Business services are activities that benefit businesses without delivering physical products. They include banking, transportation, warehousing, insurance, communications, and more. They are a subset of economic services, which are defined as “the activities that companies engage in in order to conduct their trade.”

When people think about service-oriented organizations, they usually imagine a restaurant serving food or a construction company building a new facility. These are often the first things that come to mind, but there is a lot more to services than that.

The business services industry is important to the global economy and contributes to more than half of GDP in many low-income countries. It is a highly competitive sector that requires management, planning, and coordination.

These services can be provided by a range of companies, including banks, insurance agencies, and consulting firms. They can help businesses improve efficiency and focus on their core competencies.

They also help businesses reach out to new customers and markets. In addition, a service provider can provide access to new technologies and expertise that a business may not have on its own.

There are four elements of service design that can influence a business’s success: customer experience, teamwork, processes, and communication. The best service companies focus on how these factors affect the quality of their services and how they can deliver the experiences that their clients are looking for.

Customer Experience:

Customers are key to any service-oriented organization’s success. They can shape a business’s culture, its brand, and its reputation. They can also influence its operational processes and how effectively it delivers its services.

Teams:

A team of service professionals combines the skills and experience necessary to complete a task in a timely and efficient manner. They can be hired for short or long-term periods, depending on a business’s needs.

Team members can be sourced from outside companies or directly from within the organization itself. Whether the team is full time or part-time, they can provide support to the business by assisting with various tasks, such as scheduling meetings, handling administrative issues, or coordinating marketing campaigns.

Processes:

Unlike product-oriented companies, service companies have to develop processes that allow them to deliver services in a way that’s effective for both the business and the client. This includes implementing procedures that help ensure efficiency and consistency, and providing resources to support the processes.

Communications:

Business service companies can communicate with customers via telephone, email, and other electronic means. They can also send and receive text messages, photos, and audio recordings to keep customers informed about their services.

Their employees can also provide customer feedback on how well the service is being delivered. This can help a service company make changes that will improve the customer experience.

They can also provide customer feedback on how well the business is being managed, which can help a service company improve its performance and competitiveness.

In the United States, the services industry contributed more than 30% of total GDP in 2014. It is expected to continue growing in emerging economies, and it is estimated to be the fastest-growing sector worldwide by 2025.