Are productized services legit?

A “productized service” is a bit of a buzzword these days, in large part due to a viral YouTube video about a graphic designer with a business called DesignJoy. 

There’s a lot of resistance to the idea of productizing a service, mainly because every client has different needs and a different budget. Of course, it would be ideal if we could all work from home with low-key clients who are willing to wait a few days, like the DesignJoy guy, but many of us have to be on calls, in meetings, and on set. 

I’m trying not to let the resistance to this idea rob me of the benefits of it. Here’s a quote I read recently in a book called Coach Builder by Donald Miller. “The problem with a vague offer… is that it's difficult for the client to understand the value they are getting. Offering ‘business advice’ on a retainer is akin to a restaurant that advertises ‘food items.’ They'd sell a lot more food if they advertised something more specific, like a cheeseburger or fried chicken or the best pizza in town.”

The genius of a productized service is in its clear description of processes and value. Many freelancers and creative service businesses do anything but that. We ramble, hypothesize, complain about the industry, and ask to get on discovery calls. What if more parts of our process could be productized?