Business services refers to a wide range of tasks and activities that help maintain a business, despite not producing any tangible product. The term can be used to describe everything from information technology services, warehousing and logistics, to marketing and inter-departmental communication.
In the three-sector economic theory, business services are considered to be the tertiary sector, as opposed to the primary sector of agriculture and manufacturing and the secondary sector which includes construction and the sale of tangible goods. The tertiary sector is a key contributor to most economies and is comprised of businesses that provide experiences, consultation, and advice.
One of the biggest differences between goods and services is that you cannot store a service for future use; it must be delivered when demanded. This is because production and consumption are simultaneous for services. This also means that a customer’s satisfaction with a service is highly dependent on their involvement with it.
As such, successful service companies require a very different approach to management. They must design their offerings to appeal to a specific group of customers and deliver on the characteristics that they value. To do this, they must focus on the four critical elements of service design: