Self-service 45#
A part of the value creation is transferred to the customer in exchange for a lower price of the service or product. This is particularly suited for process steps that add relatively little perceived value for the customer, but incur high costs. Customers benefit from efficiency and time savings, while putting in their own effort. This can also increase efficiency, since in some cases, the customer can execute a valueadding step more quickly and in a more target-oriented manner than the company.
Examples: Iconic Cases
How they do it: McFit’s fitness centers are designed to be fully self-service. The equipment in the gym has written down instructions. In addition, members can check and create a training plan online. Coache in the gym are usually only present to help with general questions but are not offering personal training.
Learn more about McFit →
How they do it: Initially, Ryanair did not offer customers the possibility of contacting them by email or webform, only through a premium rate phone line, by fax or by post. Also, customers are directed to self-check-in terminals or online check-in – if they opt to check in at the airport, they are liable to a $45 surcharge. On the flight, no food and beverages are distributed, they must be purchased on demand, further reducing customer service and customer interaction expenses.
Learn more about Ryanair →
How they do it: User can locate and pick-up the company’s cars via a smartphone app. There is no need to register with a rental car person before every use. After usage, the user can drop and return the car in public parking zones in a pre-defined urban area., which is then ready to be picked up by the next user.
Learn more about Car2Go →
How they do it: AWS cloud computing can be set up by every business independently without needing to talk to a AWS representative. Extensive tutorials and documentation help the customers to act and use the service as independent as possible. However, in case support is needed, AWS has it available.
Learn more about Amazon Web Services →
How they do it: Most of Google’s products can be set-up fully independently of any Google employees, allowing the company to scale their products regardless of their personnel. The company also provides a lot of content and a peer-to-peer community to support each other in the use of Google products.
Learn more about Google →
Below, the top industries for the pattern "Self-service" are displayed, in order to get insights into how this pattern is applied across different industries. We've collected data from 5 firms using this pattern.
Top Industries
18% of firms using pattern
11% of firms using pattern
5% of firms using pattern
All Industries
Below, the pattern "Self-service" is analyzed based on co-occurrence, in order to get insights into how this business model pattern is applied in combination with other patterns within the firms we studied.
Top Co-Occurrences
5 pattern co-occurrences
4 pattern co-occurrences
3 pattern co-occurrences