Business services are activities that benefit companies without delivering a physical product. They include professional support, transportation, accounting, cleaning and hospitality among other specialized businesses.
They are usually delivered on demand, as soon as the customer requests them. Service providers can be a company or an individual, depending on a business’s preferences and resources.
These companies often have a long tenure with a particular client, ensuring the relationship is always maintained. In the past, most service-oriented businesses developed a reputation for the type and quality of their services; however, this has become more difficult to achieve in the 21st century because of the increasing complexity of services.
Developing and maintaining economies of scale is more difficult for service-oriented companies than product-oriented ones. This is because service-oriented businesses cannot produce and deliver their services in small, local quantities as can product-oriented firms.
This is a significant barrier to entry for service-oriented businesses. Consequently, they must often develop a global presence to compete effectively.
In order to provide the best customer service, they must understand the needs of their customers, which means understanding the Service Value Proposition (SVP). These requirements need to be translated into measurable and relevant information for all stakeholders, especially those who will receive or provide the services. This provides the basis for successful Service Design. These techniques are applicable to existing Services as well as new ones, both when defining them and upgrading them. Ultimately, they result in better quality products and outcomes for both your organisation and your customers!