Business Services

Business services are tasks and activities that assist a business, but do not deliver a tangible product. Examples of business services include information technology, staffing, consulting, and facilities management. These activities help businesses to perform, improve or expand their operations, and are vital to European competitiveness.

Most modern business theorists see a continuum with pure service at one end and pure commodity goods at the other. However, many products fall between these two extremes. For example, a restaurant provides food as a commodity good, but also offers other service elements that make the experience more pleasant.

As with any business, successful service businesses need to attract and retain customers. To do this, they must offer a unique value proposition that distinguishes them from competitors. This value proposition can be defined in terms of convenience, friendly interaction, a distinctive feature or advantage, or lower costs.

To provide a valuable service, businesses need to employ employees with the right skills and qualifications. This includes a strong technical knowledge of the service being offered. It’s also important that employees have a good understanding of the customer and the context in which they are operating. This can help them deliver a high level of service to meet or exceed customer expectations.

Businesses often contract with outside companies to manage services that aren’t core to their business. These contractors can save businesses time, money and resources. For example, if an organization needs to build more space, it may hire a construction company instead of using internal employees or renting expensive equipment. In addition, external contractors can offer specialized expertise that isn’t available in-house.