3.1 Product vs Service vs Experience
📘 Lesson 3.1 – Product vs Service vs Experience
“You’re not just selling a thing. You’re delivering a result.”
💡 Why This Matters
Before you build anything, you need to be crystal clear on what you’re actually offering.
Is it a product? A service?
Or an experience?
This isn’t just a label — it shapes your pricing, design, delivery, and customer relationship.
In this lesson, we’ll explore the differences between products, services, and experiences, and how to choose the right format for your business idea.
🧠 First, Let’s Define the Terms
🔹 Product
A physical or digital item that can be bought, sold, owned, or used.
- Tangible (e.g., a notebook, water bottle)
- Or digital (e.g., an eBook, template, app)
- Once created, it can be sold repeatedly
- Usually scalable with low delivery cost per unit
🛍️ Examples:
- A custom journal
- A language flashcard set
- A productivity app
🔹 Service
A task or activity you do for someone else. Often personalised. Often time-based.
- Involves human skill, time, or attention
- Harder to scale without systems or teams
- More flexible, often higher priced per unit of time
🤝 Examples:
- Personal tutoring
- Logo design
- Coaching sessions
🔹 Experience
An immersive, emotion-driven offering that creates memory, transformation, or personal meaning.
- Combines product + service + storytelling
- Often designed around mood, identity, or community
- People pay more because it’s not just about use — it’s about feeling
🌟 Examples:
- A guided journaling retreat
- An interactive online masterclass
- A motivational study challenge with gamified elements
🎯 Why Choosing the Right Format Matters
Each format affects your:
- Business model
- Delivery method
- Customer expectations
- Scalability
- Revenue stream
Let’s say your idea is a digital productivity tool for students.
- As a product: A downloadable PDF or app they buy once
- As a service: A coaching package where you guide them 1:1
- As an experience: A 30-day challenge with community support, daily prompts, and a certificate
💡 Same problem solved — but very different business models.
🔄 Can You Blend All Three?
Yes — and many great businesses do.
Here’s how the mix might look:
- Product: A planner
- Service: A 1:1 productivity coaching call
- Experience: A 4-week accountability bootcamp for students
This layered approach allows you to:
- Start small (MVP = product or service)
- Add premium options later (e.g., experiences)
- Serve different customer levels
🔍 Real-World Example: Duolingo
- Product: A free language learning app
- Service: Duolingo Plus offers premium features and progress tracking
- Experience: They gamify learning with streaks, leagues, and personal milestones
They’ve turned a tool into a daily habit — and a community.
✍️ Activity: Categorise Your Business Idea
Use the grid below to explore your own offering:
My idea is: (e.g., an app that helps students revise)
Now explore:
- 💼 As a product, what would this look like?
- 🤝 As a service, what would I do for someone directly?
- 🌟 As an experience, how would I create transformation or emotion?
This will help you decide your starting point, or how to add layers in the future.
📖 Recommended Reading
Book: The Experience Economy by B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore
📍 Focus: Chapter 1 – Welcome to the Experience Economy
This chapter explains how experiences are overtaking goods and services as the new frontier of value — and how smart businesses design around meaning, not just function.
📌 Key Takeaways
- Decide whether you’re offering a product, service, or experience
- Each format affects your delivery, income model, and scalability
- You can blend formats — but start with one clear model for your MVP
- Experiences offer emotional value — and customers often pay more for that
🔜 Next:
Lesson 3.2 – Building an MVP
Now that you know what type of offering you’re creating, it’s time to build your Minimum Viable Product — the simplest, testable version that delivers real value.