The Service Profit Chain Institute

What The Service Profit Chain Institute does

The Service Profit Chain Institute (SPCI) is a privately held management consulting firm founded in 2005 by Harvard Business School faculty James Heskett, Leonard Schlesinger, and W. Earl Sasser Jr. to commercialize the Service Profit Chain research linking employee satisfaction, customer loyalty, and profitability. The firm is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts (greater Boston area) and operates with 1–10 employees.

SPCI's core offering is the POWER!SERVICE® System, a proprietary methodology with three integrated components: a Learning System (Executive Alignment workshops, POWER!SERVICE® Coaching, Service Delivery System workshops, POWER!SERVICE® Skills frontline training, a Customer Experience City simulation, and e-learning modules), POWER!SERVICE® Assessments (a Readiness Assessment and a 5-day Service Delivery System Onsite Assessment), and Performance Support Tools (High Performing Manager 360 Feedback and a Manager's Toolkit). The methodology is delivered through onsite workshops, structured CX transformation engagements, and remote learning modules.

The firm sells exclusively through direct enterprise engagement with senior leadership teams, targeting large organizations across industries such as home services, fuel and energy, convenience retail, and telecommunications; named clients include AT&T, American Residential Services, World Fuel Services, and Irving Oil. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is structured per engagement; the firm does not offer self-serve or product-led distribution and does not pursue outside capital. Marketing is limited to thought leadership content, case studies, and referrals. Day-to-day operations are led by Executive Director Laura Gallant, with HBS faculty serving as advisors.

Name

The Service Profit Chain Institute

Legal name

The Service Profit Chain Institute

Website

https://serviceprofitchain.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Service Profit Chain Institute is a privately held, boutique management consulting firm founded in 2005 by Harvard Business School faculty, providing enterprise customer experience transformation services through its proprietary POWER!SERVICE® System across North American industries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Customer Experience (CX) & Service Excellence (EDABACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate & Leadership Development (BPACANAA), Executive Leadership & C-Suite Development (EDABAAAA)

Keywords

• Customer experience consulting
• Service profit chain
• Management consulting
• Leadership training
• Organizational transformation

Headquarters

HQ city

Quincy

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Consulting and Professional Services: Project-based consulting engagements involving the POWER!SERVICE® System, including Executive Alignment workshops, coaching programs, service delivery system implementations, frontline behavior training, and organizational change efforts. Engagements appear to be customized to client needs and structured as multi-phase CX transformation projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Service Profit Chain Institute delivers the proprietary POWER!SERVICE® System, an enterprise consulting and training methodology that helps organizations improve customer satisfaction and loyalty by linking employees, customers, and profits. Offerings include executive alignment workshops, coaching programs, frontline skills training, customer experience simulations, assessments, and performance support tools, delivered as customized multi-phase CX transformation engagements for senior leadership teams.

Product overview

The Service Profit Chain Institute offers the POWER!SERVICE® System, a unified consulting and training framework centered on linking employees, customers, and profits. The system comprises three core elements: a Learning System (Executive Alignment, POWER!SERVICE® Coaching, Service Delivery System, POWER!SERVICE® Skills, Customer Experience City simulation, and E-Learning modules), POWER!SERVICE® Assessments (Readiness Assessment and Onsite Assessment), and Performance Support Tools (High Performing Manager 360 Feedback and Manager's Toolkit). These components work together to provide strategy, execution, and measurement capabilities for service performance improvement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• POWER!SERVICE® System: A comprehensive system providing skills, tools, and processes for increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty, addressing strategy, execution, and management actions.

Products and services

• POWER!SERVICE® System A comprehensive consulting and training system providing skills, tools, and processes for increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. Sold to enterprise clients as a unified engagement framework comprising three elements: Learning System, Assessments, and Performance Support Tools.
• Executive Alignment Workshop A 1-2 day workshop for senior leadership teams exploring the business strategy of Service Profit Chain Leaders and the critical elements for sustainable competitive advantage. Sold as a standalone executive engagement.
• POWER!SERVICE® Coaching Workshop A full-day workshop introducing coaching tools and techniques, exploring the TAKE 3 Cycle of Service and the coach's role in supporting service performance. Sold to managers as a standalone training engagement.
• Service Delivery System Workshop A 1-day workshop addressing the architecture required to deliver customer experiences that exceed expectations, covering capacity management, service standards, fail-safe methods, and queuing strategies. Sold as a standalone engagement.
• POWER!SERVICE® Skills Workshop A 1-day workshop enabling frontline performers to implement exceptional service through the TAKE 3 Cycle of Service, focusing on top box service behaviors. Sold to enterprise clients for frontline training.
• Customer Experience City Simulation A large-scale live simulation placing participants in a three-round event to experience the distinction between MEET, NOT MEET, or EXCEED customer expectations and the impact on customer lifetime value. Sold to enterprise clients as a large-scale leadership event (e.g., AT&T).
• POWER!SERVICE® E-Learning Modules Four 45-minute online modules delivering POWER!SERVICE® Skills remotely as an interactive learning experience exploring top box service behaviors. Sold as a standalone digital training product.
• POWER!SERVICE® Readiness Assessment An assessment tool asking executives, managers, and frontline employees to rate their organization's demonstration of practices associated with high-performing companies. Sold as a standalone diagnostic engagement.
• Service Delivery System Onsite Assessment A 5-day onsite assessment where SPCI consultants conduct a deep dive analysis of service processes and behaviors, producing recommendations for short and long term improvements. Sold as a standalone consulting engagement.
• High Performing Manager 360 Feedback Report A 360-degree manager feedback report based on practices associated with leading high-performing customer-facing operating units, containing nine sections for individual development. Sold as a standalone performance support tool.
• Manager's Toolkit

Quantifiable outcome

• NPS improved by over 20 points for American Residential Services
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Dale Carnegie & Associates: Iconic corporate training and professional development firm with globally licensed curriculum in customer service, leadership and frontline performance — broad incumbent to SPCI's POWER!SERVICE® Skills and Coaching offerings.
• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm offering leadership development, executive coaching, and culture transformation programs — overlap with SPCI's executive alignment, coaching, and culture change work for large enterprises.
• Bain & Company: Top-tier management consultancy whose Customer Strategy & Marketing practice delivers CX strategy and Net Promoter System work directly competitive with SPCI's enterprise CX transformation projects.
• FranklinCovey: Large, established leadership and organizational performance training firm with books, workshops, and enterprise consulting — comparable to SPCI's executive alignment and frontline skills workshops at much greater scale.

Direct peers

• Service Strategies Corporation: Service-profit-chain-aligned consultancy providing service excellence training, certification, and performance support tools for customer-facing operations — directly comparable to SPCI's POWER!SERVICE® methodology stack.
• Walker Information (Kantar): Long-standing CX research and advisory firm whose NPS benchmarking and customer experience advisory work directly overlaps SPCI's POWER!SERVICE® assessments and CX transformation engagements.
• Wilson Learning Worldwide: Specialist sales and service leadership training firm offering customizable enterprise learning programs and assessments — closely comparable to SPCI's POWER!SERVICE® Learning System and 360 tools.
• Strativity Group: CX strategy and customer experience transformation consultancy operating in the same niche — helping large enterprises link culture, leadership, and customer outcomes, similar to SPCI's model.

Emerging players

• Temkin Group (Qualtrics): CX research, advisory, and benchmarking firm specializing in customer experience transformation for large organizations — directly overlaps SPCI's customer journey mapping and CX transformation engagements, now under Qualtrics.
• Beyond Philosophy: Boutique CX consultancy focused on customer experience strategy and culture transformation for enterprise clients — smaller, specialist counterpart to SPCI in the same professional services category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Service Profit Chain Institute