How to Master the Challenges of Service Mass Customization - A Persona-Based Approach

Whereas efficient and effective practical implementation of mass customization in goods industries is a well-researched topic, a deeper understanding of service mass customization is still missing. Particularly service specific challenges have been hitherto unaddressed. These characteristics affect the requirements towards the service design as well as the appropriate education of service employees. One key challenge for service mass customization is to translate information about consumer preferences gained through market research into a format that can be easily used for service modularization decisions and customer-contact personnel training. As solution to this "translation problem" we propose "personas" as a tool for transferring complex market research data into narrative descriptions of archetype customers. Such archetypes convey customization needs in a way that makes it easy for decision makers and employees to understand and to communicate effectively with each other. Along with the concept we introduce a structured approach for developing and using personas in service mass customization projects and provide managerial implications as well as an outlook for further research.

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