Understanding Services: Concepts, Classification, and Trends

Service Concept

A service is an intangible activity that cannot be stored, provided to customers to meet their needs and desires. Unlike goods, services cannot be seen, touched, or owned directly. The value of a service is often assessed through the customer’s experience and their satisfaction with their needs.

Service Classification

Services are classified in many different ways, depending on the chosen criteria. Some common classifications include:

By Nature:

• Personal Services: Such as healthcare, education, consulting…
• Business Services: Such as accounting, marketing, transportation…
• Public Services: Such as security, environmental sanitation, public transportation…

By Level of Customer Contact:

• High-Contact Services: Require direct interaction between the provider and the customer (e.g., restaurants, hotels).
• Low-Contact Services: Customers have little or no direct interaction with the provider (e.g., courier services).

By Intangibility:

• Measurable Services: Easy to assess quality (e.g., freight transport).
• Hard-to-Measure Services: Difficult to objectively assess quality (e.g., psychological counseling).

Current Service Trends

The service market is developing rapidly with many prominent trends:

• Digital Services: The development of digital technology has created many new services such as e-commerce, online services, software solutions…
• Service Personalization: Customers increasingly want to experience personalized services that meet their specific needs.
• Experiential Services: Focus on creating positive experiences for customers, exceeding their expectations.
• Sustainability: Businesses are increasingly focusing on environmentally friendly and socially responsible services.

Conclusion

Understanding the concept, classification, and trends of services is essential for both providers and consumers. Understanding these changes will help businesses adapt better to the market and provide quality services that meet customer needs.