Business services are the non-financial services that businesses require for operations. They include consulting services, warehousing and distribution services, waste management services, staffing service, administration services, shipping services, information technology services and security services among others. Businesses in every industry utilize different types of business services based on the type of work they do. For example, a financial firm will require Accounting services, Debt Management services and Stock Management services, while a construction company will need Construction Services.

A key difference between product businesses and service business is that the value of a service can be perceived more readily by customers than is the case with products. This creates the opportunity to differentiate a service by establishing a reputation for convenience, friendliness or other factors that customers perceive to be valuable. However, it also creates the risk that a service business could suffer from a flaw in the offering that customers will perceive as fatal.

The success or failure of a service business typically boils down to whether the business gets four things right. These four critical elements are centered on the business model, service design, managing the organization and creating value for the customer. It is important that these components of the business model pull together rather than pulling apart.

One way to help make it easier to manage a service business is to have the organizational structure that separates revenue-generating line managers from shared services and supports a strong, centralized leadership. This helps to ensure that the best interests of the whole organization are served and that the autonomy and value of the individual service models is not undermined.

Another thing that is important to think about is the need for quality training. This is because employees are often the face of a service business and interact directly with customers, so the behavior and skills of these workers are crucial to the quality of the business. This is why it is important to set high standards for hiring, train new hires and document the business model and operating procedures for each position in the service.

Finally, business applications are essential to service businesses because they allow them to automate processes, streamline data management and provide easy-to-use interfaces for non-technical employees and external stakeholders. These tools can be downloaded on mobile devices, accessed through intranets or hosted in cloud computing platforms.