Product Company vs. Service Company: Which is better for MBA graduates?

An MBA degree is the key that holds the potential to unlock a wide range of lucrative career avenues for graduates. Among the options available before them, MBA graduates often face the dilemma of choosing between product and service companies. Both have their unique set of advantages and some not-so-favorable traits for employees. It is therefore important to clearly understand the exact distinctions between the two to make an informed career decision. This blog aims to help you decide whether a product company for MBA graduates is the best choice or a service-based firm. 

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Understanding Product Companies

Let us begin by learning more about a product-based company first. 

As can be evident from its name, a product company is one engaged in the manufacture and sale of ‘products’ to end users or customers. By product, we mean a physical, tangible object or an intangible one. 

A few examples of well-known product-based companies in various industries are shared below for your reference:

• Footwear: Adidas, Nike, Puma
• Automobiles: Volkswagen, Ford, Toyota 
• Education (intangible): Online Manipal, Coursera, Udemy

It is worth noting here that the typical work environment and culture in product companies can be described as motivational and inspiring. These companies stress innovation in product development and have a more customer-centric approach.

Understanding Service Companies  

Going by definition, a service company offers a certain type of service to its clients, which enables the latter to achieve objectives for which they may not have either the time or the necessary skill. These clients therefore engage the time and services of skilled professionals who work for service companies to get those tasks done. A few examples of service-based companies include housekeepers, doctors, lawyers, software firms, and the like. 

Shared below are some top service companies for MBA graduates:

• Deloitte
• Google
• JPMorgan Chase
• Wipro
• Amazon

The work environment and culture in service companies gets defined by their intense focus on maintaining strong client relationships, effective project management, and timely service delivery.

Also read: Increasing demand for business education and non-tech jobs

Career Opportunities in Product Companies

Let us now move on to understanding the types of job prospects that are available in product-based companies, particularly the scope after an online MBA.

Some of the key roles and responsibilities available for MBA graduates in product companies are defined as follows:

• Product Manager – Responsible for strategizing product creation and its distinctive features 
• Business Analyst – Responsible for conducting market analysis to assess the competition, gathering and analyzing data, understanding the exact requirements of the stakeholders, and maintaining communication with them 
• Marketing Manager – Responsible for planning and developing marketing campaigns across all mediums – print, digital, and events, designing marketing strategies for product promotion, and managing marketing budgets by tracking Return on Investment (RoI).

Some of the core skills required from MBA graduates working in product companies, which are highly valued, include technical knowledge, the ability to innovate and think out-of-the-box, and strategic analysis and thinking. 

Career Opportunities in Service Companies

As we looked at the career scope for MBA graduates in product companies, let us now take a quick look at the various job opportunities after an online MBA in service-based companies.

Some of the top roles that MBA graduates can apply for in-service companies include the following:

• Consultant – Responsible for designing a strategy to meet client requirements, developing strategies for change management for seamless transitions, maintaining healthy relationships with clients, and conducting regular evaluations of client requirements and their fulfillment from time to time 
• Project Manager – Design project plans, and budgets, oversee the timely completion of service deliverables from the start through completion, monitor stage-by-stage progress, and address challenges, if any.
• Client Relationship Manager – They are the primary point of contact for all client queries, issues, and challenges, and are responsible for maintaining strong client relationships. They also ensure clear communication between the client and all stakeholders.

Some of the key competencies that come into play for the above-mentioned roles include client management, effective written and verbal communication, and problem-solving skills. MBA graduates applying for these positions in service companies should possess these skills. 

Comparative Analysis

We studied in detail the meaning of product and service-based companies and the career prospects each of them presents to MBA graduates. For your better understanding and easy reference, shared below is a summative comparative analysis of the two:

Work Culture

Product company: The focus is always on the product and how it can be creatively and innovatively designed or improved to make it stand out from the competition. The company’s work culture reflects the development of technical skills, team collaboration, and research and development activities that support the entire lifecycle of the product – from inception through completion, launch, and post-launch support to customers. 

Service company: The client is always supreme, understanding, and successfully meeting their requirements of primary focus. All work processes flow toward the timely delivery of high-quality services, which are consistent and guarantee overall client satisfaction. Also, service companies value soft skills in employees and their work culture reflects that focus – on effective interpersonal communication and pressure-handling ability to successfully achieve timely targets. Also, the work environment is more flexible and agile to adapt to changing client needs.

Professional Growth

Product company: Since product companies’ prime focus is product design and development, they emphasize more on the professional skill development of their employees. This includes providing opportunities for technical training, enabling employees to work with diverse teams for enhanced exposure, encouraging them to obtain relevant skill certifications, and participating in leadership programs. Additionally, these companies also work on fostering creativity and innovation among employees by providing challenging tasks and attractive incentives for motivation. 

Service company: Since service companies provide direct client-facing roles to employees, they focus on recognizing efforts and appreciating them to foster increased productivity, efficiency, and overall client satisfaction. Recognition programs and incentives are designed for exceptional service delivery by employees. Additionally, they are provided access to senior leadership roles in managing client accounts directly.

MBA graduates aspiring for leadership and managerial positions can find their objectives align with the opportunities provided by both product and service companies. While the focus may be different in both types of organizations, both provide ample room for the all-rounded professional development of MBA professionals working therein, offering equal opportunities for growth and advancement.   

Job security

Product company: Job stability in a product company is based more or less on the demand for the specific product in the market. This means that those companies offering products in high demand generally offer a higher job security compared to the others. Examples include technology firms such as Google, Apple, Amazon, etc. Additionally, those companies that are successfully able to adapt to evolving industry trends and market demands generally tend to fare better, guaranteeing job stability to their employees.  

Service company: Job stability is relatively more consistent in these companies since the demand for services in sectors like banking and finance, healthcare, beauty, and other essential services is generally consistent. Besides, companies adopting modern service-delivery models utilizing digital technology and remote delivery emerge successful, beating conventional service models bound by physical limitations.

You may want to read: Job Security in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Fact or Fiction?

Personal and Professional Fit

Joining a company after graduating with an MBA degree isn’t just about alignment of professional goals. The organization you choose to work with must align with your values and objectives just as equally. This alignment can influence your decision between product and service companies. 

A healthy work-life balance is one of the most vital considerations for MBA graduates in both types of companies. This includes the standard working hour requirements, travel requirements and frequency, and flexibility in work schedules and delivery. 

In addition to this, prospective employees should evaluate whether the potential company has a cultural fit. This is essential for long-term career success since it’s important that you do not feel like a misfit in the group/team that you work with and that your cultural value system more or less aligns with that of the organization at large. 

Lastly, overall job satisfaction is of prime importance and is often a consideration by MBA graduates in determining their preferences among product or service-based companies. Based on the nature of everyday work, the pay offered, whether it is proportionate to the amount of effort required, and long-term career growth, students completing MBA programs can make their choice. 

Take your career forward with Online Manipal 

Whether you choose between a product or service company is completely your preference; however, a professional degree like an MBA can help you move in the right direction – one that heads toward professional growth and skill development. And, with the added convenience of pursuing the degree online via self-paced learning, you can work on your professional upskilling anytime, anywhere. 

Manipal University Jaipur offers UGC-entitled online MBA degrees to help learners excel in the domain of business administration and grow further to assume leadership roles and management positions in their respective fields. 

Manipal University Jaipur is accredited in A+ grade by NAAC and its online degrees are evaluated by WES. 

Conclusion

This blog simply aims at highlighting the key traits and features of a product and service company to enable MBA graduates to make an informed decision upon completion of their professional degree program. 

Which among the two you prefer is an individual choice, based on a host of factors, as also addressed in this blog. We also discussed the advantage of an online MBA in the current scenario where the need for professional upskilling is felt more than ever to stay relevant and in demand in the rapidly evolving market exposed to digital technological changes. 

In light of this is an online MBA program by Manipal University Jaipur that offers a postgraduate course to students and working professionals alike on the popular Online Manipal portal.