Product services: from a service supporting the product to a service supporting the client

Abstract

Challenges the traditional perspective of product services in the business marketing literature. An original classification system is proposed that isolates and compares two types of product services: services that support the supplier’s product (e.g. after‐sale services) and services that support the client’s action in relation to the supplier’s product (e.g. training service). A qualitative study based on this classification is then reported. The study centered on one of the main European manufacturers in the micro‐electronics industry, and involved interviews with customers, distributors, and managers in the manufacturing firm.