Business services are activities that help a company but do not produce a tangible product. They include logistics, transportation and warehousing as well as more intangible support like consulting, training and management services. These types of activities make up a large part of the business world and are essential for the success of companies.
Some examples of business services are a third-party logistic company that takes care of fulfillment for an online store, a management consulting firm that provides advice to a company’s management team and engineering services that provide technical support for building projects. These are just a few examples but there are many more out there.
The goal of a business is to provide its customers with a good experience. This is a different challenge from producing a physical product, since consumers can’t see or touch a service and may compare it to competitors in ways that don’t relate to price or functionality. For example, a customer who feels a restaurant’s service is convenient or friendly may prefer it even if the food isn’t as good as another’s.
A key aspect of a business service is its design. As with a product, a service can’t last long if it’s fatally flawed in some way. So managers must undergo a major shift in perspective, from thinking about the features that customers will value to designing the actual experience of using the service. They also need to be able to predict demand and deliver the service in a consistent manner.