Business services are the activities that help businesses but do not result in the production of tangible goods. All companies rely on a wide range of specialised business services to function properly. The services industry represents a major portion of the global economy and contributes to over 50% of the GDP in many countries. Some common examples of business services include IT service providers, logistics and transportation firms, and marketing consultancy firms.
Business-to-business (B2B) services include any type of assistance a business needs from another company that it does not have the resources or expertise to perform in-house. This can include consulting, training and evaluating. The term also covers services a business uses to promote or market itself and to connect with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. It can even include a firm that manages a website for its clients.
Careers in business services often offer lucrative salaries and plenty of opportunities for advancement. However, these jobs can be highly stressful and require high levels of collaboration with others. For this reason, they are not ideal for those who don’t have well-developed interpersonal and communication skills, advises Jennifer Spinelli, founder of home-buying firm Watson Buys and an executive coach at Thrive Consulting.
The intangible nature of business services makes them difficult to define and measure. That is because the services are not tangible and cannot be stored like products, which can be resold or reused. They are also not necessarily tied to a specific location or time, and can be delivered remotely.