Second, focusing on a service solution constrains
innovation thinking. Continuing with the aforementioned retail example, having discovered that their
customers are dissatisfied with the sales associates’
level of knowledge, retail clothing managers may
feel the only available option is to hire, train, and
reward more knowledgeable sales associates. In
contrast, if they try to find out what problem or
problems their customers are hoping to solve–—or, to
put it another way, if they try to find out what jobs
customers are trying to get done or what outcomes
customers are hoping to achieve–—the field of possibilities opens up (Ulwick & Bettencourt, 2008).
Suppose, for instance, that company managers discover the outcome customers are most interested in
achieving is speeding up the process of creating
outfits. Potential solutions might then include not
only knowledgeable sales associates, but also interactive kiosks, helpful signage, product arrangements and merchandise displays showing potential
outfits, clothing redesign, clothing labeling, and
many other possibilities.