Business services are the activities that businesses use and get benefit from without producing physical goods. Large firms, especially, rely on these services for marketing, production, safety, cost and convenience purposes, and they are important to the success of any business.
Some common types of business services include cleaning, animal control, maintenance and technical support. These services allow companies to keep their property clean, prevent animal infestations and ensure that equipment is functioning properly. They also help companies solve technology problems quickly, which saves them money and allows employees to stay productive.
The most common type of service is a business-to-business (B2B) transaction, in which a business sells its products or services to another company for a price. This is usually done as a trade between two parties with complementary expertise or resources.
Compared to product-business management, the design of service-business offerings requires managers to undergo an important shift in perspective: Whereas product designers focus on characteristics that buyers value, service designers must consider the customer experience. For example, customers may prefer the service brand of a restaurant because of its ambience, its friendly staff, or its extended hours.
This new perspective can lead to more effective service-business management because it focuses on customer experience and the needs of an attractive group of customers. It can also help service-business managers create more effective customer-service offerings that stand out from competitors’ and meet the needs of the most profitable customers.
The challenge of business-services management is similar to that of product-business management: the health of a service-business depends on the soundness of its offering and the ability of its people to deliver it. But the roles that customers play in service-business offerings have become broader and more diverse than they are in product business offerings.
These changes have spawned many different types of service-driven small businesses. Whether they specialize in a particular skill or offer intersecting skills, these companies are experiencing post-pandemic growth and are expanding their operations worldwide.
They are also adapting to new technological archetypes and using digital technology to build digital workforces for a more competitive edge. This enables them to respond quickly and efficiently to transforming market dynamics, while maintaining the integrity of their legacy processes.
In the United States, the professional and business services supersector includes more than a million establishments. The industry provides a variety of business services and is among the largest industries in terms of employment, both full-time and part-time.
Most of these establishments provide their services to businesses and other organizations (B2B), although they sometimes sell directly to consumers as well, known as B2C. Some examples of services provided by professional and business services firms include consulting, accounting, computer and information systems, human resources, management, marketing, and legal services.
The industry is growing at a rate of 4% to 6% annually. This trend is expected to continue. Currently, the sector employs more than a million people. Most of these jobs are located in the United States, although many are abroad.