Service Delivery Strategies for Alleviating Pandemic Suffering while Maintaining Profitability

The post-pandemic world requires a renewed focus from service providers in ensuring that all customer segments receive the essential services (food, healthcare, housing, education, etc.) they need. Philanthropic service providers are unable to cope with the increased demands caused by the social, economic, and operational challenges induced by the pandemic. Customer self-selecting no-pay service strategies are becoming popular in various settings. Obtaining insights into how they can efficiently balance societal and financial goals is critical for a for-profit service provider. We develop and analyze a quantitative model of customer utilities, vertically-differentiated product assortment, pricing, and market size to understand how service providers can effectively use customer segmentation and serve the poor at the bottom of the pyramid. We identify conditions under which designing the service delivery to be accessible to the poor can simultaneously benefit the for-profit service provider, customers, and the entire society. Our work provides a framework to obtain operational, economic, and strategic insights into socially responsible service delivery strategies