productized service? 
• 12 examples of the most popular productized services
• How do you start your productized service?

Sound good? Let’s dive in.

What is a productized service?

A productized service is a service that solves a specific problem and is sold as a packaged product. 

For example, as a web designer, you can charge a one-off package for the design and build of a new website, instead of charging hourly.

Yes, charging an hourly rate is very common for service businesses. 

But here’s the thing: Billing per hour trains your clients to believe that the value of your service lies in the time you spend on it. 

Take writing for example. As a writer, you might only spend two hours on an article. But your hourly rate might not factor in your expertise, customer service, admin, and running costs. 

Or maybe your work takes way more hours than your clients budgeted for. And no one likes a surprise on their invoice. 

Instead, if you create packages around your services, you can:

• Charge for the results you create, not the time you spend
• Sell your service as a repeatable product
• Create a standardized service that you can train others to do for you

And guess what? Productized services work for all kinds of businesses. 

Whether you’re an agency, freelancer, consultant, or coach, you can create packages that are simple and scalable for your clients.

Want to know more about these types of businesses? Check out this video:

What are the benefits of a productized service? 

So why should you try productizing your service? 

Here are a few reasons:

• Predictability: With hourly pricing, the amount you invoice each client might be different every month. So it can be tough to know how much you’re bringing in. By offering your clients packages, you can create predictable income – something entrepreneurs rarely get to have in the beginning. 
• Scalability: Because productized services are standardized for a set price, you can sell the packages over and over again. It’s easy to tweak the packages for each client. Plus, you can also train team members to offer the same service.
• Focus: Look, you only need a few key productized services to create a sustainable business. Instead of offering a huge menu of services, you can focus on the work you’re best at. That way, you streamline your marketing plan to sell one or two packages. And it’s easier for clients to see the value of each service.

Want some examples? Read on.

12 examples of the most popular productized services 

Productized services work for any business in any industry.

If you want to know how businesses make it work, here are some examples. 

Coaching services 

A coach is a professional who guides clients to achieve their goals. Their services can be an ongoing service or it can be for a limited time.

So how can coaching work as a productized service? 

Simple: Create a one-off package for a set time frame. 

For example, I offer one private coaching package for three months for clients who want to get to $20K+ months in their businesses. 

In the beginning (when I was completely new to coaching), I charged $1,500 for the three months, and I’ve scaled since then in line with my audience.

That’s the same type of productized coaching package I recommend my students start out with if they want to build their own coaching businesses. 

SEO 

SEO is another service you can productize. 

I’ve done it:

Zalstrom is a company I co-founded to provide SEO services to small businesses. 

See, SEO has been one of the most reliable and scalable marketing channels for my business. It helped me create a sustainable and predictable business. So I wanted to help others do the same. 

Because we narrowed down our audience to coaches, course creators, and SaaS businesses, we could create packages that would work for them.

That includes SEO management and content strategy for a monthly fee.

Consulting

Many consulting businesses use hourly pricing, but creating a productized service was a better fit for my student Mara Freilich.

She runs Top Law School Consulting. Using her experience as a lawyer who attended the University of Pennsylvania Law School, she helps people get into top law schools.

So how did she productize her service? 

Mara offers a law school admission consulting package that includes strategy sessions, editing of admission materials, and interview prep.

As a complete package from A-Z, she can charge a premium for her expertise and guidance.

Website design

Web design works great as a productized service because you can charge per project. 

For example, my website designer, Laura Patricelli from Design Mastermind, offers one-off packages for website design, sales page creation, and branding. 

That way, her clients know exactly what’s included in the package and the price. 

But as a bespoke designer, she can still tweak the packages to suit each client.

WordPress speed optimization 

Ever experienced a website that takes too long to load? That’s what WP Buffs help their clients with. They provide month-to-month website management services to improve the performance of their client’s websites. 

Because this is an ongoing service, they use a retainer model. Clients pay a set fee per month for the maintenance of their websites. That monthly retainer rises depending on the level of maintenance they want.

Content writing

Content writing is one of the easiest services to productize, but still so many writers stick to hourly pricing. 

But creating packages like Shorthand Content could make your business more successful. 

Shorthand creates blog writing and website copy packages based on the number of words and amount of content the client needs. 

These easy-to-understand packages make it easier for them to market and sell their services in bundles.

Podcasting

More people are listening to podcasts and so podcast editing is an in-demand service.

We Edit Podcasts write and edit podcasts for their clients. Their simple monthly retainer pricing makes it easy to understand the value of each service.

They also discount their work for clients who request more episodes, which gives an incentive to people to buy bigger packages.

Paid ads

PPC management is when you help companies manage their paid search advertising. Reliable Soft offers packages that include everything they need to maximize their ROI on ads.

Their packages include keyword research, ad creation, and monthly ad campaign management at different levels.

Youtube production

Approximately 2.93 million small businesses in the US use YouTube as a marketing channel. 

And short-form video is one of the key ways to grow right now. Short Form Video Co. works with business owners and content creators who want to streamline their editing. 

They offer packages that bundle their editing services into three levels: 10 videos, 20 videos, or 30 videos. All packages include sound effects, subtitling, clear calls-to-action, and unlimited revisions. 

Stylist services

My friend, Cassandra Sethi, started Next Level Wardrobe to help corporate employees, executives, and entrepreneurs create authentic, professional, personal styles. And today, Next Level Wardrobe offers packages based on the type of person you are. 

For example, if you’re a woman entrepreneur who wants to build a cohesive personal brand and style to match, there’s a package for you. 

On the other hand, if you’re a man climbing the corporate ladder and you want to look your best, there’s a package for you too. 

Legal services

Attorneys only price per hour, right?

Well, you might be surprised! If you’re a lawyer or legal consultant, you can productize some of your standalone services. 

For example, my friend Lisa Fraley, who is a lawyer for small business owners, figured out a way to create packages around her work. 

By bundling her business legal services such as LLC formation or copyright filing, Lisa’s been able to build a successful, online business as a lawyer.

Interior design

Many interior designers price their work completely differently from client to client.

But Havenly has figured out how to productize their service by creating  online packages that are easy to replicate over and over. 

All packages include the same base services: A personal designer, one-on-one contact, personalized shopping lists, and access to the support team. 

For higher-priced packages, you also get 3D renderings of the designs, custom floor plans, and even in-person consultations. 

Because of the way Havenly designs their packages, every client has an option that works for their budget and the level of help they’re looking for. Which goes to show that a productized service can standardize your work in a way that works for every client.

Ready to learn how you can create a productized service? Let’s get into it.

How do you start your productized service? 

Now you know what a productized service is, how do you start your own? 

There are four key steps to follow. 

Let’s dive into each one.

Find your niche and ideal customers 

First things first: You need to define your niche. 

The best niche for you combines your skills with market demand. 

Defining this early on also helps you focus on the audience who needs your services. 

So start with your skills. 

Brainstorm all of the skills you’ve learned that you could offer as a service. And these could come from your day job, hobbies, or life experiences. 

For example, I worked with big ad clients in my corporate job, so digital advertising consulting made sense. I could use my experience to help small businesses manage their ad campaigns. 

If you’re stuck, try this. 

Think about what people ask for your help with. That’s a good indicator of what you’re known to be skilled at.

Next, you need to figure out if your niche will be profitable. 

How? Market research. 

If you do market research before defining your services, you can develop a package that your audience can’t wait to buy. 

Luckily, this doesn’t need to be complicated. You can:

• Read online forums and groups 
• Connect with your audience on social platforms
• Reach out to your network

You want to find out what the main pain points are within your niche and how you can help. 

Now you’re ready to define your offer.

Define your service offering 

Your productized service needs to be clear, attractive, and results-based.

See, the transformation from working with you is what you’re really selling. 

For example, as a health coach, your clients don’t just come to you for tips on getting healthier. They come to you to lose 20lbs, manage their chronic illness better, or build an exercise habit. 

Once you have a niche, dive deeper into the specific result a person can expect from working with you. 

Then work backward to figure out the deliverables. 

Your deliverables will depend on the type of business you want to build. 

Take website design. This is a done-for-you business where there’s a clear deliverable – a website – at the end. Plus, you might have some consultation calls and feedback rounds included in your fee. 

Compare that to a coaching package. Coaching is a done-with-you business – you work with the client to help them achieve their goals. You could create extra resources like worksheets, templates, trackers, and so on. Most coaches include a set number of sessions in their programs too. 

Now, how do you bundle your service into an easy pricing model? 

That’s what we’ll talk about next.

Determine pricing strategy 

There are many different ways you can price your service:

• One-off: One-off pricing is simple for clients to understand and have a clear promised result at the end. This works well for single services like web design or stylist services. Or an ongoing service with a fixed time commitment, like a coaching package for three months.
• Subscription/retainer: Retainers are when you charge a monthly rate for access to your services. This type of pricing works well for ongoing work like SEO or consulting.
• Project-based: You can price each project individually and set a timeframe for delivery. For example, a YouTube production company could charge a set rate for each video.

So how do you set a price that your audience is willing to pay?

First, think about the value you bring to your work – not just the hours you spend doing the work. 

That value mindset is what will help you charge your worth. 

Next, look at other service providers in your niche. Their prices can give you an idea of what your audience is expecting to pay.

Bottom line: Don’t overthink it.

You can always amend your prices later if they aren’t working. 

Example: For new coaches, I recommend starting at $1,500 for a 3-month one-off coaching package.

That’s the rate I started with and then I increased my rates as my reputation grew. 

Want to know how to build your reputation? Keep reading.

Build your reputation

The easiest way to build a reputation in your niche is to get testimonials. 

Testimonials are social proof that you deliver great work, and it’s more powerful than you might think. 

According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, 73% of people say that a good reputation affects their buying decisions. And 77% say that online reviews impact it too. 

So how do you get good testimonials? 

The two simple steps are: 

1. Deliver an incredible service
2. Ask for the testimonial

Yes, some clients will volunteer to give you a testimonial, but people are busy. There’s no harm in following up and asking politely (I have scripts in this article).

Once you have some public reviews, you’ll find it easier to book new clients. 

For example, when I started to receive good, honest reviews for my work as a coach, I was able to raise my prices and attract more high-paying clients. 

This video has more tips you’ll want to hear: 

Next steps 

There you have it! Now you know what a productized service is and how to start your own.

Productizing your work gives you more freedom, flexibility, and profit in the long run.

But if you want to build a business that lasts, there’s a lot more to learn.

If you want to dive deeper, my Employee to Entrepreneur (ETE) program is for you.

It’s my simple but proven step-by-step system that shows you how to turn what you know into a successful online business.

Read more:

Finally Go from Employee to Entrepreneur

How to Start a Service Business

The Best Service Business Ideas