Business services are activities that support businesses but do not produce a physical commodity. They include the activities that help a company meet its objectives such as accounting, marketing, human resources and IT services. They also include the activities that a company uses to develop and deliver its products such as research, development and design.
Business service industries are essential for business enterprises. They provide a variety of different services including banking, insurance, transportation and warehousing and communications. Business services also include the activities that a company uses for its own purposes such as consulting, information technology (IT) and management services.
Businesses rely on business services to achieve their goals and to operate efficiently. Many of these businesses are specialized and offer unique value propositions that attract and retain customers. For example, a company that provides IT services to other businesses may be able to save them time and money by providing the same service for less cost.
The defining characteristics of business services are intangibility, customer involvement and interaction, and the lack of a physical product. In addition, services are often delivered in response to a customer request and their quality can be influenced by the customer’s level of involvement in the process.
The industry is highly competitive and is expected to grow even more in the future. The demand for business services is driven by a number of factors, including increased consumer affluence and changes in the work force demographic. Consumers are spending more on services that were previously considered luxury and are choosing to outsource some of their routine tasks such as home maintenance and lawn care.