Business services can be defined as various tasks and activities that help maintain a business, even without delivering a tangible product. Typically, business services are offered to organizations as a way of maintaining or enhancing their productivity and efficiency.
They are also an important sector in the European economy and are essential for a number of sectors, such as manufacturing and construction. They are growing as companies develop new combinations of goods and services to increase their value and improve their competitiveness.
Service Design: The key to success in a service business is to build an offering that customers want and that meets their needs and desires. As with product businesses, service designers must shift their perspective from what buyers value to what customers want and why.
Strategic Management: Top managers need to understand the unique challenges of a service business. They need to know how the business is operated and what role customers play.
Traditionally, many of the tools used to build and run a product business still have an applicability to service management. Nevertheless, as a result of the differences between a service business and a product business, top managers need to think differently about strategic management and develop a more comprehensive approach.
A useful framework for understanding these challenges is the “service model,” which is presented below. It highlights four critical elements for building a successful service business: