1.1.4
Purposes of Businesses
Test your knowledge with free interactive questions on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.
What Purpose do Businesses Serve?
Businesses supply goods, services or a combination of both.

Goods
- Goods are physical products such as a PlayStation console or Coca Cola soft drinks.

Services
- Services are non-physical actions performed by a business to help a customer.
- Snapchat is an example of this; they provide a digital platform for people to send photos to one another. They don’t actually provide a physical good.

Goods and services
- Some businesses provide both goods and services.
- Restaurants, for example, provide goods in the form of physical food but also services in the form of waiters and waitresses and an atmosphere where customers can enjoy their meal.

B2B and B2C
- It is also important to note that some businesses sell products or services to consumers (B2C – business to consumer) while others sell to other businesses (B2B – business to business).
- DHL sells logistics (delivery and supply chain) support to other businesses like Jaguar Land Rover.
1Exploring Business
1.1Features of Business Organisations
1.2Organisation of Businesses
1.3Business Environment
1.3.1External Influences1.3.2Political & Legal Change1.3.3Economic Environment1.3.4Social & Technological Environment1.3.5Lifestyle & Technological Environment1.3.6Corporate Social Responsibility1.3.7The Competitive Environment1.3.8Innovation1.3.9Risk & Uncertainty1.3.10Porter's Five Forces1.3.11SWOT Analysis
2Marketing Campaigns
2.1Marketing
3Business Finance
3.1Sources of Finance
3.2Financial Planning
3.3Financial Statements
4International Business
4.1Globalisation
4.2International Business
4.3International Economic Environment
4.4Factors Affecting International Business
5Principles of Management
5.1Management & Leadership
5.2Theories of Motivation
6Business Decision Making
6.1Business Principles & Practices
6.2Quality Management
6.3Human Resources
6.4Documents & Business Decisions
Jump to other topics
1Exploring Business
1.1Features of Business Organisations
1.2Organisation of Businesses
1.3Business Environment
1.3.1External Influences1.3.2Political & Legal Change1.3.3Economic Environment1.3.4Social & Technological Environment1.3.5Lifestyle & Technological Environment1.3.6Corporate Social Responsibility1.3.7The Competitive Environment1.3.8Innovation1.3.9Risk & Uncertainty1.3.10Porter's Five Forces1.3.11SWOT Analysis
2Marketing Campaigns
2.1Marketing
3Business Finance
3.1Sources of Finance
3.2Financial Planning
3.3Financial Statements
4International Business
4.1Globalisation
4.2International Business
4.3International Economic Environment
4.4Factors Affecting International Business
5Principles of Management
5.1Management & Leadership
5.2Theories of Motivation
6Business Decision Making
6.1Business Principles & Practices
6.2Quality Management
6.3Human Resources
6.4Documents & Business Decisions
Practice questions on Purposes of Businesses
Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.
- 1What can businesses sell to customers?True / false
- 2What type of business sells to consumers?Multiple choice
- 3What is Coca Cola an example of?Multiple choice
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