Business services are a subset of economic services that support the functions and operations of businesses. They include such things as design services (such as a graphic design firm that produces logos, signs, publications and web graphics for its business customers), utility services (such as a solar panel installer that charges its commercial clients based on their power consumption), real estate services (such as a company that manages office space, janitorial or landscaping services) and logistics services (such as a warehouse or transportation service).

Many businesses have to contract out for various business-to-business services because they don’t have the internal resources to handle them internally. These outsourced business services can vary from a single project or task to the entire operation of a business.

As the world’s economies have grown more service based, the industry of business services has blossomed. It now makes up a significant part of the economy in many countries, and it is growing faster than even the manufacturing sector.

The success or failure of a service business depends on how well it gets four key things right. These are the people, processes, culture and technologies that make a service business successful. In order to thrive, a service business must effectively meet the needs and desires of its attractive target market. This requires a shift in thinking, from product-oriented design to the more customer-oriented concept of designing experiences. Unlike product companies, which can only succeed by offering a superior product, a service company can only compete on the basis of a good experience and a competent workforce.