Business Model Canvas: Explained with Examples

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Got a new business idea, but don’t know how to put it to work? Want to improve your existing business model? Overwhelmed by writing your business plan? There is a one-page technique that can provide you the solution you are looking for, and that’s the business model canvas.

In this guide, you’ll have the Business Model Canvas explained, along with steps on how to create one. All business model canvas examples in the post can be edited online.

What is a Business Model Canvas

A business model is simply a plan describing how a business intends to make money. It explains who your customer base is and how you deliver value to them and the related details of financing. And the business model canvas lets you define these different components on a single page.   

The Business Model Canvas is a strategic management tool that lets you visualize and assess your business idea or concept. It’s a one-page document containing nine boxes that represent different fundamental elements of a business.  

The business model canvas beats the traditional business plan that spans across several pages, by offering a much easier way to understand the different core elements of a business.

The right side of the canvas focuses on the customer or the market (external factors that are not under your control) while the left side of the canvas focuses on the business (internal factors that are mostly under your control). In the middle, you get the value propositions that represent the exchange of value between your business and your customers.

The business model canvas was originally developed by Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur and introduced in their book ‘ Business Model Generation ’ as a visual framework for planning, developing and testing the business model(s) of an organization.

Business Model Canvas Explained

What Are the Benefits of Using a Business Model Canvas

Why do you need a business model canvas? The answer is simple. The business model canvas offers several benefits for businesses and entrepreneurs. It is a valuable tool and provides a visual and structured approach to designing, analyzing, optimizing, and communicating your business model.

  • The business model canvas provides a comprehensive overview of a business model’s essential aspects. The BMC provides a quick outline of the business model and is devoid of unnecessary details compared to the traditional business plan.
  • The comprehensive overview also ensures that the team considers all required components of their business model and can identify gaps or areas for improvement.
  • The BMC allows the team to have a holistic and shared understanding of the business model while enabling them to align and collaborate effectively.
  • The visual nature of the business model canvas makes it easier to refer to and understand by anyone. The business model canvas combines all vital business model elements in a single, easy-to-understand canvas.
  • The BMC can be considered a strategic analysis tool as it enables you to examine a business model’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges.
  • It’s easier to edit and can be easily shared with employees and stakeholders.
  • The BMC is a flexible and adaptable tool that can be updated and revised as the business evolves. Keep your business agile and responsive to market changes and customer needs.
  • The business model canvas can be used by large corporations and startups with just a few employees.
  • The business model canvas effectively facilitates discussions among team members, investors, partners, customers, and other stakeholders. It clarifies how different aspects of the business are related and ensures a shared understanding of the business model.
  • You can use a BMC template to facilitate discussions and guide brainstorming brainstorming sessions to generate insights and ideas to refine the business model and make strategic decisions.
  • The BMC is action-oriented, encouraging businesses to identify activities and initiatives to improve their business model to drive business growth.
  • A business model canvas provides a structured approach for businesses to explore possibilities and experiment with new ideas. This encourages creativity and innovation, which in turn encourages team members to think outside the box.

How to Make a Business Model Canvas

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to create a business canvas model.

Step 1: Gather your team and the required material Bring a team or a group of people from your company together to collaborate. It is better to bring in a diverse group to cover all aspects.

While you can create a business model canvas with whiteboards, sticky notes, and markers, using an online platform like Creately will ensure that your work can be accessed from anywhere, anytime. Create a workspace in Creately and provide editing/reviewing permission to start.

Step 2: Set the context Clearly define the purpose and the scope of what you want to map out and visualize in the business model canvas. Narrow down the business or idea you want to analyze with the team and its context.

Step 3: Draw the canvas Divide the workspace into nine equal sections to represent the nine building blocks of the business model canvas.

Step 4: Identify the key building blocks Label each section as customer segment, value proposition, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, and cost structure.

Step 5: Fill in the canvas Work with your team to fill in each section of the canvas with relevant information. You can use data, keywords, diagrams, and more to represent ideas and concepts.

Step 6: Analyze and iterate Once your team has filled in the business model canvas, analyze the relationships to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges. Discuss improvements and make adjustments as necessary.

Step 7: Finalize Finalize and use the model as a visual reference to communicate and align your business model with stakeholders. You can also use the model to make informed and strategic decisions and guide your business.

What are the Key Building Blocks of the Business Model Canvas?

There are nine building blocks in the business model canvas and they are:

Customer Segments

Customer relationships, revenue streams, key activities, key resources, key partners, cost structure.

  • Value Proposition

When filling out a Business Model Canvas, you will brainstorm and conduct research on each of these elements. The data you collect can be placed in each relevant section of the canvas. So have a business model canvas ready when you start the exercise.  

Business Model Canvas Template

Let’s look into what the 9 components of the BMC are in more detail.

These are the groups of people or companies that you are trying to target and sell your product or service to.

Segmenting your customers based on similarities such as geographical area, gender, age, behaviors, interests, etc. gives you the opportunity to better serve their needs, specifically by customizing the solution you are providing them.

After a thorough analysis of your customer segments, you can determine who you should serve and ignore. Then create customer personas for each of the selected customer segments.

Customer Persona Template for Business Model Canvas Explained

There are different customer segments a business model can target and they are;

  • Mass market: A business model that focuses on mass markets doesn’t group its customers into segments. Instead, it focuses on the general population or a large group of people with similar needs. For example, a product like a phone.  
  • Niche market: Here the focus is centered on a specific group of people with unique needs and traits. Here the value propositions, distribution channels, and customer relationships should be customized to meet their specific requirements. An example would be buyers of sports shoes.
  • Segmented: Based on slightly different needs, there could be different groups within the main customer segment. Accordingly, you can create different value propositions, distribution channels, etc. to meet the different needs of these segments.
  • Diversified: A diversified market segment includes customers with very different needs.
  • Multi-sided markets: this includes interdependent customer segments. For example, a credit card company caters to both their credit card holders as well as merchants who accept those cards.

Use STP Model templates for segmenting your market and developing ideal marketing campaigns

Visualize, assess, and update your business model. Collaborate on brainstorming with your team on your next business model innovation.

In this section, you need to establish the type of relationship you will have with each of your customer segments or how you will interact with them throughout their journey with your company.

There are several types of customer relationships

  • Personal assistance: you interact with the customer in person or by email, through phone call or other means.
  • Dedicated personal assistance: you assign a dedicated customer representative to an individual customer.  
  • Self-service: here you maintain no relationship with the customer, but provides what the customer needs to help themselves.
  • Automated services: this includes automated processes or machinery that helps customers perform services themselves.
  • Communities: these include online communities where customers can help each other solve their own problems with regard to the product or service.
  • Co-creation: here the company allows the customer to get involved in the designing or development of the product. For example, YouTube has given its users the opportunity to create content for its audience.

You can understand the kind of relationship your customer has with your company through a customer journey map . It will help you identify the different stages your customers go through when interacting with your company. And it will help you make sense of how to acquire, retain and grow your customers.

Customer Journey Map

This block is to describe how your company will communicate with and reach out to your customers. Channels are the touchpoints that let your customers connect with your company.

Channels play a role in raising awareness of your product or service among customers and delivering your value propositions to them. Channels can also be used to allow customers the avenue to buy products or services and offer post-purchase support.

There are two types of channels

  • Owned channels: company website, social media sites, in-house sales, etc.
  • Partner channels: partner-owned websites, wholesale distribution, retail, etc.

Revenues streams are the sources from which a company generates money by selling their product or service to the customers. And in this block, you should describe how you will earn revenue from your value propositions.  

A revenue stream can belong to one of the following revenue models,

  • Transaction-based revenue: made from customers who make a one-time payment
  • Recurring revenue: made from ongoing payments for continuing services or post-sale services

There are several ways you can generate revenue from

  • Asset sales: by selling the rights of ownership for a product to a buyer
  • Usage fee: by charging the customer for the use of its product or service
  • Subscription fee: by charging the customer for using its product regularly and consistently
  • Lending/ leasing/ renting: the customer pays to get exclusive rights to use an asset for a fixed period of time
  • Licensing: customer pays to get permission to use the company’s intellectual property
  • Brokerage fees: revenue generated by acting as an intermediary between two or more parties
  • Advertising: by charging the customer to advertise a product, service or brand using company platforms

What are the activities/ tasks that need to be completed to fulfill your business purpose? In this section, you should list down all the key activities you need to do to make your business model work.

These key activities should focus on fulfilling its value proposition, reaching customer segments and maintaining customer relationships, and generating revenue.

There are 3 categories of key activities;

  • Production: designing, manufacturing and delivering a product in significant quantities and/ or of superior quality.
  • Problem-solving: finding new solutions to individual problems faced by customers.
  • Platform/ network: Creating and maintaining platforms. For example, Microsoft provides a reliable operating system to support third-party software products.

This is where you list down which key resources or the main inputs you need to carry out your key activities in order to create your value proposition.

There are several types of key resources and they are

  • Human (employees)
  • Financial (cash, lines of credit, etc.)
  • Intellectual (brand, patents, IP, copyright)
  • Physical (equipment, inventory, buildings)

Key partners are the external companies or suppliers that will help you carry out your key activities. These partnerships are forged in oder to reduce risks and acquire resources.

Types of partnerships are

  • Strategic alliance: partnership between non-competitors
  • Coopetition: strategic partnership between partners
  • Joint ventures: partners developing a new business
  • Buyer-supplier relationships: ensure reliable supplies

In this block, you identify all the costs associated with operating your business model.

You’ll need to focus on evaluating the cost of creating and delivering your value propositions, creating revenue streams, and maintaining customer relationships. And this will be easier to do so once you have defined your key resources, activities, and partners.  

Businesses can either be cost-driven (focuses on minimizing costs whenever possible) and value-driven (focuses on providing maximum value to the customer).

Value Propositions

This is the building block that is at the heart of the business model canvas. And it represents your unique solution (product or service) for a problem faced by a customer segment, or that creates value for the customer segment.

A value proposition should be unique or should be different from that of your competitors. If you are offering a new product, it should be innovative and disruptive. And if you are offering a product that already exists in the market, it should stand out with new features and attributes.

Value propositions can be either quantitative (price and speed of service) or qualitative (customer experience or design).

Value Proposition Canvas

What to Avoid When Creating a Business Model Canvas

One thing to remember when creating a business model canvas is that it is a concise and focused document. It is designed to capture key elements of a business model and, as such, should not include detailed information. Some of the items to avoid include,

  • Detailed financial projections such as revenue forecasts, cost breakdowns, and financial ratios. Revenue streams and cost structure should be represented at a high level, providing an overview rather than detailed projections.
  • Detailed operational processes such as standard operating procedures of a business. The BMC focuses on the strategic and conceptual aspects.
  • Comprehensive marketing or sales strategies. The business model canvas does not provide space for comprehensive marketing or sales strategies. These should be included in marketing or sales plans, which allow you to expand into more details.
  • Legal or regulatory details such as intellectual property, licensing agreements, or compliance requirements. As these require more detailed and specialized attention, they are better suited to be addressed in separate legal or regulatory documents.
  • Long-term strategic goals or vision statements. While the canvas helps to align the business model with the overall strategy, it should focus on the immediate and tangible aspects.
  • Irrelevant or unnecessary information that does not directly relate to the business model. Including extra or unnecessary information can clutter the BMC and make it less effective in communicating the core elements.

What Are Your Thoughts on the Business Model Canvas?

Once you have completed your business model canvas, you can share it with your organization and stakeholders and get their feedback as well. The business model canvas is a living document, therefore after completing it you need to revisit and ensure that it is relevant, updated and accurate.

What best practices do you follow when creating a business model canvas? Do share your tips with us in the comments section below.

Join over thousands of organizations that use Creately to brainstorm, plan, analyze, and execute their projects successfully.

FAQs About the Business Model Canvas

  • Use clear and concise language
  • Use visual-aids
  • Customize for your audience
  • Highlight key insights
  • Be open to feedback and discussion

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Amanda Athuraliya is the communication specialist/content writer at Creately, online diagramming and collaboration tool. She is an avid reader, a budding writer and a passionate researcher who loves to write about all kinds of topics.

The 9-Step Business Model Canvas Explained (2023 Update)

what is a business model canvas for

Written by Raquel Alberdi

Business | entrepreneurship, 16 comments(s).

Business Model Canvas

Blog » The 9-Step Business Model Canvas Explained (2023 Update)

what is a business model canvas for

“A major mistake made by many start-ups around the world is focusing on the technology, the software, the product, and the design, but neglecting to ever figure out the business . And by “business” we simply mean how the company makes money by acquiring and serving its customers”.

-Reid Hoffman

After meeting with hundreds of entrepreneurs and business owners over the years I believe the LinkedIn co-founder and Blitzscaling author Reid Hoffman’s got it spot on.

People tend to focus on specific parts of their business, such as which software packages are being used, which is the cheapest supplier, how to optimize internal processes…?

They get so bogged down in the details of the day-to-day running that they lose the overall vision of their business.

Without this vision they are unable to scale, they make marginal profits, miss opportunities, struggle to innovate, and end up running “just another” business.

Another handy metaphor in understanding this common mistake is the soldier in the trenches .

Every meter of ground gained comes at a heavy cost, mistakes are made, and progress is hard-fought and slow…a day-to-day experience for 99% of entrepreneurs and businessmen.

But when you do have that 360 vision you see the entire battlefield. Decisions are much clearer, fewer mistakes are made, and progress is fast and methodical.

Fortunately, a business model framework exists that gives you both vision and clarity .

The Business Model Canvas provides entrepreneurs, business owners, and strategists with a tool to analyze, structure, and evolve a business while always keeping the bigger picture front of mind.

So let’s take a closer look at how it works.

Table of Content

What is the Business Model Canvas?

Created by Swiss entrepreneur and Strategyzer co-founder, Alexander Osterwalder, the Business Model Canvas is a visual representation of the 9 key building blocks that form the foundations of every successful business. It’s a blueprint to help entrepreneurs invent, design, and build models with a more systematic approach.

Why is it so popular within the business community?

Its simplicity. The business model canvas allows us to carry out a high-level analysis without drilling down and getting lost in the details. You just draw out the 9 building blocks on a blank canvas, fill them in as each concept relates to your business, and hang it somewhere everybody can see.

It’s a visual overview of your entire business on a single canvas.

While the Business Model Canvas is an extremely fluid concept and hyper-specific to individual companies, each canvas is still broken down into these 9 key building blocks:

Customer Segments

Value propositions, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partners.

When laid out on the canvas the model will look something like this:

 Scheme of business model in which 9 important fields are developed for its execution.

While you’ve probably come across each of the 9 building blocks before, the attractiveness of the Business Model Canvas is that it confines them to a single page , not a traditional 42-page document.

This makes it a lot easier to digest, as well as assess existing business models or map out new ideas.

How do I fill out the Business Model Canvas?

To start your Business Model Canvas you will need to breakdown and analyze each of the 9 building blocks.

A good way to approach this is to gather the heads from marketing, sales, operations, finance, and manufacturing (if product-based) and pencil-in a morning where you can all meet together.

Then, after drawing a mock canvas onto a whiteboard, proceed to dissect and discuss each of the 9 building blocks as they relate to your business. You can use sticky notes to better organize your thoughts around the canvas.

If you are an entrepreneur or new business owner working alone and don’t have a team to bounce your ideas off, not to worry. You can still carry out your analysis before sharing it with a like-minded entrepreneurial community or forum, like those found on ThePowerMBA , to get useful, insightful feedback.

Whichever way you decide to approach it, I recommend you complete each block in the following order:

  • Cost structure

For continuity, I’m going to use the fashion retail giant Zara when analyzing each of the 9 key building blocks.

If you’d like to skip to another case study similar to your own business, navigate to the table of contents at the top of the page and select one of the other business model canvas examples.

Customer segment business model canvas for Zara company

The first block of the Business Canvas Model is about understanding who is the most important customer(s) you’re delivering value to. Or, in other words, who are they? What do they do? And why would they buy your product or service?

Not a single company exists without its clients, making customer segments the best block to start with while drawing out your business model canvas.

A great exercise to define your customer segments is to brainstorm and create your company’s buyer persona (s) .

Buyer personas are fictional depictions of an ideal or hypothetical client. Typically when brainstorming a buyer persona you’d want to define certain characteristics (age, demographic, gender, income, industry, pain points, goals, etc.)

However, remember at this stage we want a snapshot of our customer segment. There’s no need to jump into great detail just yet.

In the case of Zara, there are three distinct customer segments to whom they offer different products.

The products created for each of these customer segments (clothing, shoes, and accessories) are not trans-consumable. That is to say, a woman’s dress is highly unlikely to be worn by a 7-year-old child.

Once we know exactly who it is we are targeting, it’s time to look at what we as a company have to offer.

Zara Customer Segments business model canvas template showing the development of the 9 fields

The second phase is about figuring out your company’s value propositions , and importantly, your UVP (unique value proposition). The “what” that makes customers turn to you, over your competitors? Which of their problems are you best at solving?

Each value proposition consists of a bundle of products or services that fulfill the needs of a buyer persona from your customer segment. It’s the intersection between what your company offers, and the reason or impulse customers have for purchasing.

Some popular questions to ask while determining your UVP are:

  • Which specific customer pain point are you trying to solve?
  • What job are you helping customers get done?
  • How does your UVP eliminate customer pain points?
  • What products or services do you provide that answer this specific pain point?

So let’s try and apply this to Zara. Why do people choose to purchase from them, over their competitors?

Zara’s principal value propositions are fairly clear. They offer various ranges of stylish men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing and accessories at an affordable price.

But there’s more to it than that.

If we dive a little deeper we see Zara’s value propositions are more complex, which are behind the success of the brand:

Fast fashion

Zara adds new clothes and designs to its collections every 2-3 weeks, both in its stores and online. It keeps the brand updated, fresh, and modern while maintaining its all-important medium price point

Great eCommerce experience

Once you enter Zara’s online store you’re presented with a clean, easy-to-navigate, and high-end feel. The customer segments are visible on the left navigation bar with a search tab to further aid customers with their online experience.

Zara's Canvas business model where you can see the innovative presentation of its image

Localized stores

You can find a store in nearly all major retail locations (shopping malls, retail outlets, airports, etc.) meaning accessibility is not an issue for the majority of consumers.

Flagship stores

Zara demonstrates its aesthetic evolution to customers through its flagship stores. The recent opening of their Hudson Yards , New York City flagship is a great example of this. Customers shop around its vivid, minimalist layout offering them an experience aligned with the brand’s deeper, eco-friendly values.

Zara's Canvas business model where you can see the innovative presentation of the image of its stores

Zara Hudson Yards, New York

Business Model Canvas Template Zara - Value Propositions

The next step is to ask yourself how you are reaching your customers, and through which channels ?

This includes both the channels that customers want to communicate with you as well as how they’ll receive your products or services.

Is it going to be a physical channel? (store, field sales representatives, etc.) Or is it a digital channel? (mobile, web, cloud, etc.).

Zara has 3 primary channels in which they communicate and deliver products to its customers:

  • Direct sales through their stores
  • Online (both app and website)
  • Social media

Customers can go to a traditional “bricks and mortar” store to browse, model, and purchase different items of clothing at one of their retail stores.

Alternatively, they can shop online or through their mobile application and have the product delivered straight to their door or nearest store. The choice is completely up to them!

So that covers Zara’s commercial channels, but what about how they communicate with customers?

While they do communicate through their mobile app, their predominant channel is social media.

What’s more, they’re really, really good at it.

For example, did you know that Zara invests less than 0.3% of its sales revenue into advertising?

This is only possible due to an A-rated social media presence . Customer queries are not only dealt with quickly, but recommended re-works are sent back to HQ, forwarded onto in-house designers who then apply the feedback to future collections.

This customer-first approach through fluid communication channels has saved them thousands of dollars in marketing, strengthened their brand, and created a loyal customer base.

You should only step away from this building block once you’ve decided how each of your customer segments want to be reached.

Zara Channels business model canvas template where its components are developed

Once you have acquired customers, you will need to think about how you can build , nurture, and grow those relationships.

Now, this can be automated and transactional like large eCommerce brands Amazon or Alibaba. Or, it could be at the complete opposite end of the scale and require a more personal relationship you’d typically have with a bank or your local bike shop.

Zara’s relationship with its customers is threefold, and lies somewhere in the middle of transactional and personal:

  • Salesperson at store
  • Brand through social media
  • Sentimental attachment to a product

Yes, you have the initial transactional touchpoint at the store or online, something relatively impersonal and for many the only interaction they’ll have with the brand.

However, customers (especially in the fashion industry) are encouraged to continue to interact with a brand through social media platforms.

As we mentioned before when discussing channels, Zara has a very effective communication system in place. Not only can people instantly get in touch with the brand, but also engage with new posts, images, and collections uploaded to social media.

This personal approach to customer relationship building can, in some cases, lead to the natural growth of brand ambassadors and communities .

An attachment can also develop between customers and particular garments or accessories from one of their collections. The sentimental attachment to these products also creates another potential form of brand loyalty.

The relations with Zara's clients to give a Business Model Canvas where the 9 points to be developed are seen

Now that you’ve described how you are going to create real value for your customers, it’s time to look at how you plan to capture that value.

What are your revenue streams? Is it going to be a transactional, direct sales strategy ? Are you going to consider a freemium mode l, where you give a portion of your product or service away for free with the idea of converting later on down the line?

If you’re a SaaS company such as SalesForce or Strava , then it’s likely that a licensing or subscription revenue model will be more appropriate.

At Zara, it’s extremely simple. They make their money by selling clothes and accessories either at a store or online.

Zara business model canvas template for the development of Revenue streams within the 9 points to work

As you can see, we’ve filled in the entire right-hand side of our business model canvas. We touched upon:

Customer segments

  • Value propositions
  • Revenue streams
  • Distribution channels

Now it’s time to move over to the left side of the business canvas model and look at what we need, internally , to deliver our value propositions.

Key resources of the Zara Business Model Canvas

To start with, let’s take a look at key resources.

The key resources are all things you need to have, or the assets required to create that value for customers.

This could be anything from intellectual property (patents, trademarks, copyrights, etc.) to physical holdings (factories, offices, delivery vans, etc.) right down to finances (the initial cash flow perhaps needed to start your brand).

Another key resource every company needs to consider is its human capital . Are you going to need highly specialized software engineers? Or field-based sales teams?

They are relatively capital-heavy resources that need to be factored into your business model.

In the case of Zara, they are going to need a number of key resources if they hope to deliver their propositions:

  • Stock management
  • A large, interconnected network of physical stores
  • A strong brand
  • Logistics and supply chain infrastructure

Stock is vital for both online and offline customers.

If they are unable to supply their range of products and meet customer demands, satisfaction levels fall and they have a serious problem on their hands.

A large distribution network of brick and mortar stores combined with a strong brand name help mitigate these factors, as well as reinforce any ongoing marketing activities and communication efforts.

Finally, an efficient logistics process within Zara is critical, especially when you consider the complexities involved with such a large-scale operation.

They will require the necessary technology to analyze data on inventory, storage, materials, production, and packaging, with the staff to execute each of these stages and manage the delivery of the final products.

Zara business model canvas template where the Key Resources are developed

The next step is to define the key activities – the areas you need to be good at to create value for your customers.

To mix it up a little let’s take a look at a slightly different business in Uber .

Their key activities can be broken down into:

  • Web and mobile app development
  • Driver recruitment
  • Marketing: customer acquisition
  • Customer service activities : drivers’ ratings, incidents, etc.

They need a fast, clean UX for their customers using the app, drivers to carry out their service, and the ability to both market the product and deal with any customer queries.

Zara’s key activities will differ to those of Uber. Some of the things they need to consider would be:

  • Manufacturing
  • Retail process (point of sale and 3rd party management)
  • Distribution channel / logistics

Design is a key activity as Zara’s value proposition is to provide stylish garments at an affordable price. Their collections need to be constantly updated to follow the latest fashion trends at the time.

To produce their collections Zara will also require manufacturing capabilities. Now Zara doesn’t own their own factories (we will get to that in the Key Partners section) but they still need to be involved in the garment manufacturing process.

Everything from fabric selection to pattern making, to detailing and dyeing affects the outcome of the final product which of course they have to then go on and sell.

The effective management of the retail and distribution channels (online, offline, shipping, and communication with providers) is also key. A breakdown in either of these activities, such as a poor relationship with an important provider will have serious consequences for the business.

Zara business model canvas template showing the key activities for its development

Most modern business models now require brands to build out and work with various key partners to fully leverage their business model.

This includes partnerships such as joint ventures and non-equity strategic alliances as well as typical relationships with buyers, suppliers, and producers.

A great example of a strategic partnership would be between ThePowerMBA and Forbes . In exchange for exposure of our brand to the magazine’s global audience, we provide expertise and content on high-level business education programs.

As we touched upon when discussing key activities , Zara requires strategic partnerships with many different providers if they are to design and produce their collections.

Another key partner is their major holding company, Inditex .

Inditex has several subsidiaries including Massimo Dutti , Pull & Bear , and Oysho . Being a subsidiary of Inditex means they share a consolidated balance sheet, stakeholders, management and control, and various legal responsibilities.

While as a subsidiary Zara is afforded certain freedoms when it comes to design, delivery, and the general running of the company, the overall strategy will need to be aligned with Inditex and its other subsidiaries.

Zara Key Partners business model canvas template where the eighth point is developed

The final step of the Business Model Canvas is to ask yourself, how much is it going to cost to run this model?

This includes some of the more obvious needs such as manufacturing costs, physical space, rent, payroll, but also areas such as marketing activities.

If you are unsure of exactly what to include in your cost structure take a look at a Profit and Loss statement ( P&L ) from a competitor or company in a similar industry to yours. You’ll find many items overlap such as research and development ( R&D ), cost of goods sold, admin expenses, operating costs, etc.

Once that’s done you should prioritize your key activities and resources and find out if they are fixed or variable costs .

As Zara is such a large, corporate business they are going to have both fixed costs (rent, payroll, point of sales personnel) and variables, such as costs associated with the fluctuating sale of goods, purchase of materials and, manufacturing costs.

Once you’ve completed these 9 steps, your Business Canvas Model should look something like this:

Business Model Canvas Examples

Hopefully, you were able to get a good feel for the effectiveness of the business model canvas with our run-through of Zara.

However, if you found it difficult to follow due to the stark difference between your industries, I’m going to quickly go through 3 more companies to demonstrate the tool’s flexibility:

  • Netflix (Media service/production)
  • Vintae (Vineyard)

Even if these business model canvas examples don’t align exactly with your industry, I honestly believe that studying different models gives you a competitive advantage in your professional career regardless.

If you’re currently employed by a company, you’ll better understand how your specific role helps the company achieve some of its “long-term” goals.

Alternatively, if you are a business owner yourself (or perhaps thinking of starting your own business) you’ll have a better understanding of your business and where potential opportunities lay.

I’m sure you’re familiar with our next business model canvas example candidate, Netflix .

The global media company offers an online streaming service of various movies, documentaries, and TV programs produced in-house or licensed 3rd-party content. Their success sparked a revolution in the online media world with the likes of Amazon, Apple, Disney, HBO, and Hulu all rushing to launch their own online video streaming platforms.

Netflix started life as an online DVD rental company, basically a web version of the more popular (at least at that time) “bricks and mortar” Blockbuster.

Co-founder Reed Hastings predicted as far back as 1999 that the future of media was in online streaming, saying “postage rates were going to keep going up and the internet was going to get twice as fast at half the price every 18 months.”

It wouldn’t be until 2007 that Hasting’s prediction would become true when Netflix, as we now know it, was born.

So let’s take a current look at their business model canvas:

Netflix business model in which the 9 topics are taken into consideration

As you probably know, there are very few people out there who haven’t subscribed, watched, or at least heard of Netflix. There is content for everybody: wildlife documentaries, sci-fi movies, rom coms, action-thrillers, you name it – it’s there.

That’s why their customer segment can be classified as a “ mass market ” as the base is just so diverse.

All people require is a computer, TV, internet, and/or smartphone and they’re good to go. For most developed markets, that covers just about everybody.

Value Proposition

Whether on the train to work, sitting in the car (if you’re not driving!), or relaxing at home in front of the TV, you can consume their online, on-demand video streaming service.

They also have a huge library of content for consumers to choose from, ensuring that people keep coming back, as well as increasing their mass-market appeal.

They also produce high-quality, original content to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Most people access Netflix either through their website or mobile/TV App . Another popular channel that you may have picked up on is their affiliate partners .

You’ve perhaps signed up for a mobile, TV, and internet package where the provider offers Netflix as an extra to sweeten the deal, so to speak.

That would be an example of an affiliate partnership between Netflix and mobile service providers.

I doubt many consumers have had direct contact with Netflix unless it’s to resolve a subscription issue or general query. It’s very much a self-automated service – you download the app, select the program you wish to watch, and hit play.

Very simple, very effective.

Again, this doesn’t need much embellishment. Netflix generates money from the different tiers and packages put together in their subscription services.

This varies depending on the region to account for local markets, but on the whole, it’s sold at a low price point.

Originally, Netflix’s Key Resources would have been their unrivaled DVD collection combined with a cost-effective mail-order system.

Nowadays it’s undoubtedly the rights to stream online video content. Netflix has brokered deals with some of the biggest production studios worldwide.

Combined with their huge library of in-house productions , it’s more than enough to encourage customers to renew their subscriptions.

To help sustain interest in their product, Netflix understands they need to serve-up relevant content for each sub-sector of their mass audience. Therefore their machine learning algorithm selects content for consumers based on streaming habits (what they watched, at what time, etc,.) to personalize the customer experience.

This explains why over 80% of all content streamed on Netflix was cherry-picked by this algorithm, making it a Key Resource for their business model.

Also, Netflix accounts for a whopping 12.6% of global bandwidth usage . The literal capacity to stream their services must be met meaning bandwidth must also be included here.

Content procurement is arguably their biggest Key Activity. They need to find people to produce and deliver their original content, including actors, studios, writers, etc. as well as secure the licensing and streaming rights from 3rd party producers such as Sony, Warner Bros, and Disney.

Finally, they need a fast, easy-to-use application to host their online streaming service. This needs to be available for both TV and mobile devices if they are to deliver their “on-demand” value proposition.

K ey Partners

Seeing as Netflix’s entire business model is largely based around streaming 3rd party content, key partnerships need to be built with production studios . No content, no Netflix!

Also, as we touched upon earlier Netflix is one of the largest consumers of bandwidth worldwide. If the speed and delivery of their streaming service are to be continued then deals will also need to be made with internet service providers (ISPs).

Netflix’s biggest expenditures come from both their in-house content procurement and 3rd party licensing agreements . The high-quality standard of video streamed on Netflix is only possible due to the speed and performance of its online platform and application , which has additional costs of staff, software, etc.

To show you just how flexible the business model canvas can be, I wanted to throw in a slightly leftfield example. Vintae is a Spanish wine producer who, after a detailed analysis of the business model canvas, was able to innovate and disrupt one of the world’s most competitive industries.

As some of you may know, the wine industry is extremely competitive. It’s also steeped in history and tradition , making it very challenging for newcomers to grab market share, let alone think about year-on-year growth and revenue.

However, CEO “Richi” Arambarri looked at the traditional “ bodega ” business model and saw a chink in its armor.

A “small” innovation in the business canvas model helped them to become one of the region’s most important winery groups, with over 10 installations and a presence across all regional denominations (Rioja, Priorat, Rias Baixas, etc.) with year on year growth of 30% – practically unheard of in such a competitive industry.

So how did Vintae analyze the business model canvas to find a niche in their market?

To answer that question, we must first look at the traditional winery business model .

Traditional Winery Business Model with its 9 developed points

As you can see, the wine industry has historically been patrimonial. Vineyards and estates are passed down through generations with the winery responsible for all phases of production, clarification, and distribution.

The traditional winery business canvas model suggests you must be the owner of the winery/vineyard where the wine is “manufactured”, meaning physical assets are a key resource of the business model.

So, if you wanted to start producing a Rioja, for example, you’d have to set up your vineyard in the region.

This is monumentally expensive as you need to:

  • Purchase the land
  • Plant a vineyard
  • Absorb set-up and installation costs
  • Deal with maintenance costs

It’s here where Vintae saw their opportunity.

What if we move vineyard ownership across the business model canvas from key resources to key partners ?

By leasing the equipment and space of large wineries (of which there was plenty), they could still produce their wine but reduce the cost and exposure associated with land purchase, crushing equipment, huge storage tanks, vineyard maintenance, and their bottling line.

This enabled them to focus on their sales, marketing, and distribution channels to create a better brand experience for their customers.

Also, it afforded them more flexibility when creating new wines as they were no longer confined to the limitations of grapes grown on their vineyard.

The lightness of this new business model eliminates maintenance overheads, channels energy into personalizing the customer experience, and allows for unprecedented levels of growth in one of the world’s most competitive industries.

Vinate business model

Business Model Canvas Software

Although I did mention starting with a large whiteboard, sticky notes, and a pack of colorful sharpies there are several options in which you can digitize the business canvas model production process.

While I still believe the aforementioned process is extremely valuable (it gets your entire team’s input in a single hour-long session) you may decide it more viable for each member of management to pool their ideas digitally before sharing with the rest of the group.

If that’s the case, then take a look at some of the following software tools for creating your business model canvas.

Strategyzer

Created by the founders of the business model canvas Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur , Strategyzer offers a range of business model canvas templates for you to get started with.

If you opt for the paid model (there is a 30-day free trial period) they offer a series of various classes that teach you how to build and test different value propositions and business models.

A real-time built-in cost estimator analyzes the financial viability of some of your business ideas, identifying alternative areas you may wish to explore with your model.

All-in-all, it’s a great resource to play around with and test some of your business ideas, with the option to dive into further detail if you see fit.

Canvanizer is a free, easy-to-use web tool that allows you to share links between team members who are brainstorming ideas for a business model canvas, but working remotely.

Like Strategyzer, there are several business model canvas templates provided to help you get started with your analysis. The strength of this platform is its accessibility. Much like a Google Doc., several people can brainstorm on the same canvas simultaneously with changes being synchronized automatically.

Business Model Canvas Tool

A ThePowerMBA alumni, impressed by the simplicity and effectiveness of the tool, went ahead and created the free application Business Model Canvas Tool .

It’s an incredibly intuitive, and easy-to-use tool that allows you to create templates simply by clicking the + button in each building block.

Each business model canvas created can be downloaded and shared as a pdf. with the rest of the team.

Would You Like to Learn More about Business Models?

If, after going through our 9-step guide on how to use the Business Model Canvas you’d like to learn more about different business model analysis tools , take a look at our alternative MBA business program .

As you’ll see, the course gives students a 360-degree view of business and management practices – such as engines of growth, segmentation and targeting, and value propositions.

I highly recommend you go check it out.

Regardless, I’d love to hear what you thought about this guide. Was it helpful? Would you like to see additional business cases analyzed from your industry?

Let us know in the comments below.

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16 Comments

Ayeah Goodlove

Perfect thought

kourosh abdollahzadeh

I am a DBA student. I have used your site a lot. Thank you for the information

KJ Hwang

Well defined steps, Thanks for good contents.

Reza Ebadi

Dear Sir many thanks for you guideline. it was very effective for me. Thanks a Million

Debashis Rout

Well explained with practical business case

Allen

Wow, this article was incredibly helpful! I’ve heard about the Business Model Canvas before, but I wasn’t sure exactly how it worked or how to use it for my own business.

NIMAKO JAMES

I need a sample of business model canvas for a beauty palour

Opoku Samuel

you’ve done a great job. keep it up

Claudia Roca

This is a very insightful content with a step-by-step practical approach of how to write a BMC and what exactly it should contain.

My team and I literally used your guide to write a BMC for a project we were working on, and in just about an hour we were done.

Thank you so much for this content, it was really helpful.

Franco

Thank you very much Collins and we are glad you are using this tool.

Jude

Insightful! Gave me the clarity I needed for my upcoming business. Thank you so much.

Praveen

Thank you very much for the business model example of ZARA. It was very very informative

Efi

This is a great explanation, the best i’ve seen. Thanks

Thank you very much for reading and sharing your comments

Tatyasaheb Phadtare

Really great tool for business and whom want to enter,. Thanks

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How to Build a Product Roadmap Based on a Business Model Canvas

Could you list all of the key building blocks you need to develop, manage, maintain, market, and sell a product on a single sheet of paper? With the business model canvas, you can! Using the business model canvas approach is a great way to force yourself to focus on the most strategically important elements of your product. As the name suggests, the typical use case for this tool is to outline the fundamental building blocks of a business, but it also can work really well for a product.

Today we’ll show you how the business model canvas works and how you can use it to come up with a high-level product strategy.

What is a Business Model Canvas?

As you can see from the sample example below (thanks, Strategyzer.com), a business model canvas is a one-page summary describing the high-level strategic details needed to get a business (or product) successfully to market.

The categories or buckets contained in a canvas can be customized. But most will look similar to the one here—covering such key areas as:

  • The product’s value propositions (what it does and promises)
  • Customer segments (who it’s for)
  • Key activities (the steps the team must complete to make it successful)
  • Key resources (what personnel, tools, and budget the team will have access to)
  • Channels (how the organization will market and sell it)
  • Customer relationships (how the team will support and work with its customer base)
  • Key partners (how third parties will fit into the plan)
  • Cost structure (what it costs to build the product as well as how to sell and support it)
  • Revenue streams (how the product will make money)

Business Model Canvas by Strategyzer

If you think about it, that’s a fairly comprehensive set of building blocks you’ll need to think through for your product before you begin developing it. There will certainly be additional factors that’ll affect your strategy, but if you can fill in these high-level details—which, as you can see, should fit comfortably on a single page—you’ll have a useful strategic guide for developing your product roadmap.

Why Should I Use a Business Model Canvas to Develop a Product Roadmap?

Okay, but why? What’s the benefit of building a business model canvas (or the, even more, stripped-down variation, the lean canvas) to guide my product roadmap ?

There are plenty of reasons. But simply put, you can think of a business model canvas as a mission statement for your product roadmap. It’s a handy reference you can refer to, to make sure your roadmap always reflects all the strategic elements needed for your product’s success.

Tweet This: “Think of a business model canvas as a mission statement for your product roadmap.”

Our co-founder Jim Semick has a couple of great short videos explaining the business model canvas concept, which you can check out in the player below.

As Jim explains, here are a few of the benefits of using a business model canvas to think through product strategies:

1. You can use a business model canvas to roadmap quickly.

You can use this canvas approach in just a few hours (and as Jim says, you can even do it with sticky-notes).

This way, rather than trying to write out every detail about your product plan beforehand, you can just document the highlights—and then you can get rolling translating the canvas into your product roadmap.

Read the Product Roadmaps Guide ➜

2. A business model canvas will be more agile.

One problem with the old structure of documenting a business model—the traditional business plan—was that it was almost always inaccurate as soon as the author finished drafting it.

These meaty plans included detailed cost estimates, revenue projections going years into the future, and long-term plans for growing the staff. How could any of that remain accurate for long?

In product terms, you can think of the business plan as resembling an MRD (Market Requirements Document). It’s long, detailed, and probably mostly untrue by the time it’s done.

But because you can put a canvas together so quickly, it will much more accurately reflect your strategic thinking and your company’s current reality. And if things change, it’ll be easier than a long and detailed plan to adjust. This brings us to Jim’s third benefit…

3. Business model canvas roadmaps allow you to pivot as needed.

If you build a business model canvas to guide your business roadmap , and something happens that forces you to re-prioritize or pivot your product , it will be a lot easier to update this short, high-level document than it would be if you had some monster MRD or business plan to tear apart and edit.

With a one-page business model canvas acting as the strategic undergirding for your roadmap, you’ll always be able to quickly spot any items or plans that need updating whenever priorities change or new realities demand that you adjust your approach.

How Can I Use A Business Model Canvas to Guide My Product Roadmap?

The alexa example.

Let’s talk through a hypothetical example, using Amazon’s Echo device (“Alexa”) as our guide.

Imagine that as they were talking through what belonged in the “Revenue Streams” bucket of the business model canvas, Amazon’s Echo team came up with three sources of revenue to start with:

1) Selling Echo devices.

2) Using the device to sell other stuff as customers ask it to connect to the Amazon marketplace. (“Alexa, please add laundry detergent pods to my shopping cart.”)

3) Licensing Echo’s proprietary speech-recognition technology to other businesses.

Now, if the Echo product team put these on their business model canvas, they’d know that they need to make room for budget, time, and resources on their product roadmap for all of these revenue streams.

Another Hypothetical Example of the Business Model Canvas: Channels

Or think about the Channels bucket in the business model canvas. If your team was building out a canvas, maybe you’d have several ideas for reaching customers:

1) The in-house sales team. 2) Affiliate partners. 3) Word-of-mouth advertising from users.

It’s easy to write. But how are you going to translate that “word-of-mouth” strategy into an actual plan?

Maybe you’ll need to budget time and resources for developing things right into your product that make it easier for users to share their experiences with friends, such as a handy tool to help them tweet about it. Maybe you’ll even want to include an “Invite a friend” feature that lets users easier send a trial license to friends, or a couponing feature that offers some reward to a user who brings in two more users.

The point is, your business model canvas can serve as a great strategic reminder of the things you’ve determined are important enough to make it onto your product roadmap .

So you can always look back and see immediately—it’s just one page, after all—if you’re still working on all of the essential elements of your product, or if you’ve inadvertently strayed from them and gotten lost in the wrong details.

That’s why we’re big proponents of the business model canvas approach to guiding your product roadmap .

Do you have an opinion about using the business model canvas approach for developing and documenting your product’s strategy? Feel free to share them in the comments section.

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what is a business model canvas for

Business Model Canvas

Creating a BMC in Miro

Table of Contents

What is a business model canvas (bmc).

In today's fast-paced business world, clearly and concisely visualizing your organization's operating model is vital to success. That's where a business model canvas (BMC) comes in.

A business model canvas is a strategic tool used to visualize, create, and evaluate business ideas and models. A business model canvas is a visual representation of your business's key aspects. You use it to identify opportunities for growth and improvement and to maximize revenue potential.

what is a business model canvas for

Who uses a business model canvas?

A BMC is a useful tool for anyone who wants to improve their operating model. This can include key aspects like how to make money from your product or service, exploring new markets for expansion, or refining existing processes. A BMC makes it easy to understand and reach your objectives.

When to use a business model canvas

Now that we've explored why businesses are turning to a business model canvas for their strategic planning, let's look at some real-world examples. Here are three popular use cases for a BMC:

Developing a new business model

A BMC helps develop an operating model for a new venture. It can identify critical components and explore potential opportunities.

Refining an existing business model

Established businesses can use a BMC to refine their current operating model. It also helps to identify ways to optimize processes, reduce costs, or expand into new markets.

Validating assumptions

Startups looking for funding often use a BMC as part of their pitch to validate assumptions about their product or service offering.

Benefits of using a business model canvas

A business model canvas has a wide range of benefits to offer businesses of all types and sizes. Here are five key advantages:

1. Provides a structure for ideation

A business model canvas is a way to think about building a successful business. It separates the business into different pieces, like customer segments, revenue streams, and key activities. Using a BMC enables you to analyze each aspect of your business systematically.

2. Your value proposition is at the center

Your value proposition is the most important part of your business model. If you know it well, you can build your business model around it. Then, with the BMC, you can make sure every component delivers toward the unique value that sets your business apart.

3. Visual framework

Using a visual structure like the BMC makes it easier to understand how the different parts of your business are connected. The BMC will help you identify where you might need more resources or how you can optimize your current resources. Or you can use this visual format to easily explain your business model to stakeholders who aren't as familiar with the intricacies of your industry.

4. Complete view of your business

A BMC lets you see your business as a whole. Working through the different aspects of the BMC will help you understand how each contributes to your success. This complete view also helps you identify dependencies and risks, which can help you plan and adjust more effectively.

5. Everything is combined in one visual

The best thing about using a business model canvas is that it's in one visual which shows the key components of your business in a concise, easy-to-understand way. Having everything in one visual also makes collaborating with team members or stakeholders easier, making sure everyone is on the same page.

How to complete the BMC

Miro's BMC template can help you better understand your business. This template lets you explore the key components of your business using sticky notes. To start, go to the business model canvas template and complete each section.

Key partners

To make a business model canvas, identify the key partners needed to make your business model work. Think about suppliers, distributors, or other entities that could help your business run more smoothly or effectively. Consider the nature of these partnerships, how they benefit your business, and how you'll maintain those relationships over time.

Key activities

The key activities section of a business model canvas lists what your business needs to do to deliver value to your customers. Think about the core activities required to create your product or service, plus any supporting functions like marketing or accounting. When completing this section, focus on high-level activities and avoid getting bogged down in the details.

Key resources

This section of a business model canvas refers to the assets of your business. These might include physical resources like equipment and inventory or intangible assets like intellectual property or human capital. Consider which resources are critical to your business success and how you can best leverage them to achieve your goals.

Key proposition

The key propositions section of a business model canvas describes your business's value proposition. Think about what benefits your product or service provides customers. Then think about how it differs from what's already on the market. This section allows you to differentiate yourself from competitors and position your business for success.

Customer relationships

Identify how your business interacts with its customers in the customer relationship section. This section could include direct communication channels like email or social media. Also consider indirect customer loyalty programs. When completing this section, think about building trust and maintaining a positive relationship with your customers throughout each stage of the customer journey.

The channels section of a business model canvas describes how customers will interact with your business. It also describes the sale channels for your product or service. Think about online and offline channels and how each channel is used at different stages of the customer journey. When completing this section, focus on the channels that'll be most effective for your target audience.

Customer segments

The different groups of customers your business serves are described in the customer segments section. Think about each segment's needs or problems and how your product or service can address those needs. When completing this section, clearly define your target audience and consider potential future segments.

Cost structure

The cost structure section of a business model canvas lists expenses your business has. These include materials, labor, marketing, or technology. Consider fixed and variable costs and how your business can spend efficiently to maximize efficiency.

Revenue streams

If you have a business, you need to figure out how it makes money. Think about how you'll make money from your product or service. Your revenue streams may change over time as your business evolves.

Time to build your own business model canvas

A business model canvas gives businesses a structure and focus to help create clarity within their business plan and operations. Using a BMC, you can better understand how your business functions while setting yourself up for success.

So what are you waiting for? Use Miro's business model canvas template to create a high-level overview of your operating model and work towards realizing your organization's full potential.

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Project management

What is a Business Model Canvas?

Paul Hersztowski

Paul Hersztowski

Head of Studio

26 March 2020

If you’ve ever planned a company, you likely know that there are a lot of moving parts to consider. Finding a centralized, essential view to take it all in can be tricky. Fortunately, this is where the business model canvas comes in! 

Business Model Canvas Definition

A business model canvas is a visual representation of a business model, highlighting all key strategic factors. In other words, it is a general, holistic and complete overview of the company’s workings, customers, revenue streams and more.

The actual business model canvas definition was first proposed by Alexander Osterwalder, a Swiss entrepreneur, and consultant, but has gone to be used around the world. 

What’s the Purpose of a Business Model Canvas?

Other than providing a general overview of the business model, these canvases enable companies to visualize and analyze their strategy. This includes updating the model as the company evolves, such as changes in the market, new streams or expansions.

The business model canvas provides the central, common source of knowledge through which each department can add their unique input from their respective domains.

It is a template that defines the business - specifically, how each section interacts with the others. For example, understanding the value proposition, the target customer and the channels through which they are engaged all need to be analyzed together, not just in individual vacuums.

Alternatively, the business model canvas can be used by organizations to plan, assess or execute new models altogether. In this way, the canvas highlights the key essentials and ensures that no vital factors are forgotten. If the canvas is incomplete, then the respective strategy is also incomplete.

Elements of a Business Model Canvas

So, what does a business model canvas include?

Customer Segments

Whether its B2B or B2C, all businesses have customers. These are the people or organizations that buy your products, use your service or are otherwise essential for creating a profit. 

Customers can be defined through various means but it’s important to focus on the core customers first, then assess less critical or potential future clients. The canvas should assess, among other factors:

Current and future needs : what are customers looking for, and what might they be looking for in the immediate future?

General demographic : age range, location, interests, etc

Likes, dislikes and pain points : what do your customers enjoy and what puts them off? Knowing this will help understand how best to approach them.

Relations with other segments : this is important if your business relies on multiple groups interacting. Airbnb, for example, has both property owners and guests - the business strategy only works if both are satisfied.

Additionally, you can list additional segments that may utilize the product or service in the future. This will highlight future directions the strategy can go in, once success has been gained with the core, primary audience(s).

Value Proposition

A company’s value proposition is the sum of its various products and services, specifically in regards to how it uniquely stands out amongst the competition. In layman's terms: what is the unique factor that makes this business better than another?

The creator of the business model canvas, Osterwalder has also stated that organizations need to offer something unique and, what’s more, this needs to be immediately discernible from the competition.

The value proposition can be as simple as being cheaper, faster, more efficient or more readily available than the competition. However, we can roughly place all values in two broad categories:

Quantitative. This refers to benefits that can be easily counted; from a customer’s point of view, this means they can be easily compared to the competition. Examples of this can include pricing or speed. Users may very well choose your service because it's cheaper or quicker.

Qualitative. This refers to abstract concepts such as value or experience - those that can’t be readily measured by hard numbers, but nonetheless, give a strong emotional response to your audience. Examples of this can include various characteristics, such as using local products, being eco-friendly or having a personal, customer-centric approach that competitors lack.

Another way of expressing the core value is by asking what you want customers to remember. When it comes to recommending your business to others, what’s the essential benefit that people should mention? This is the value that your organization needs to drive - so it needs to be on the canvas.

Of course, your value also needs to be maintained. For instance, if your value lies in being the only service in a respective region, what will happen when a larger competitor eventually decides to move in? The business model canvas should highlight these weaknesses, in order to better plan ahead.

How will you and your customer interact? Once you define your customer, as well as flesh out your unique value, this will impact what channels you use. 

For example, if your audience is busy and on the go, a mobile-facing service will be essential. Likewise, if you’re targeting specific locations, perhaps a physical presence is also needed? What’s important here is that you consider the many touchpoints that your customers may want and highlight the beneficial ones.  

However, it should be noted that channels can adapt over time and this is one area where the business model canvas is likely to be updated. 

For example, when Domino’s first started, there were only a handful of options, namely dialing the store or visiting in-person. The invention of the internet and mobile apps quickly changed this and now there are over 10 different ways, including smart TVs, slack integration and voice commands. 

Yet the decision to expand with new digital products didn’t just happen on a whim; the business model canvas considered the customer needs (efficiency and a desire for less effort) with their value proposition (making food ordering and delivery as easy as possible) to define new channels. 

Customer Relationships

This section covers your relationship with each customer. This includes how customers first came to use your business, how you kept these initial customers and, ultimately, how the business will grow its audience.

There are a number of factors to consider here, especially in regards to the type of relationship you want:

Personal Assistance. In these forms, customer service is essential. Clients want a personal approach from your company and, in turn, you offer a direct approach tailored to their specific needs. This often involves having employees attached to specific customers (such as a sales or business development position) both before and after the sale process itself. This is something a bank might have for its business clients, for example. How dedicated this exact relationship depends on the nature of your service, as well as your customers.

Automation and Self-Service . On the other hand, you might not want to have a direct, personal relationship at all. This can often be found in e-commerce stores, for example; customers just want to browse and shop at will, without speaking to anyone. Automation can enhance this through personalization, without the customer being aware, such as Netflix’s recommended viewing.

Communities. Alternatively, if your target audience is a particular niche, segment or region, you might want to establish a community. In this approach, your business model brings people of shared interests together, to facilitate more actions.

Revenue Streams

Ultimately, a company has to turn a profit. On the business model canvas, this is represented by revenue streams: the various channels with which income can be generated.

Here are the most common revenue streams to consider:

Asset or goods sales: this is one of the oldest streams. By selling goods, the business generates revenue at each transaction.

Subscription: If your providing an ongoing service or rented out products, then these fall under subscription models; your customers pay on a regular schedule (such as per month or year) as long as they are using your business.

Leasing or lending: This is similar to the subscription, but differs in that it’s for a predefined period. Car rentals, for instance, often do this, as customers define the rental period before purchasing. Newer models, however, try to challenge this status quo by offering a more subscription-based service.

Licensing: This is where the business sells licenses to other companies or individuals to use the property. It’s similar to sale, but differs in that you still own the intellectual property; the user can’t resell it.

White labeling: Similar to licensing, white labeling is where you provide a product or service that businesses can relabel as their own. This is typically done as a subscription or one-off license purchase, so it can be considered an additional variant of the above.

Advertising: Perhaps your model is designed to attract users, but currently drive revenue from advertising opportunities? Social media networks are the most famous example of this; they don’t make money through purchases or subscriptions, but through charging advertisers to benefit from this network.

It’s important to note that these revenue streams are not set in stone - they will adapt and evolve as the market changes. As a business, you should regularly return to the canvas to make sure each stream is as effective as it can be. This includes different pricing plans and options (especially if you have multiple streams) or adding new streams, such as with Domino’s, for example.

Key Resources

Every organization runs on resources: the essential assets in running the business and providing the value (defined earlier) to customers. Like the other elements, this can come in many forms.

Human resources: if you’re providing personalized value or have a model that requires a lot of staff, the cost and training of employees need to be considered.

Financial: how much investment is required to run and maintain a business before it makes a profit? The more money is needed upfront, the bigger the burden to generate ROI.

Physical: expanding your presence, opening offices or buying physical space is also an asset that needs to be considered. This is mostly true for organizations that need prominent positions, such as high street retailers or hotels. For a lot of businesses, the push into a digital landscape is quickly reducing the strain of this particular resource.

Intellectual property: this can include everything needed to develop your IP (such as an app), as well as develop and maintain it. For example, subscriptions and licenses survive by ensuring customers can not use the service without your business, as you still hold the intellectual property rights.

Through these factors, you should identify what is currently available and what is needed to succeed. Much of this will be defined in your previous channels; this is where you focus on what those channels need to succeed - with an end goal of creating a sustainable business model.

Key Activities

Similar to the last section, what do you need to do to produce your value proposition and ensure it succeeds? This section includes the key activities needed to make your model effective and successfully connect with customers.

This can include initial investment, such as finding a development company, or even marketing and advertising to generate that initial awareness. This section should take everything into account, including the impact each has on the overall business, to understand the absolute essentials and recommended extras.

Key Partnerships

Very few companies survive on their own. Identifying and preparing key partnerships is essential for long term survivability. Here are the primary partnerships that you’ll typically need to consider.

Distributors: how will your business sell to customers? Whether its using online stores, sales agents or other companies, you need some form of distribution.

“Coopetition”: sometimes two businesses, that would otherwise be competitors, can join forces to take on larger markets. This works where this is enough potential gains that a joint venture makes more fiscal sense: there isn’t a clear risk of one siding gaining at the expense of the others. For example, smaller organizations can often team up to provide a larger, holistic offer to users, or to even attend events that are outside of either side’s budget.

Suppliers: Similar to distribution, you also need suppliers for everything from raw materials to software development. If there’s something you need and can’t produce in-house, then you need to identify trusted suppliers.

Existing customers: Perhaps if you have existing clients, you can offer some recommendation rewards, or a commission-based system, to spread awareness? 

Like everything else, much of this will be subject to change. As the business grows, you might find you no longer need certain partnerships, and likewise need to move to others. All of this should be noted in the business model canvas.

Cost Structure

Finally, as far as business model canvas elements go, you need to define all potential costs. After all, you need to know how much you’ve spent to know when you’re generating profit. The cost structure takes both existing and future costs into account:

Fixed costs are the easiest to determine as they have a singular price or a repetitive price that doesn’t change. Rent is a good example.

Variable costs, on the other hand, can vary and their high peaks need to be accounted for. Factors such as temperature can often impact businesses that need to maintain a certain heat or humidity - they may spend more (or less) in the warmer months.

Economies of scale and scope , similarly, refer to decreasing costs as the business expands. This is because larger production can introduce better efficiencies (scale) while creating new partnerships and improving internal processes, as a result, can improve the wider organization (scope). For example, you might rely on third-party providers for immediate support, such as packaging, but move this in-house when it becomes cost-efficient to do so.

It’s important to understand these variables so that the business model canvas provides a realistic view of costs right now, as well as where the company aims to be short.

Benefits of a Business Model Canvas

Visuals at a glance.

Thanks for having everything in one place, people in the company can gain an immediate understanding of the business model as a whole. It’s easily interpretable and offers a single source of truth for the wider strategy.

Quick Improvements & Iterations

By having everything connected, organizations can see how every part of the business works with the wider structure. This is where people can highlight flaws or identify solutions. By comparing all the factors, such as customers, revenue streams and costs, the company can begin to make strategic improvements it might not have otherwise identified before.

Nobody wants to go through a 2-hour presentation everything they want to go through the business strategy. The business model canvas definition is a better way to show this plan. It can be easily shown to new people to help bring them up to speed, while simple changes don’t require extensive explanations; people can see how they fit onto the updated canvas.

TL;DR - What Is a Business Model Canvas?

A business model canvas is an effective way to bring all the elements of your strategy together, from initial costs to customer & revenue streams. Doing so helps bring in all departments in your company and allows for a broad, but deep, an overview of the intended business model. Whether its propose updates to an existing strategy or developing an entirely new company, the canvas is one of the best ways to get an initial overview and assess directions as early as possible.

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Home Blog Business What is a Business Model Canvas? Quick Guide + Examples

What is a Business Model Canvas? Quick Guide + Examples

What is a Business Model Canvas

Based on the work of Alexander Osterwalder, a Business Model Canvas , or BMC for short, is a diagram used to visualize a business model; it allows structured organization and a quick method of evaluation and reflection on the effectiveness of a Business Model. The use and study of Business Model Canvas Examples allows us to understand it in a complete way and apply it to different types of organizations.

The Role of the Business Model Canvas

What are the benefits of using a business model canvas, 1. customer segments, 2. value propositions, 3. customer relationships, 4. channels, 5. revenue streams, 6. key activities, 7. key resources, 8. key partnerships, 9. cost structure, the power of a bmc in entrepreneurship: visualize the business model, mcdonald’s.

  • How to Utilize a Business Model Canvas for your Success

Business Model Canvas PowerPoint Templates

Whether it be in small business entrepreneurship or large corporate product launches, the business model sits at the center. The one thing that stands at the very heart of the daily operations of an organization, is a model that dictates where the opportunity lies and how the company effectively acts on it at each step in the process.

The very best professionals will have all of this knowledge and action driving their decisions. However, the original business model one may follow may not always be applicable to the obstacles that an organization faces, thus it’s incredibly useful to fully display organizational structure and operations.

The Business Model Canvas is a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes and industries. Here are some key benefits of using this visual framework:

Simplifies Complexity: Business models can be intricate, with various elements and interactions. The BMC simplifies this complexity by breaking down the model into nine essential building blocks. This visual representation makes it easier for entrepreneurs, team members, and stakeholders to grasp the core components of the business without getting lost in a lengthy business plan. It’s a powerful tool for distilling complex ideas into a clear, concise format.

Enhances Focus: When creating a BMC, you’re prompted to think critically about each building block, such as customer segments, value propositions, and revenue streams. This process encourages a deep understanding of how these components interact and depend on each other. By explicitly defining these elements, you gain a sharper focus on your business strategy and objectives. It helps you identify gaps, redundancies, or areas where your model can be refined.

Promotes Collaboration: The BMC is designed to be a collaborative tool. It’s not something a single person creates in isolation; instead, it encourages cross-functional teams to work together. Each team member can contribute their expertise to fill in the relevant sections. This collaborative approach ensures that everyone involved in the project shares a common understanding of the business model, which is essential for successful execution.

Iterative and Adaptable: Business environments are dynamic, and your business model should be too. The BMC supports an iterative approach, allowing you to make changes and updates as needed. For instance, if market conditions change, you can easily adjust your value propositions or customer segments. It’s a flexible tool that accommodates experimentation and learning. You can use it to test different assumptions and hypotheses about your business and refine your model accordingly.

Cost-Effective: Creating a traditional business plan can be a time-consuming and expensive process. In contrast, developing a BMC is a cost-effective alternative. It doesn’t require extensive resources or financial investments. This makes it particularly valuable for startups and small businesses with limited budgets. It’s a pragmatic way to initiate strategic planning, especially in the early stages of a venture when resources are scarce.

The Basics of the Business Model Canvas

Whether one is creating an all-new business model, comparing a pre-existing model, or adjusting a model to improve value, the BMC excels in keeping anyone invested in the business on track without wasting time and focus. By displaying only, the most critical pieces in business operations or a product, this tool is both a time saver and a method to sharpen your awareness of expectations vs. reality.

Here is the Business Model Canvas explained: There are nine sections in a BMC, each containing a specified topic of information that composes the core of any business model.

PPT Template Business Model Canvas

This section contains the information related to the core target audience that you are selling to. Simple and traditional segmentation analysis must be done to identify the top segments of the model. Start simple with questions like Which are the demographics of the major customer groups being targeted? Why are they going to be interested in the product or service? In essence, how well does the model comprehend who is being sold to? It is crucial that you identify clearly the segments as when facing reality, you will need to focus only in a few (1 or 2) to really test your model without a full operation in place.

Create a list of the unique business value propositions you will offer. Why is the idea or company valuable? What makes it stand above competitors? If there aren’t any direct competitors, what gaps are being filled in given markets?

This section could be extremely lengthy, depending on the business model, but should only contain the most central concepts at the heart of the model that attract customers or generate revenues. This section will contain the aspects of the business that relieve a customer’s pains. If you’re struggling to identify what is most important, consider using a Value Proposition Canvas, another easy-to-visual tool that helps establish your target audience with your strengths. Focus on solving a real pain for the segments identified.

The information of this section should refer to how to connect segments and the value proposition. During the analysis, you should be asking questions like How are customers convinced that your product or organization has the advertised special qualities? What methods are used to interact with them? How does an audience engage with each strategy in the product lifecycle? Additionally, how is customer engagement tracked?

Once the customer is convinced of the goods or services, how would you deliver them? This should include every step of the process it takes to make the financial transaction and value delivery possible. Is there a separate supplier? Who distributes the product? How is it displayed? Think about what the model requires from start to finish in order to make a sale.

If the customer connects with the product or service, and they want to proceed with doing business, then how does the actual exchange of money happen? How is the cash flow tracked? Are there any middlemen between the sale and the income to the business?

Business Model Canvas Diagram for PowerPoint

Source: Editable Business Model Canvas PowerPoint Template

This section should include specific activities that the organization will do to create value. Unlike the Value Propositions, it’s not just about a new product or business practice, but rather the day-to-day operations that each team will take.

Similar to Key Activities but focusing on assets that are used. Is there a special supplier? Is there access to any materials or a local storefront that puts you in an advantageous position? Do you have a special intellectual property or patent that introduces new knowledge into the niche?

For areas that may be lacking, or areas that are too costly for the business to manage by itself, what can be outsourced to partners to focus on? Which areas would it be more cost-efficient to hire from supporting businesses? Specifically, identify model strengths, maximize time and money on them, and move identified weaknesses to connected partners that can address them better or solve them altogether.

Finally, what are the major expenses in the model? Are they a flat fee, or are they a variable cost? This may factor into previous sections, like key activities, resources, and partnerships.

Additionally, how does this relate to the Revenue Streams? How will the predicted costs vs. the actual be monitored? Most importantly, what will be done if costs outweigh the incoming funds?

Creating a Business Model Canvas involves analyzing each of these sections individually and as a whole, and connecting the dots between them.

Introducing a new business or product to the world is no small undertaking, especially when you consider how much competition and other new ideas are thrown into the world on a regular basis.

This also means keeping the model current and responsive. A business model, after all, is only a well-educated guess on how to generate success from a demand. If reality does not match up to the prediction, then even the very best business models are useless. A BMC is your abstract representation of how a business delivers value to customers to help them solve problems.

Steven Blank’s book to entrepreneurs and business leaders, ‘Four Steps to the Epiphany’ , demonstrates the difference between those who watch and listen to their model in action, and those who convince themselves that their business model is flawless, and the world will adjust to follow it instead. The fact is, you may have the most amazing ideas in the world, but it won’t matter if you aren’t paying attention to unforeseen challenges that arise between conception and actualization of a successful model.

The BMC is an excellent tool to get away from the guesswork, and out into the metaphorical streets. It allows an individual or team to compare expectations with reality, to double-check targets and see if those targets are still manageable, and it gives an opportunity to make adjustments to a business model before it’s too late.

This practice is called, ‘Get out of the building’, an important part of the Lean Startup Methodology . It means to develop a BMC and test it against reality. For this to work, you need to create an MVP ( Minimum Viable Product ) that materializes your Value proposition and tests it against real-life customers. Testing means that they should really purchase the MVP and that they complete the different sections of the BMC for true validation. This process is really iterative, and it helps entrepreneurs and business executives make the adjustments necessary to really market a value proposition, reducing the risk of mounting a full-scale operation.

Get Out Of The Building PowerPoint Template

Business Model Canvas Examples

By using examples of Business Model Canvas, we can evaluate business models and identify just what changes need to be made to the model in order to ensure growth and success. In addition, analyzing Business Model Canvas examples and being able to study success stories is beneficial to be able to apply it in different industries, helping you better understand Business Model Canvas explained with examples.

Let’s take a look at the BMC Example of the MoviePass company, which launched with the idea to sell a monthly service to the general public for daily movie tickets at major theater chains for a flat monthly membership fee. The company reasoned that they could benefit two groups, the average moviegoer would be able to see more movies, and movie theaters themselves would see better attendance. This innovative approach required the development of robust membership software to handle the logistics and subscriptions efficiently, making it one of the notable examples of a business model.

In theory, it sounds like a reasonable concept, but in reality, MoviePass had not developed a functional business model which resulted in a poor performance against new technologies. There was no constant evaluation to keep track of their cash flow, and by failing to keep the company growing fast enough, it couldn’t support the necessary costs. Perhaps if leadership had followed a BMC these issues may have been recognized earlier.

Business Model Canvas Example - MoviePass

By using the BMC, MoviePass could have visualized earlier that the business model was in need of a pivot, a change to a section of the model in order to address an issue. In MoviePass’s case, areas like cash flow and customer acquisition had some gaps that required a solution. Had the company been more aware of its business model, it might have seen a need for a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) where they could test the results of their ideas with a few early adopters.

An MVP is the bare bones of a product or service that can provide invaluable information about how a small group of customers reacts. By having a testing period of limited engagement, a business can limit costs while drastically improving knowledge on how to proceed. Had MoviePass used this, they might’ve been able to observe early on that some customers used their service to the max, purchasing a movie ticket per day, far outweighing the profit of their service from the cost of providing it.

The pivot would adjust to their business model, and a new MVP could be created to test the new approach. This new iteration of the business may have changed the original direction of the company. Through each pivot and each new iteration of the model, MoviePass BMC would adjust accordingly, allowing an easy method in which to keep track of the major changes without getting overwhelmed in all the details that lay underneath each educated decision.

There are, however, examples of well-crafted business models that can be observed on a BMC. Let’s take a company that has spread its business model all over the world and has undoubtedly enacted countless pivots and iterations of the business model in order to evolve, adapt, and thrive over the years: McDonald’s, as one of the prime business model examples.

When thinking about the massive scope of McDonald’s, it’s both interesting and telling of how the BMC can still capture the essence of their business model. McDonald’s is a global corporate cash cow requiring a rock-solid model, but that doesn’t mean it’s the same one since the conception of the company.

With the many decades in operation, you can be sure that a McDonald’s BMC would not look the same at the beginning as it does today. What originally started as a single burger joint on a street corner, now faces the challenges of global food service. Each time a new challenge or opportunity presented itself, the McDonald’s business model was forced to pivot by observing the environment, developing an appropriate plan of action, and monitoring the progress accordingly.

Over the years the world has grown to experience many iterations of the McDonald’s brand, whether it be an icon of American cuisine or an example of adaptation to dietary health. Flexible and ambitious, McDonald’s always made sure the business model matched the desired outcomes.

Business Model Canvas Example McDonalds

Uber is a ride-hailing service that has caused massive disruption for conventional taxi services. By using digital technology and a specific standard for cars and drivers offered to customers, many taxi services and individual taxi drivers have found it hard to compete with Uber. In contrast to developed countries, taxi drivers in developing countries have been unable to meet the minimum vehicle standards to qualify as Uber drivers, competing with them virtually out of the market. On the contrary, it has also attracted a new segment of people looking to use Uber as a part-time job to earn extra money.

By looking at Uber using the BMC Example we can see that its key partners include customers, drivers, payment processors, mapping data providers, and local authorities in the country it operates. Its key activities include developing its digital platform and algorithms, driver onboarding, marketing to balance demand and supply, and supporting customers using the service. The key resources of Uber are its digital platform, pricing, and routing algorithms. Uber relies on a peer-to-peer (P2P) circular economy. Where customers and drivers continue to contribute to the Uber revenue in almost a loop. And since Uber is easier to use compared to conventional taxi services, both customers and drivers tend to often use it as a routine. For example, many drivers have completely switched to Uber from conventional taxi services and new drivers entering the market cannot imagine providing services without the model Uber provides. Similarly, customers can get used to the service in a way that the Uber service itself becomes a part of their daily routine.

The value proposition of Uber is the provision of an on-demand taxi service for customers, whenever and wherever they need it. Uber fills the gap for the availability of an instant taxi service, without the need to necessarily ensure pre-booking or find a taxi manually. This offers user convenience, with various value benefits for both the customer and drivers, including the option to avail a cash-free taxi service by customers, earning opportunities for drivers and the supply of passengers and drivers through its ever-increasing base of users.

Uber reaches its customers and even attracts new drivers through its marketing and makes it easier for people to use its services through its app. Making it easy for the customers and drivers to communicate. Uber provides the utility of not just an on-demand service but also uses its algorithms to match supply and demand, find the shortest routes for customers, and to allocate the closest driver. However, since Uber is primarily connecting customers and drivers, it also shifts much of its costs to the former, since it does not require owning and maintaining a large fleet of cars. It can also adjust its revenue based on the market it’s operating in, and adjust prices to match not only demand and supply but the purchasing power and market rates of the country or area it operates in.

Business Model Canvas Example - Uber

When Amazon started in 1994, terms like e-commerce or online shopping were virtually unheard of. In fact, Amazon can be easily credited with being one of the first e-commerce platforms in the world. However, its customer-led approach, with the convenience Amazon offered soon turned it into a famous retailer, which now has various other services attached to its name including an online video streaming platform called Amazon Prime, a cloud storage service (Amazon Drive), Kindle tablets, Fire TV, etc. However, to keep things simple, let’s look at Amazon’s BMC Example in the context of its retail store.

Amazon provides users with a range of services from its network of sellers. These sellers are rated by customers according to their experience and sellers that fail to adhere to Amazon’s standards are removed from the platform. For example, during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people began hoarding hand sanitizers and selling them at inflated prices online. Amazon was quick to act to remove such vendors.

The approach that Amazon has is based on not just connecting buyers and sellers but ‘continually raising the bar of the customer experience’. To ensure this, amazon often takes innovative steps that not only include improving its digital platform but also ensuring a steady supplier base. In 2019, Amazon announced $10,000 and three months worth of their gross salary to employees who quit their jobs and started a delivery service. Anticipating the need to expand its supplier base. Amazon has also been famous for offering competitive employee benefits and creating a corporate culture that encourages innovation and employee loyalty.

Through its colossal warehouses, customer-centric approach, and corporate culture that creates an atmosphere of employees to remain closely connected with the company, Amazon’s revenue stream simply does not rely on its customer experience, workforce, or supplier base but on how it’s able to create an environment where stakeholders, including customers and employees feel a sense of loyalty towards the company.

Business Model Canvas Example Amazon

Over the years, AirBnb has been among companies that have leveraged their platform to transform conventional modes of doing business. Using its rating-based digital platform, AirBnb enables people looking to rent accommodation and hosts to be able to connect and become a part of its revenue stream with a few simple taps or clicks.

The platform has not only helped people who have conventionally been renting out their property but also enabled individuals with extra space to consider becoming hosts to earn extra money by renting out space for a short period of time. Similarly, the customers benefit from avoiding hefty rates of hotels and expensive accommodation options.

Like Uber, AirBnb has also been a disruptive force in the market it has operated. It uses its digital infrastructure to connect travelers and hosts. While offering the value proposition of making money by utilizing underutilized space to hosts and offering low-cost accommodation for people looking to save money. This model has enabled the company to surpass large hotel chains and make a major impact in the industry for rent and accommodation. In 2020 AirBnb was valued at $75 billion, surpassing giants like Hyatt Hotels valued at $2.07 billion and Marriott Hotels International valued at $10.57 billion.

Business Model Canvas Example - AirBnb

From its launch in 1997 to 2006 in the United States, Netflix had a per-rental model per DVD. However, in 2007 it launched a subscription-based model that turned out to be more successful. Today, Netflix is available for streaming in over 190 countries, each with its own catalog of Movies and TV shows.

According to Netflix’s Business Model Canvas Example, its value proposition is the provision of on-demand entertainment regardless of where you are. Its subscription models provide access to one or more screens, with the utility to watch Netflix via mobile, tablet, laptop, gaming consoles, etc. Its packages include an economical package with an SD (480P) resolution limited to a single device to more exclusive packages offering Full HD (1080p) Ultra HD (4K) and HDR (2160p) resolutions.

Needless to say, the market segment of Netflix is quite close to universal. Outmaneuvering cable operators and conventional TV channels with exclusive on-demand content. While Netflix’s partners have included broadcasters and production companies, it has recently been focusing on original content. Through Netflix’s subscription-based model, there is very little need (if any) for customer interaction, unless a user is reporting a bug. The Netflix model focuses on self-service with an ‘all you can eat’ style subscription model, with algorithms constantly suggesting content to users to keep them engaged based on their viewing preferences.

Neflix Business Model Canvas Example

Ikea’s value proposition is to provide affordable furniture that is sturdy, aesthetic, and functional enough to cater to customer needs. In doing so Ikea claims to create a better everyday life for people who use its products. The Business Model Canvas Example of Ikea includes its vendors, suppliers, franchisees, and logistics partners making it possible to reach out to customers globally.

Unlike companies like Amazon, e-commerce is only part of Ikea’s operations, as it has a robust physical presence in more than 50 countries. Over the years Ikea has undergone continuous product development with new furniture designs and a range of products being released on a consistent basis. This has helped the company to cater to the needs of different customer segments including families, businesses, and people who need something that is easy to use, assemble, and disassemble.

Ikea Business Model Canvas Example

How to Utilize a Business Model Canvas for Your Success

Whether it be a brand-new business endeavor or a product launch at a long-standing company, it’s critical that the business model is kept at the core of every decision. A Free Business Model Canvas Template is a tool to easily keep the model insight and offers an easy method to open the dialogue when that model may need to pivot.

The whole purpose of the BMC is to allow for a simple presentation of information, reducing complications in understanding just what is required in each new iteration of a business model. At a glance, anyone invested in the outcome of the model should be able to understand the who, what, when, where, and why of the model, or bring it to everyone’s attention if they don’t.

Most importantly, the BMC is a tool to help drive success. If there are issues in your business model that need to be addressed, a BMC makes it easier to visualize where the gaps are, and how they may be filled. Keep in mind that pivoting is crucial to the success and survival of a business model and that change, growth, and adaptation are not an abandonment of what matters, but a natural progression to find the best outcomes to the ultimate goal. As Eric Ries, author of Startup Lessons Learned, puts it: ‘pivoting may lead [successful startups] far afield from their original vision, but if you look carefully, you’ll be able to detect common threads that link each iteration.’

Frequently Asked Questions

Business Model Canvas is like a blueprint for your business. It’s a visual tool that helps you plan, understand, and describe how your business works. It breaks down your business into key parts, like who your customers are, what you offer them, and how you make money.

A real-life example would be Airbnb. They use the Business Model Canvas to show how they connect hosts with travelers, offer unique accommodations, and earn money through commissions on bookings.

To determine your value proposition , you need to identify what makes your product or service special. Ask yourself: What problem does it solve for customers? What benefits do they get? Your value proposition should clearly communicate these advantages.

Building and maintaining customer relationships involves providing excellent customer service, staying engaged with customers through various channels (email, social media), seeking feedback, and addressing their needs promptly.

When establishing partnerships, consider what resources or expertise your business lacks and seek partners who can provide them. Think about how these partnerships will benefit both parties and align with your overall business goals.

The Business Model Canvas allows you to see all aspects of your business in one place, making it easier to identify weaknesses and opportunities. By analyzing each component, you can make informed decisions to optimize your model for better results.

Yes, the Business Model Canvas is versatile and can be used for various businesses, from startups to established companies, in different industries. It helps structure and clarify the business model for any venture.

The frequency of updates depends on your business and market dynamics. In rapidly changing industries, you might need more frequent updates, while others may do so annually or when major changes occur.

Use your Business Model Canvas as a visual aid during presentations. Walk stakeholders through each section, explaining how your business operates and creates value. Encourage questions and discussions to ensure clarity and alignment.

If you want to create professional-looking Business Model Presentations, take a look at the following Business Model Canvas templates , ready to edit and easy to use.

1. Free Business Model Canvas Template for PowerPoint

what is a business model canvas for

Build a top-notch company presentation using Free Business Model Canvas Template for PowerPoint. The cool scheme is relaxing to the eyes. The clear layout can provide the audience with quick understanding of the entire report in just one slide.

Use This Template

2. Animated 3D Business Model Canvas Template for PowerPoint

what is a business model canvas for

Created with a 3D Model, this professional PowerPoint Template is ideal for creating videos or animated versions of your Business Model Canvas. Very popular among educators and speakers of the entrepreneurship niche.

3. Business Model Canvas PowerPoint Templates

what is a business model canvas for

This Business Model Canvas PowerPoint Template is created 100% with editable PowerPoint Shapes, allowing the user to customize the content and visual appearance of the presentation. Suitable for educational presentations where you need to navigate each section of the BMC, or for investors presentations where you need to deep dive on each section of your Business Model.

4. Business Model Canvas Template for PowerPoint

what is a business model canvas for

Our most popular Business Model Canvas Template. Ideal for working in groups and iterating with different BMC’s. Its suitable for cooperation editing, and allows very simple compositions. Well suited for developing your MVP and crossing the assumptions that were negated by reality.

5. 3D Perspective Business Model Canvas PowerPoint Template

what is a business model canvas for

This Business Model Canvas Design is inspired in the idea of empty boxes, that entrepreneurs need to fill with their ideas. The design is simple to edit and decorated with a colorful theme. Designed to impress every audience.

6. Lean Canvas PowerPoint Template

what is a business model canvas for

This Lean Canvas template for PowerPoint and Google Slides is perfect for anyone who needs to pitch a business idea to investors, present their idea to stakeholders or company leadership. This template is 100% editable, allowing the user to customize the content and visual appearance.

7. Product Management Canvas PowerPoint Template

what is a business model canvas for

The Product Management Canvas PowerPoint Template is a strategic planning and modeling presentation. This is a single-slide template showing various aspects of product planning and successful management. The purpose of this canvas is to consider all aspects of the product.

8. Editable Business Model Canvas PowerPoint Template

what is a business model canvas for

Editable Business Model Canvas PowerPoint Template is a professional presentation representing the Business Model Canvas in “board” format. All the presentation design is completely editable and the user can move, or add, post-its like text boxes to work with the canvas.

9. Simple Business Model Canvas Template for PowerPoint

what is a business model canvas for

If you are looking to create an aesthetic Business Model Canvas Template, the Simple Business Model Canvas Template for PowerPoint will allow you to give your presentation the style you need. You will be able to add sticky notes with information for each of the sections of your Business Model.

10. Business Model Canvas Template with Widget Design

what is a business model canvas for

100% editable Business Model Canvas template for Google Slides and PowerPoint presentations, with a widget design and look and feel.

what is a business model canvas for

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Acquisition, Business Model Canvas, Channels, Cost Structure, Customer Development, Customer Relationship, Customer Segments, Key Activities, Key Partners, Key Resources, Lean Startup, Management, Minimum Viable Product, MVP, Prototyping, Revenue Streams, Startup, Steve Blank, Strategy, Value Proposition Filed under Business

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2 Responses to “What is a Business Model Canvas? Quick Guide + Examples”

If your business is a non-for-profit , how can you adapt your MVP? You are not selling anything as such, so how do you test if your product (MVP) will be purchased?

Hi Elena If there is a “business model”, there is always a business. So, you are selling something. Even non-for-profit sell. They just sell at “cost” or “subsidized”, but there are customers which pay at the end. Otherwise, rather non-for-profit, it is philanthropy and there is no “business” around. Hope this helps. Regards GV.

Leave a Reply

what is a business model canvas for

Strategic Management Insight

Business Model Canvas (BMC)

Business Model Canvas

What is the Business Model Canvas

Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a framework that helps determine how a business creates, delivers, and captures values. It is a visual representation of the important aspects or parts to consider when designing a Business Model.

BMC aids in constructing a shared understanding of a business by condensing it into a simple, relevant, and intuitively understandable one-page visual while not oversimplifying the complexities of how enterprises function.

This concept has been applied and tested around the world and is used in organizations such as GE, P&G, Nestlé, IBM, Ericsson, and Deloitte, including Government Services of Canada and many more [1],[2] .

The Nine Building Blocks

BMC describes a business through nine basic building blocks that show the logic of how a business intends to make money. These nine blocks cover the four main areas of a business: Customers, Offer, Infrastructure, and Financial Viability.

BMC acts as a shared language for describing, visualizing, assessing, and changing business models. It is like a blueprint for a strategy to be implemented through organizational structures, processes, and systems.

Nine building blocks of a business

Each of these blocks is explained in more detail as follows:

1. Customer Segments (CS)

These are the groups of people or organizations that a business aims to reach and serve. Customers are the heart of a business model, and without (profitable) customers, a business cannot survive.

Customers are grouped into distinct segments with common needs, common behaviors, or other attributes. Customer groups represent separate segments if:

  • Their needs require and justify a distinct offer.
  • They are reached through different Distribution Channels.
  • They require different types of relationships.
  • They have substantially different profitability.
  • They are willing to pay for different aspects of the offer.

An organization must make a conscious decision about which segment(s) to serve and which segments to ignore. Once this decision is made, a business model can be carefully designed around a strong understanding of specific customer needs.

The following two questions, if answered with clarity, help a business identify its CS.

  • For whom are we creating value?
  • Who are our most important customers?
  • What are the customer archetypes?

Examples of some of the Customer Segments are shown in the figure:

Examples of Customer Segments

2. Value proposition (VP)

Value Proposition describes the bundle of products and services that create value for a specific Customer Segment chosen by a business.

A VP is the reason why customers turn to one company over another. VP must solve a customer’s problem or satisfy a need. A business can have more than one VP, but each must consist of a selected bundle of products and/or services that caters to the requirements of a specific Customer Segment.

While some VPs may be innovative and represent a new or disruptive offer, others may be similar to existing market offers but with added features and attributes.

An organization’s VP must answer the following questions with clarity:

  • What value do we deliver to the customer?
  • Which one of our customer’s problems are we helping to solve?
  • Which customer needs are we satisfying?
  • What bundles of products and services are we offering to each CS?

Elements from some of the following can contribute to customer value creation:

Examples of Customer Value Propositions.

3. Channels (CH)

Channels describe how a company communicates with and reaches its Customer Segments to deliver a Value Proposition.

Channels are customer touch points that play an important role in the customer experience and serve several functions, including:

  • Raising awareness about a company’s products and services
  • Helping customers evaluate a company’s Value Proposition
  • Allowing customers to purchase specific products and services
  • Delivering a Value Proposition to customers
  • Providing post-purchase customer support

To establish an effective channel, a company must first answer the following:

  • Through which Channels do our Customer Segments want to be reached?
  • How are we reaching them now?
  • How are our Channels integrated?
  • Which ones work best?
  • Which ones are most cost-efficient?
  • How are we integrating them with customer routines?

There are five distinct phases (figure below) through which a channel passes, and it could cover more than one of these phases at a time.

Different phases of channels

Channels can be either direct, indirect or hybrid, as shown:

Different types of channels

Finding the right mix of Channels to satisfy how customers want to be reached is crucial in bringing a Value Proposition to market and can create a great customer experience.

4. Customer Relationships (CR)

Customer Relationships describe the types of relationships a company establishes with specific Customer Segments. Relationships can range from personal to automated. An organization’s CR strategy may be driven by one of the following motivators:

  • Customer acquisition
  • Customer retention
  • Boosting sales (upselling)

A business can arrive at the optimum CR by asking the following questions:

  • What type of relationship does each of our Customer Segments expect us to establish and maintain with them?
  • Which ones have we established?
  • How costly are they?
  • How are they integrated with the rest of our business model?

Several categories of Customer Relationships may co-exist in a company’s relationship with a particular Customer Segment. Some of which are:

Types of Customer Relationships

5. Revenue Streams (RS)

Revenue Streams represent the company’s cash (earnings) from each Customer Segment and are like the arteries of any business.

Revenue streams

There are two distinct categories of Revenue Streams:

  • Transaction Revenues which are one-time customer payments
  • Recurring Revenues that are ongoing payments to either deliver a Value Proposition to customers or provide post-purchase customer support

A business can arrive at its ideal revenue stream by asking the following questions:

  • For what value are our customers willing to pay?
  • For what do they currently pay?
  • How are they currently paying?
  • How would they prefer to pay?
  • How much does each Revenue Stream contribute to overall revenues?

There are several ways a business can generate revenue, such as:

Types of Revenue streams

A business may have one or more Revenue Streams, each with different pricing mechanisms. The choice of pricing mechanism greatly influences the revenues generated.

There are two main types of pricing mechanisms, Fixed and Dynamic, as follows:

Types of Pricing Mechanisms

6. Key Resources (KR)

The Key Resources describe the most important assets required to make a business model work.

These resources allow an enterprise to create and offer a Value Proposition, reach markets, maintain relationships with Customer Segments, and earn revenues. Different Key Resources are needed depending on the type of business model.

For example, a chip fabrication business like TSMC [9] requires capital-intensive facilities worth billions of dollars, while a chip designer like NVIDIA [10] would need skilled manpower as its Key Resource.

Key Resources can be owned or leased by a business or acquired from its key partners. They can be identified by answering the following questions:

  • What Key Resources do our Value Propositions require?
  • What resources are required to sustain our Distribution Channels, Customer Relationships and Revenue Streams?

Key Resources can be categorized as follows:

Key Resources

7. Key Activities (KA)

Key Activities describe the most important things a company must do to make its business model work. They are required to create and offer a Value Proposition, reach markets, maintain Customer Relationships, and earn revenues.

Key Activities differ depending on the business model type. For example, Microsoft’s Key Activity is software development, while for Dell, it is Supply Chain Management. For a consultancy firm like McKinsey, Key Activity is problem-solving.

A business can identify its Key Activities by answering the following questions:

  • What Key Activities do our Value Propositions require?
  • What activities directly contribute to maintaining our Distribution Channels, Customer Relationships and Revenue Streams?

Key Activities can be categorized as follows:

Key Activities

8. Key Partnerships (KP)

The Key Partnerships describe the network of suppliers and partners that make the business model. There are four types of partnerships:

Four types of partnerships

A business must ask the following questions before forming partnerships:

  • Who are our key partners?
  • Who are our key suppliers?
  • Which Key Resources are we acquiring from partners?
  • Which Key Activities do partners perform?

Primarily, there are three motivations for a business when creating partnerships, as shown:

Three motivators to creating partnerships

9. Cost Structure (CS)

Cost Structure describes all costs incurred to operate a business model. A business incurs costs in creating and delivering value, maintaining customer relationships, and generating revenue. Costs are business-specific, where some are more cost-driven than others.

A business must answer the following questions to arrive at an optimum cost structure:

  • What are the most important costs inherent in our business model?
  • Which Key Resources are most expensive?
  • Which Key Activities are most expensive?

While costs should be minimized in every business model, it is useful to distinguish between two broad classes of business model Cost Structures:

  • Cost Driven : This model focuses on minimizing costs wherever possible. This approach aims at creating and maintaining the leanest possible Cost Structure, using low-price Value Propositions, maximum automation, and extensive outsourcing. Examples: No frills airlines like Southwest & easyJet, Fast food joints such as McDonald’s & KFC.
  • Value Driven: Premium Value Propositions and a high degree of personalized service usually characterize value-driven business models. Examples: Luxury hotels, Expensive Cars like Rolls-Royce

Cost Structures can have the following characteristics:

characteristics of cost structures

Putting-it-all together

The nine business model Building Blocks form the basis for a handy tool, which is called the Business Model Canvas (figure below). This tool resembles a painter’s canvas preformatted with nine blocks that allow painting pictures of new or existing business models. It is a hands-on tool that fosters understanding, discussion, creativity, and analysis.

Template for The Business Model Canvas

BMC works best when printed out on a large surface such that groups of people can jointly note, sketch, and discuss business model elements.

Example of Business Model Canvas

Nespresso [17] , a fully owned daughter company of Nestlé, changed the dynamics of the coffee industry by turning a transactional business (selling coffee through retail) into one with recurring revenues (selling proprietary pods through direct channels).

The two-part strategy involved selling their patented coffee machine to retail customers first to lock them into the brand. This generated a recurring demand for coffee refills (pods) that led to constant revenues. These pods were sold directly through mail/website/own stores, thereby eliminating middlemen/dealers, which further increased profits [1] .

Nespresso’s strategy plotted on a Business Model Canvas looks as follows:

Example of business model canvas

Business Model Canvas helped Nespresso establish a solid and enduring foundation by engaging consumers directly and bringing a barista-like experience within the reach of a home or an office.

Advantages & Limitations

  • Encourages Collaboration – collaborative framework, which helps put different business stakeholders in sync. This improves the likelihood of generating new ideas and their quality.
  • Facilitates testing of ideas before launch – allows business owners, strategists, and managers to think through business ideas as well as test concepts that would otherwise get tested with potential customers where the stakes are higher.
  • Customer-centered approach – Key customer segments, relationships, activities, and value propositions are all elements that focus on creating, delivering, and capturing value for customers.
  • Clarity – Analyzing the business through the lens of nine blocks brings better clarity and structure to the business model.

Limitations

  • Lacks a section for defining the start-up’s mission statement, which is crucial to understanding the goals and objectives of any business.
  • Overlooks the importance of a profit mechanism beyond costs and revenues, including decisions on how to use potential profits.
  • The order of the canvas is not intuitive, making it difficult to read and understand the strategic decisions in a logical sequence.
  • Does not depict interconnections between different elements, which can have a significant impact on the overall business model.
  • Fails to acknowledge the company’s role within its ecosystem, including its impact on the environment and local communities.
  • External factors such as competition, history, and other industry-specific factors are absent from the canvas, which can greatly influence the success of a business model.

1. “A Better Way to Think About Your Business Model”. Harvard Business Review, https://hbr.org/2013/05/a-better-way-to-think-about-yo . Accessed 01 Aug 2023

2. “Business Model Generation”. Alexander Osterwalder, https://www.strategyzer.com/books/business-model-generation . Accessed 28 Jul 2023

3. “The Apple M1 is a revolution that is changing the computing world”. Citymagazine, https://citymagazine.si/en/apple-m1-is-a-revolution-that-changes-the-computer-world/ . Accessed 29 Jul 2023

4. “Mass Customization”. Corporate Finance Institute, https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/management/mass-customization/ . Accessed 29 Jul 2023

5. “Moka Pot”. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_pot . Accessed 29 Jul 2023

6. “NetJets Homepage”. NetJets, https://www.netjets.com/en-us/ . Accessed 01 Aug 2023

7. “Distribution Channels – Definition, Types, & Functions”. Feedough, https://www.feedough.com/distribution-channels-definition-types-functions/ . Accessed 30 Jul 2023

8. “Lease from Hertz”. Hertz, https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/rental-car/car-lease . Accessed 30 Jul 2023

9. “TSMC”. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TSMC . Accessed 30 Jul 2023

10. “NVIDIA”. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia . Accessed 30 Jul 2023

11. “BMW, Daimler, Ford and Volkswagen team up on high-power charging network”. Techcrunch, https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/03/bmw-daimler-ford-and-volkswagen-team-up-on-high-power-charging-network/ . Accessed 31 Jul 2023

12. “Honda And Sony Combine Talents To Build Electric Vehicles”. Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterlyon/2022/06/26/honda-and-sony-announce-joint-venture-to-build-electric-vehicles/ . Accessed 31 Jul 2023

13. “Uber and Spotify launch car music playlist partnership”. BBC, https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30080974 . Accessed 31 Jul 2023

14. “Walmart Has the Scale and Infrastructure to Generate Positive Gains”. Yahoo Finance, https://finance.yahoo.com/news/walmart-scale-infrastructure-generate-positive-201822628.html . Accessed 31 Jul 2023

15. “Demand-Side Economies of Scope in Big Tech Business Modelling and Strategy”. MDPI, https://www.mdpi.com/2079-8954/10/6/246 . Accessed 31 Jul 2023

16. “The Business Model Canvas”. Strategyzer, https://www.strategyzer.com/canvas/business-model-canvas . Accessed 31 Jul 2023

17. “HomePage”. Nespresso, https://www.nespresso.com/us/en/ . Accessed 01 Aug 2023

18. “Business Model Canvas of Nespresso”. Alex Osterwalder, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhQh-tryXOg . Accessed 01 Aug 2023

19. “Nespresso Capsule”. Electromall, https://electromall.net/product/nespresso-capsule/ . Accessed 01 Aug 2023

20. “The Best Nespresso Machine (But It’s Not for Everyone)”. Newyork Times, https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-nespresso-machine/ . Accessed 01 Aug 2023

21. “Business Model Canvas”. Think Design, https://think.design/user-design-research/business-model-canvas/ . Accessed 01 Aug 2023

22. “6 Problems with the Business Model Canvas”. The Pourquoi Pas, https://www.thepourquoipas.com/post/problems-with-the-business-model-canvas . Accessed 01 Aug 2023

  • The Johari Window Model
  • McKinsey 7S Model
  • Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion

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Article • 11 min read

The Business Model Canvas

Understanding what makes your company successful.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

what is a business model canvas for

Do you know what your company's business model is? How well do you understand it? And why does this matter?

A company's business model determines how it generates its revenue, operates successfully, and makes a profit. If your company's business model is out of date or wrong for its market, then it's likely to fail.

Understanding your company's business model is an important part of developing the "commercial awareness" you need to solve problems effectively, make good decisions, and become known as a trusted leader in your organization.

This article explores a useful model that you can use to think about your business model.

What Is the Business Canvas Model?

Alex Osterwald and Yves Pigneur developed their Business Model Canvas in 2010.

They collaborated with 470 members of the Business Model Innovation Hub – an online forum for business professionals and researchers – who contributed case studies, examples, and critical comments to their research. As such, the Business Model Canvas represents the collective experience of a community of business people.

It appears as a template of nine basic building blocks, as shown in figure 1, below. These form a blueprint, based on which business models can be systematically designed, explained and challenged.

Figure 1: The Business Model Canvas

what is a business model canvas for

The Business Model Canvas is the property of BusinessModelGeneration.com / strategyzer.com , and it is distributed under a Creative Commons copyright license .

How to Use the Business Model Canvas

To use the Business Model Canvas, think about each building block using the questions below. You may want to download our worksheet to help with this.

CS: Customer Segments

Your customer segments are your target markets – the specific groups of people or organizations that your business serves.

Instead of trying to satisfy everyone, all of the time, group your customers according to common attributes like their location, needs, or behaviors, and decide which segments to focus on. This way, you can deliver a product or service that is closely tailored to the specific needs of particular groups.

See our article on market segmentation for more on this.

Record your results in the CS block of the canvas.

VP: Value Propositions

The value propositions block defines how you'll deliver value to your customers. You can create value in many ways, including offering a low price, a high standard of design, good accessibility, convenience, and high performance. Consider these questions:

  • How do you create value for your target market?
  • What problem or need does your product or service solve for the customer?
  • How does your product or service differ from your competitors' offerings?

If you are struggling to crystallize your value proposition, conduct a USP Analysis and Core Competency Analysis to assess how your product or service stands out from those of your competitors.

Write your value proposition in the VP block of the Business Model Canvas.

R$: Revenue Streams

In this block, you analyze how each customer segment pays for your product or service.

There are many different ways to pay for a product or service. For example, is the price fixed, or will you charge customers for each use, by subscription, or with ongoing payments? Will any negotiation or bargaining be involved? And who, ultimately, is the customer? (Your customer may be an advertiser, for example, rather than the user of the service.)

Consider these additional questions:

  • What do your customers currently pay for similar products or services?
  • How do they pay for this?
  • What do you charge for your product or service?
  • Do customers get any free services or perks that your competitors don't offer?

Record this in the R$ block of the Business Model Canvas.

CH: Channels

The word "channel" refers to the way you deliver your value proposition to each customer segment. Channels include a direct sales force, web sales, own brand stores, partner stores, and wholesalers. Consider these questions:

  • How do you make your customers aware of your products and services?
  • What channels do your customers prefer to use?
  • How will you help customers evaluate your value proposition?
  • How do customers want to buy your products and services?
  • How do you provide customer support?

Record your answers in the CH block of the Business Model Canvas.

CR: Customer Relationships

This block defines the type of relationship you want to foster with each of your customer segments. There are several categories to consider here.

  • Dedicated personal assistance – This is where the wants and needs of each customer are handled by a dedicated customer service representative. For example, many types of business dedicate an account manager to highly valued clients.
  • Personal assistance – Here, customers can communicate with a customer service professional during and after the sales process. This can happen in person at the point of sale, or through a call center, email, or IM.
  • Self-service – Customers can purchase products without assistance.
  • Automated Service – An automated service recognizes individual customers through a login or other identifier. This provides a customized service that "remembers" the customer's preferences and presents options accordingly.
  • Communities – Here, the organization builds communities using social networking and blogs to encourage customers to communicate with one another, share ideas, and solve problems.
  • Co-creation – In these relationships, organizations go beyond the traditional customer-vendor relationship by encouraging customers to take a more active role in shaping what the product or service might be. For example, some companies encourage their customers to review their products, or create content that can be shared with others.

To think about how your business develops relationships with customers, you can use the Buy-Sell Hierarchy , Focus Groups , and Customer Experience Mapping to understand what your customers want from their experience, and then use this information to build the customer relationships you need.

Record your findings in the CR block of the Business Model Canvas.

KR: Key Resources

Your key resources are the things you most need to make your business model work, and different types of business need different types of resource.

Key resources may be owned by your company, leased, or used through some other arrangement with key partners.

Consider these questions:

  • What human resources will you need?
  • What financial resources will you need?
  • What physical resources will you need?
  • What intellectual property resources will you need?

Conduct a VRIO analysis to explore how you can make best use of the resources you have available.

Make a record of these key resources in the KR block of the Business Model Canvas.

KA: Key Activities

Your key activities are the most important business processes that your organization must use to operate successfully. Examples of these include designing, manufacturing, and delivering a product; providing new solutions to customers; or providing a platform on which customers are able to complete transactions.

List your key activities in the KA block of the Business Model Canvas.

KP: Key Partnerships

This is the network of partners, stakeholders and suppliers that you rely upon to make your business model work. Consider these questions:

  • What strategic alliances do you have in place to bring your product or service to market?
  • What partnerships are needed to access key resources such as areas of expertise, raw materials, or access to customers?
  • What partnerships allow you to access economies of scale?
  • Who have you joined forces with to minimize risk and uncertainty?
  • Who are the key stakeholders for your product or service? How can you create strategic partnerships with these people?

Conduct a Stakeholder Analysis to identify who has the most power and influence. And, as you evaluate potential partners, use our 10 Cs of Supplier Evaluation checklist to evaluate them carefully.

Write your key partnerships – both potential and present – in the KP block of the Business Model Canvas.

C$: Cost Structure

The last block you need to analyze is your cost structure. This looks at all of the operating costs that your business incurs as part of its business model. These costs should be easy to identify, now that you've defined your key resources, activities, and partnerships.

Record your findings in the C$ block of the Business Model Canvas.

Applying What You Have Learned

By working through the Business Model Canvas for your own company, you'll get a good insight into the things that really matter for your business.

You can use this understanding to make informed decisions about business areas that you are responsible for by checking, in particular, that your decision won't undermine the wider business in any way. You can also quickly identify business areas that will be improved by your decision, and this will help you "sell" your recommendations.

It also gives you a head start when you're scanning the business news or industry press for changes that will positively or negatively affect your business. You'll know the core things that your business depends on, and you can watch out for changes that affect these.

Another advantage of the Business Model Canvas is that it clarifies how your own part of the company affects, and is affected by, other departments. This helps all parts of the business co-operate with one another more efficiently.

The Business Model Canvas was developed by Alex Osterwald and Yves Pigneur, in collaboration with a community of business professionals at the Business Model Innovation Hub. It is a useful tool for designing and analyzing business models in an objective, structured way.

The Business Model Canvas incorporates nine building blocks:

Block 1: Customer segments.

Block 2: Value propositions.

Block 3: Channels.

Block 4: Customer relationships.

Block 5: Revenue streams.

Block 6: Key resources.

Block 7: Key activities.

Block 8: Key partnerships.

Block 9: Cost structure.

You can use the Business Model Canvas to develop a new business model, or refresh an outdated one; analyze the viability of a new business idea; and even to analyze your competitors' business models to discover opportunities for making your own business stand out.

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what is a business model canvas for

The Business Model Canvas

The Business Model Canvas is a strategic management and entrepreneurial tool. It allows you to describe, design, challenge, invent, and pivot your business model. This method from the bestselling management book Business Model Generation is applied in leading organizations and start-ups worldwide.

what is a business model canvas for

The Business Model Canvas enables you to:

  • Visualize and communicate a simple story of your existing business model.
  • Use the canvas to design new business models, whether you are a start-up or an existing businessManage a portfolio of business models
  • You can use the canvas to easily juggle between "Explore" and "Exploit" business models.

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What is a business model canvas? Overview with template

what is a business model canvas for

In 2013, I co-founded a startup in the Indian online gifting industry with three friends. It was my first involvement with a startup. Startups are fascinating — they’re small, agile, and quick. However, another key feature of startups is their ability to creatively solve problems.

What Is A Business Model Canvas Overview With Template

At that time, we aimed to target India’s gifting market, which was more than 90 percent offline. We had plans to establish an online shop selling a wide variety of gifts. But before we got started, we decided to document our idea. Amidst many templates, we discovered the business model canvas, a lean tool for outlining business models. It was neat, straightforward, and free. This tool brought remarkable clarity to our idea.

Despite shutting down the startup in 2015, I gained a wealth of knowledge during those two years. One major takeaway was the tools and techniques I learned along the way. The business model canvas was one of them. Even after seven years, I still use the business model canvas in my role as a product manager.

In this blog post, we’ll explore how product managers and entrepreneurs can effectively use a business model canvas.

What is a business model canvas?

The business model canvas is a template introduced by Alexander Osterwalder in 2005 as part of his Ph.D. studies under the supervision of Yves Pigneur. The business model canvas outlines nine crucial elements of a business model in an easy-to-understand visual template: customer segments, value proposition, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key activities, key resources, key partnerships, and cost structure.

Various companies, including startups, scale-ups, and large software organizations, have utilized this template since its inception to simplify their business strategy and improve their understanding of the overall business structure. However, before we delve into what a business model canvas entails, it’s important to comprehend why simplifying business strategy and structure is essential.

The last company I was part of employed 10,000 individuals. It ran more than 20 different businesses, each generating millions in revenue. When operating on such a large scale, it’s vital to have a clear strategy that outlines the business models. This strategy should define who the customers are, identify key partners, elaborate on the value proposition, and explain the cost structure, among other things.

The strategic blueprint serves as a go-to source of information whenever confusion arises. While this is true for large corporations, it’s equally applicable to smaller scale-ups and startups. It’s crucial to understand the business strategy and models from the onset. This comprehension aids in crafting a framework that can be applied when tackling complex issues or determining priorities.

This is where the business model canvas proves invaluable. It assists in laying out business models in a straightforward, user-friendly format.

What are the 9 components of the business model canvas?

The business model canvas comprises nine key elements:

Customer segments

Value proposition, customer relationships, revenue streams, key activities, key resources, key partnerships, cost structure.

9 Components Of A Business Model Canvas

These components cover the three main areas of a business: desirability, viability, and feasibility. The nine components also aim to bring transparency and understanding to a broad audience, which can include upper management and internal teams such as engineering, design, product management, marketing, sales, legal, and customer service.

Collectively, these elements capture the essence of a business model. They help map the relationship between these elements and how they intertwine with one another. Let’s take a more in-depth look at each element.

Everything starts with the customers, which is why this is the first element of the business model canvas. This component identifies the different customer segments a company targets. These can vary across business models.

what is a business model canvas for

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what is a business model canvas for

For example, while working at Zalando (one of Europe’s largest fashion eCommerce companies), there were multiple business models. One focused on end customers, while another focused on partners selling products on Zalando. The business model canvas helps outline these customer segments in a single snapshot.

Try to avoid being too detailed. Mention who the partners are, but there’s no need to note the demographics, age, gender, etc., of the customer segment unless required.

This term refers to the unique advantage or value a business provides. It’s what sets the business apart from competitors. This could be a product or a service that the business uses to solve a customer’s problem.

For instance, Uber’s value proposition is its ability to help customers travel from point A to point B on demand.

Channels are the various ways through which a business intends to interact with customers and/or partners. For Airbnb, their website and apps are the primary channels. But they also leverage social media, offline hoardings, email marketing, and community forums to reach their audience.

This element addresses the various ways a business interacts with customers to improve satisfaction and the overall experience. Monitoring customer feedback and how they interact with a company’s product is critical in a competitive landscape.

Amazon, a company that prioritizes customer focus, includes 24/7 customer support, personalized recommendations, regular newsletters, ratings and reviews, Amazon Prime membership, and community engagement as part of its customer relationships.

This component lists the different ways a company plans to generate revenue. For Google, revenue streams include advertising, the Google Play Store, Google Cloud, and hardware sales.

This section includes all necessary activities needed to keep the business functioning smoothly and to deliver value to all users. Microsoft’s key activities, for example, include software development, hardware development, cloud computing, gaming, research and development, and VR.

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As the name implies, key resources are the essential tangible and intangible resources needed to keep the business operational. These resources incur costs, making their documentation vital. An online gift-selling company would require a website/app, collaborations with manufacturers, and marketing capabilities.

This element focuses on the partnerships or collaborations a business might have with other companies to better serve customers, reduce risks, and increase profits. For Facebook, key partners include regular users who generate content, advertisers, and influencers who create content at scale.

This element outlines the costs and expenses associated with a business. For companies like Google and Facebook, costs can be substantial given their value propositions. While it may be difficult to capture the cost structure of these giants in a small space, it becomes easier and beneficial for smaller companies.

For example, McDonald’s cost structure would include manufacturing costs, service-based costs (such as employee costs), franchise costs, and infrastructure costs.

What are the benefits of using a business model canvas?

Indeed, using a business model canvas offers many advantages for businesses of all sizes. To summarize, some of the key benefits include:

Benefits Of Using A Business Model Canvas

Visual representation

A business model canvas provides a visual overview of all the critical elements of a business. This allows stakeholders to see how these elements relate to each other, facilitating understanding and decision-making.

The visual nature of the canvas makes it accessible to various stakeholders, including top management, engineers, designers, customer service, and operations teams.

Clear collaboration, communication, and alignment

Developing and managing products often require the input and collaboration of multiple stakeholders . A business model canvas provides a clear, concise tool for aligning all these parties, promoting better communication and collaboration. It also helps product managers secure buy-in from stakeholders at an early stage, reducing risks and fostering better alignment, especially in a cross-functional environment.

Strategic long-term thinking and analysis

By design, a business model canvas encourages long-term strategic thinking. It helps identify business strengths and weaknesses, facilitates brainstorming new ideas and improvements, and shapes long-term strategies to better serve customers.

Flexibility

Businesses and ideas evolve, and a business model canvas accommodates these changes. It offers a flexible template that can be easily modified, often featuring version numbers to track document evolution. This flexibility supports an iterative approach, ensuring the canvas captures all necessary information as the business evolves.

Business model canvas template

The internet is replete with various business model templates. A quick Google search will return 34,200,000 results. Here’s a quick template that I created on Google Sheets:

Business Model Canvas Template

Click here to access the business model canvas template. You can click File > Make a copy to download the canvas and customize it for your business.

Example of successful use of the business model canvas in product management

Here’s an example of a business model canvas for Facebook:

Business Model Canvas Facebook

How do I create a business model canvas for my business?

After you fill out the nine components we went over earlier, there are some other key points to keep in mind to successfully create a business canvas model.

Involve all the stakeholders early on

Since a business model canvas has elements ranging from tech to marketing, sales, and customer service, it’s important to involve these stakeholders right at the start. This reduces the risk and helps to bring everyone on the same page.

Keep it simple

Don’t use complex sentences while explaining the pointers under every element. Use simple and short words. Simplicity will make it easier for the audience to consume the information effectively.

Be data-driven

Let every pointer included in the business model canvas be data-driven. This will help lay down a strong foundation for long-term decision-making.

Focus on an iterative approach

It’s difficult to come up with a business model canvas right at the first go. Hence, it’s important to keep an iterative approach and let the document evolve depending on the feedback from the contributors. You can use versioning to keep track of all the changes.

Consider external factors

Currently, the growth of many businesses is slow and it’s projected to be the same for the entire year. It’s important to consider these external factors while coming up with a business model canvas since it helps to consider factors that might not be in control of a business.

Conclusion and key takeaways

A business model canvas can be a very effective tool if used right away. Product managers can use this tool before starting a product or a feature. It can help them have clarity on the idea before the actual development work starts.

Also, since it involves all the major stakeholders right at the start, a business model canvas can help mitigate risks early on. It’s a great tool for validating business ideas, products, or a feature.

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The Business Model Canvas

What is the business model canvas.

The business model canvas is a tool designers use to map out a business or product’s key actors, activities and resources, the value proposition for target customers, customer relationships, channels involved and financial matters. It gives an overview to help identify requirements to deliver the service and more.

“A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value.” — Alexander Osterwalder, Co-creator of the Business Model Canvas  

Learn about the business model canvas and how it helps in design.

  • Transcript loading...

The Business Model Canvas – Flexible Chart, Early-Warning System and More 

In service design , two tools are essential to use early in your design process: the business model canvas and the value proposition canvas . You can use the business model canvas to build an overview of changes to be made to an existing business (e.g., a merger) or of a totally new business opportunity or market gap . At the start of your design process, it’s vital to map out the business model of your service to see how it will fit into the marketplace. You’ll also need to ensure what you propose can bring maximum value to both your customers and business, and keep doing so in terms of customer retention, profitability and more.

To gain the most accurate vision of a proposed product or service, it’s essential to understand all the components and dynamics of not only the customer experience but also the service as a whole ecosystem . This ecosystem contains all the channels and touchpoints that must work together to deliver and sustain maximum value to the customer.

This canvas gives you several important advantages, namely these:

It’s collaborative – so you can bring the various partners together on the same page to generate and analyze ideas, and have an early testing ground for concepts before you advance to service staging a prototype.

It’s human-centered – so you can keep close track on how to create and maximize value for customers as well as stakeholders and other partners.

It makes it easier to collect rich data – if you have a clear purpose and strategy in mind. 

A business model canvas typically contains 10 boxes:

Key Partners – The people who will help you fulfill the key activities, using the key resources. 

Key Activities – Those vital actions that go into the everyday business to get things done; these are all the activities needed to realize and maintain the value proposition, and to power everything else involved.

Key Resources – The tools needed to get those things done, stretching across all areas the canvas covers to include, for example, customer retention.

Value Proposition – The item you think will create value for your customer: e.g., a new idea, a price drop. This is a summary of what your business will deliver to customers, and feeds into the value proposition canvas, the tool you’ll use to expand this.

Customer Relationships – Where you envision the relationship each customer segment expects: e.g., customer acquisition, retention and upselling (i.e., How do you get customers? How do you keep customers? How do you continue to create value for them?).

(Note: boxes 5 and 4 are closely linked as everything you do revolves around retaining the customer and considering the customer lifecycle.)

Customer Segments – Your most important customers (e.g., seniors); consider the value of personas here.

Channels – How you deliver the value proposition. Will it be online, through physical means or a combination? Here, you identify which channels are the best (both desirable for customers as well as cost-efficient and cost-effective for the brand).

Cost Structure – Here you find the most essential cost drivers. This allows you to consider the return on investment (ROI).

Revenue Streams – Where you find potential revenue sources (e.g., advertising). 

Sustainability – How sustainable your offering is overall, to the environment, to the social good, etc.

what is a business model canvas for

© Strategyzer AG, modified, CC-BY-SA-3.0

How to Build a Business Model Canvas

For the best results, follow these guidelines and aim to fill in all the gaps, looking out for cause-and-effect relationships that run between boxes/throughout:

Complete the top seven boxes (Key Partners to Customer Segments) – using all the information you can gather from your research.

Complete the next boxes:  

Cost Structure – Determine the cost drivers from the Key Partners, Activities and Resources boxes; and

Revenue Streams – Determine these from the Customer Relationships, Customer Segments and Channels boxes.

Once you have established these, you can work to estimate them in monetary terms.

Complete the Sustainability box – according to the insights you’ve found.  

Here’s an example of a business model canvas as a work in progress:

what is a business model canvas for

© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Overall, remember your canvas is a flexible tool. It’s also a living document that you can revisit and use to find the most effective alternatives. With a clear sense of goals, a keen eye for detail and ear for input, and a readiness to refine this canvas, you can use it to fine-tune the best service prototype every time.

Learn More about The Business Model Canvas

Take our Service Design course , featuring a template for service blueprints.

Read this example-rich piece by experienced strategy designer Justin Lokitz for tips on using the business model canvas .

Find some additional tips on how to make the most of your business model canvas here .

Literature on the Business Model Canvas

Here’s the entire UX literature on the Business Model Canvas by the Interaction Design Foundation, collated in one place:

Learn more about the Business Model Canvas

Take a deep dive into Business Model Canvas with our course Service Design: How to Design Integrated Service Experiences .

Services are everywhere! When you get a new passport, order a pizza or make a reservation on AirBnB, you're engaging with services. How those services are designed is crucial to whether they provide a pleasant experience or an exasperating one. The experience of a service is essential to its success or failure no matter if your goal is to gain and retain customers for your app or to design an efficient waiting system for a doctor’s office.

In a service design process, you use an in-depth understanding of the business and its customers to ensure that all the touchpoints of your service are perfect and, just as importantly, that your organization can deliver a great service experience every time . It’s not just about designing the customer interactions; you also need to design the entire ecosystem surrounding those interactions.

In this course, you’ll learn how to go through a robust service design process and which methods to use at each step along the way. You’ll also learn how to create a service design culture in your organization and set up a service design team . We’ll provide you with lots of case studies to learn from as well as interviews with top designers in the field. For each practical method, you’ll get downloadable templates that guide you on how to use the methods in your own work.

This course contains a series of practical exercises that build on one another to create a complete service design project . The exercises are optional, but you’ll get invaluable hands-on experience with the methods you encounter in this course if you complete them, because they will teach you to take your first steps as a service designer. What’s equally important is that you can use your work as a case study for your portfolio to showcase your abilities to future employers! A portfolio is essential if you want to step into or move ahead in a career in service design.

Your primary instructor in the course is Frank Spillers . Frank is CXO of award-winning design agency Experience Dynamics and a service design expert who has consulted with companies all over the world. Much of the written learning material also comes from John Zimmerman and Jodi Forlizzi , both Professors in Human-Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon University and highly influential in establishing design research as we know it today.

You’ll earn a verifiable and industry-trusted Course Certificate once you complete the course. You can highlight it on your resume, CV, LinkedIn profile or on your website.

All open-source articles on the Business Model Canvas

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Verstehen der Kundenbeziehung und der Kundensegmente im Business Model Canvas

By Paul VanZandt

Published on: November 3, 2023

what is a business model canvas for

Inhaltsübersicht

Die Essenz der Kundenbeziehungen Business Model Canvas

Kundensegmente im business model canvas, identifizieren und definieren von kundensegmenten, beispiele für kundensegmente business model canvas, schlussfolgerung.

In der modernen Geschäftswelt sind der Aufbau und die Pflege enger Kundenbeziehungen von entscheidender Bedeutung für den Erfolg. Das Konzept des Business Model Canvas (BMC) hat sich für Unternehmer und Unternehmen gleichermaßen zu einem wertvollen Instrument zur Visualisierung und Gestaltung ihrer Geschäftsstrategien entwickelt. Das Business Model Canvas (BMC), das von Alexander Osterwalder und Yves Pigneur eingeführt wurde, hat die Art und Weise, wie wir Geschäftsmodelle visualisieren, entwerfen und iterieren, revolutioniert. Innerhalb dieses Canvas ist einer der wichtigsten Abschnitte, die besondere Aufmerksamkeit erfordern, das Segment der Kundenbeziehungen. Lassen Sie uns diesen wichtigen Aspekt der Unternehmensentwicklung näher beleuchten.

Die Kundenbeziehung wird im Business Model Canvas als strukturierter Ansatz zum Verstehen, Verwalten und Verbessern dieser Beziehungen definiert. In der Geschäftswelt sind Ihre Kunden Ihre Lebensader. Die Art und Weise, wie Sie mit ihnen interagieren, Ihre Beziehung pflegen und auf ihre individuellen Bedürfnisse eingehen, kann über Erfolg oder Misserfolg Ihres Unternehmens entscheiden. Hier finden Sie eine Aufschlüsselung dieses wichtigen Abschnitts:

  • Kunden-Segmente

Ihr Kundenstamm ist nicht homogen. Sie umfasst verschiedene Segmente mit unterschiedlichen Bedürfnissen, Vorlieben und Verhaltensweisen. Die Identifizierung und Definition dieser Segmente ist der erste Schritt zur Schaffung effektiver Kundenbeziehungen. Eine Einheitslösung für alle funktioniert selten.

  • Arten von Kundenbeziehungen

Nicht alle Kundenbeziehungen sind gleich. Manche Kunden benötigen ein hohes Maß an persönlicher Betreuung, andere bevorzugen die Selbstbedienung. Manche fühlen sich in einem gemeinschaftsorientierten Umfeld wohl, während andere die Automatisierung bevorzugen. Differenzieren Sie die Arten von Beziehungen, die Sie aufbauen müssen, um den unterschiedlichen Bedürfnissen Ihrer Kundensegmente gerecht zu werden.

  • Personalisierung

Wie passen Sie Ihre Produkte oder Dienstleistungen an die Vorlieben der verschiedenen Kundensegmente an? Die Personalisierung spielt eine wichtige Rolle bei der Schaffung einer starken Bindung zu Ihren Kunden. Es zeigt, dass Sie ihre besonderen Bedürfnisse verstehen und bereit sind, sich ihnen anzupassen.

Wie und wo interagieren Sie mit Ihren Kunden? Ob über physische Kanäle wie persönliche Treffen oder digitale Kanäle wie Websites, soziale Medien oder E-Mail – die Auswahl der richtigen Kanäle ist entscheidend für den effektiven Kontakt mit Ihren Kunden.

  • Berührungspunkte

Jede Interaktion zwischen Ihrem Unternehmen und einem Kunden ist ein Kontaktpunkt. Dies kann ein Verkaufsgespräch, ein Onboarding-Prozess, eine Support-Anfrage oder ein Feedback-Mechanismus sein. Jeder Kontaktpunkt ist eine Gelegenheit, die Kundenbeziehung zu stärken oder zu schwächen. Diese Berührungspunkte zu kennen und sie zu optimieren ist von entscheidender Bedeutung.

  • Kundenlebenszyklus

Zeichnen Sie die gesamte Customer Journey auf. Von dem Moment an, in dem der Kunde auf Ihr Produkt oder Ihre Dienstleistung aufmerksam wird, bis hin zum ersten Kauf und darüber hinaus, hilft Ihnen das Verständnis des Kundenlebenszyklus, Ihren Ansatz in jeder Phase anzupassen und die Kundenbindung und -zufriedenheit zu maximieren.

  • Kundenfeedback und Daten

Wie sammeln und nutzen Sie Kundenfeedback und Daten? Diese Erkenntnisse sind von unschätzbarem Wert für die Verbesserung Ihrer Produkte, Dienstleistungen und des gesamten Kundenerlebnisses. Indem Sie aktiv nach Feedback suchen und darauf reagieren, können Sie Vertrauen aufbauen und Ihr Engagement für Ihre Kunden demonstrieren.

  • Kundenbetreuung

Welcher Grad an Unterstützung wird den Kunden gewährt? Dies kann den Zugang zu Kundendienstmitarbeitern, Reaktionszeiten und verfügbare Support-Ressourcen umfassen. Ein exzellenter Kundensupport ist oft der Dreh- und Angelpunkt für die Aufrechterhaltung guter Beziehungen.

  • Strategien zur Bindung und Loyalität

Die Bindung bestehender Kunden ist in der Regel kosteneffizienter als die Gewinnung neuer Kunden. Ihr BMC sollte Strategien aufzeigen, mit denen Sie Ihre Kunden an sich binden können, z. B. Treueprogramme, exklusive Angebote und personalisierte Kommunikation.

  • Bearbeitung von Beschwerden

Es wird unweigerlich zu Problemen kommen. Die Art und Weise, wie Sie mit Beschwerden und Problemen umgehen, kann tiefgreifende Auswirkungen auf die Kundenbeziehung haben. Eine rasche und effektive Lösung zeigt, dass Sie die Anliegen Ihrer Kunden zu schätzen wissen.

  • Datenschutz und Datensicherheit

In einer Zeit, in der Datenschutzverletzungen und Datenschutzbedenken weit verbreitet sind, sollten Sie Ihren Kunden versichern, dass ihre Daten in Ihren Händen sicher sind. Vertrauen ist die Grundlage für starke Kundenbeziehungen, und das gilt auch für den Datenschutz und die Sicherheit.

Erfahren Sie mehr: Was ist ein Business Model Canvas?

Die Bausteine des Business Model Canvas

Bevor wir uns mit der Bedeutung von Kundensegmenten befassen, wollen wir kurz auf das Business Model Canvas zurückkommen. Dieser visuelle Rahmen besteht aus neun wichtigen Bausteinen, die zusammen Ihr Geschäftsmodell umreißen. Diese Bausteine sind:

  • Wert-Angebote
  • Kundenbeziehungen
  • Einnahmeströme
  • Wichtige Ressourcen
  • Wichtigste Aktivitäten
  • Wichtige Partnerschaften
  • Kostenstruktur

Jeder dieser Bausteine spielt eine bestimmte Rolle bei der Gestaltung Ihrer Geschäftsstrategie, aber wohl keiner ist so entscheidend wie die Kundensegmente. Kundensegmente stellen, wie der Name schon sagt, die verschiedenen Gruppen von Personen oder Organisationen dar, die Ihr Unternehmen bedienen will. Das sind Ihre Kunden.

Warum Kundensegmente wichtig sind

  • Maßgeschneidertes Nutzenversprechen

Einer der Hauptgründe, warum Kundensegmente so wichtig sind, ist, dass sie Ihr Wertversprechen direkt beeinflussen. Ihr Leistungsversprechen ist der einzigartige Wert, den Ihr Produkt oder Ihre Dienstleistung den Kunden bietet. Indem Sie die spezifischen Bedürfnisse, Wünsche und Probleme der einzelnen Kundensegmente ermitteln und verstehen, können Sie Ihr Wertangebot so gestalten, dass es die Erwartungen der Kunden erfüllt.

  • Markttauglichkeit

Die Anpassung des Produkts an den Markt ist ein wichtiger Meilenstein für jedes Startup. Es bedeutet, dass Ihr Produkt oder Ihre Dienstleistung die Bedürfnisse einer bestimmten Gruppe von Kunden befriedigt. Die Identifizierung Ihrer Kundensegmente hilft Ihnen, Ihre Zielgruppe einzugrenzen und Ihre Ressourcen darauf zu konzentrieren, das zu liefern, was dieses Segment wirklich will.

  • Effektives Marketing und Verkauf

Wenn Sie Ihre Kundensegmente kennen, können Sie Ihre Marketing- und Verkaufsbemühungen genau abstimmen. Sie können gezielte Werbekampagnen erstellen und Verkaufsstrategien entwickeln, die auf die Merkmale und Vorlieben der einzelnen Segmente abgestimmt sind.

  • Ressourcen-Zuweisung

Unterschiedliche Kundensegmente können unterschiedliche Ressourcen, Kanäle und Partnerschaften erfordern, um sie effektiv zu erreichen. Wenn Sie Ihre Segmente kennen, können Sie Ihre Ressourcen sinnvoll einsetzen und so sicherstellen, dass Sie das meiste aus Ihrem Budget herausholen.

  • Wettbewerbsvorteil

In einem wettbewerbsintensiven Markt kann die Identifizierung von unterversorgten Kundensegmenten oder Nischen einen starken Wettbewerbsvorteil darstellen. Ihr Unternehmen kann sich auf diese Segmente spezialisieren und ihnen einen Mehrwert bieten, den Ihre Konkurrenten möglicherweise übersehen.

Befolgen Sie die folgenden Schritte, um Kundensegmente erfolgreich in Ihrem Geschäftsmodell zu nutzen:

  • Marktforschung: Führen Sie eine gründliche Marktforschung durch, um die verschiedenen Gruppen potenzieller Kunden zu ermitteln. Analysieren Sie demografische, psychografische und verhaltensbezogene Daten, um unterschiedliche Profile für jedes Segment zu erstellen.
  • Kunden-Personas: Erstellen Sie umfassende Customer Personas für jedes Segment. Eine Persona ist eine fiktive Darstellung Ihres idealen Kunden innerhalb eines bestimmten Segments. Dazu gehören ihre Eigenschaften, Vorlieben und Probleme.
  • Segment-Priorisierung: Nicht alle Segmente sind gleich wertvoll. Priorisieren Sie Ihre Segmente anhand von Faktoren wie Größe, Wachstumspotenzial und Übereinstimmung mit Ihren Angeboten.
  • Maßgeschneidertes Nutzenversprechen: Entwerfen Sie für jedes Segment ein einzigartiges Wertversprechen. Ihre Botschaften, Funktionen und Vorteile sollten auf die spezifischen Bedürfnisse der einzelnen Gruppen abgestimmt sein.
  • Iterieren und verfeinern: Der Prozess der Definition von Kundensegmenten ist nicht statisch. Es sollte eine ständige Übung sein. So wie sich Ihr Unternehmen entwickelt und wächst, können auch Ihre Kundensegmente wachsen.

Erfahren Sie mehr: Lean Canvas vs. Business Model Canvas

Kundensegmente können je nach Branche sehr unterschiedlich sein. Hier sind einige Beispiele:

  • B2B-Software-Unternehmen: Zu den Kundensegmenten gehören kleine und mittelständische Unternehmen sowie Großunternehmen. Jedes Segment hat unterschiedliche Softwareanforderungen und Budgets.
  • E-Commerce-Geschäft: Die Segmente könnten aus Einzelverbrauchern, Wiederverkäufern und Firmenkunden bestehen. Das Einkaufsverhalten und die Erwartungen dieser Gruppen unterscheiden sich erheblich.
  • Klinik für Gesundheitswesen: Die Kundensegmente können als pädiatrische Patienten, erwachsene Patienten und ältere Patienten definiert werden. Jede Gruppe benötigt spezielle medizinische Versorgung und Dienstleistungen.

Das Customer Relationship Business Model Canvas ist ein leistungsfähiges Instrument, das Sie zwingt, jede Facette Ihrer Kundeninteraktionen zu untersuchen. Auf diese Weise können Sie Ihre Strategien auf die Erwartungen Ihrer Kunden abstimmen, was zu einer höheren Kundenzufriedenheit und -treue führt. Kundensegmente sind das Fundament, auf dem Ihr gesamtes Geschäftsmodell ruht. Das Erkennen, Verstehen und Ansprechen Ihrer verschiedenen Kundensegmente ist entscheidend für den Erfolg auf dem heutigen Wettbewerbsmarkt. Sie ermöglicht es Ihnen, die richtigen Produkte oder Dienstleistungen für die richtigen Personen bereitzustellen, Ihre Ressourcen effizient einzusetzen und einen starken Wettbewerbsvorteil zu schaffen.

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IMAGES

  1. Business Model Canvas: Definition, Benefits, and Examples

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  3. How To Use The Business Model Canvas

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  4. What is a Business Model & Top Examples

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  5. The business model canvas: tool to help you understand a business model

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  6. Business Model Canvas: Free Innovative Tool

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  1. How Can I Use the Business Model Canvas for Startup Success?

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  3. Writing a Business Plan (Lesson 10): Business Model Canvas Overview

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COMMENTS

  1. Business Model Canvas: Explained with Examples

    The Business Model Canvas is a strategic management tool that lets you visualize and assess your business idea or concept. It's a one-page document containing nine boxes that represent different fundamental elements of a business.

  2. What is the Business Model Canvas?

    A business model canvas provides a high-level, comprehensive view of the various strategic details required to successfully bring a product to market. The typical use case for this tool is to outline the fundamental building blocks of a business, but it can be used effectively for individual products as well.

  3. Business Model Canvas

    The Business Model Canvas is a strategic management template used for developing new business models and documenting existing ones.

  4. Business Model Canvas: The Definitive Guide and Examples

    Business Model Canvas: The Definitive Guide and Examples Posted on March 9, 2021 by Daniel Pereira Before 2004, entrepreneurs suffered from prolonged and cumbersome business plans. Alexander Osterwalder facilitated the creation of a business model by introducing the Business Model Canvas (BMC).

  5. Business Model Canvas Explained: Definition and Components

    Business Business Model Canvas Explained: Definition and Components Written by MasterClass Last updated: Sep 21, 2021 • 3 min read The simple, visual template of the Business Model Canvas has made it a favorite among entrepreneurs and business strategists.

  6. Business Model Canvas: A 9-Step Guide to Analzye Any Business

    The Business Model Canvas provides entrepreneurs, business owners, and strategists with a tool to analyze, structure, and evolve a business while always keeping the bigger picture front of mind. So let's take a closer look at how it works. Table of Content What is the Business Model Canvas?

  7. Business Model Canvas: Definition, Benefits, and Examples

    As you can see from the sample example below (thanks, Strategyzer.com), a business model canvas is a one-page summary describing the high-level strategic details needed to get a business (or product) successfully to market. The categories or buckets contained in a canvas can be customized.

  8. The Business Model Canvas: A Quick How-To Guide

    The business model canvas is one framework for sharing your story, or business model, with potential investors. This strategic management framework was first developed by Alexander Osterwalder in the mid-2000s.

  9. Business model canvas

    A business model canvas is a strategic tool used to visualize, create, and evaluate business ideas and models. A business model canvas is a visual representation of your business's key aspects. You use it to identify opportunities for growth and improvement and to maximize revenue potential.

  10. Business Model Canvas: A Tool for Entrepreneurs and ...

    Business Model Canvas: A Tool for Entrepreneurs and Innovators (Project-Centered Course) Taught in English 20 languages available Some content may not be translated Enroll for Free Starts Feb 6 Financial aid available 60,453 already enrolled Course Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals Instructor: Dan Stotz

  11. What is a Business Model Canvas?

    A business model canvas is a visual representation of a business model, highlighting all key strategic factors. In other words, it is a general, holistic and complete overview of the company's workings, customers, revenue streams and more.

  12. What is a Business Model Canvas? Quick Guide + Examples

    Quick Guide + Examples. Based on the work of Alexander Osterwalder, a Business Model Canvas, or BMC for short, is a diagram used to visualize a business model; it allows structured organization and a quick method of evaluation and reflection on the effectiveness of a Business Model. The use and study of Business Model Canvas Examples allows us ...

  13. Business Model Canvas (BMC): The Ultimate Guide

    What is the Business Model Canvas. Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a framework that helps determine how a business creates, delivers, and captures values. It is a visual representation of the important aspects or parts to consider when designing a Business Model. BMC aids in constructing a shared understanding of a business by condensing it into ...

  14. The Business Model Canvas

    A company's business model determines how it generates its revenue, operates successfully, and makes a profit. If your company's business model is out of date or wrong for its market, then it's likely to fail.

  15. Business Model Canvas

    The Business Model Canvas is a strategic management and entrepreneurial tool. It allows you to describe, design, challenge, invent, and pivot your business model. This method from the bestselling management book Business Model Generation is applied in leading organizations and start-ups worldwide.

  16. What is a Business Model Canvas? Definition, Examples ...

    A business model canvas is defined as an organizational tool that helps visualize the development of a potential business model. It describes the components required to successfully take a business to market.

  17. What Is a Business Model Canvas? (With Sections and Example)

    A business model canvas is a tool that company owners and managers use to identify key business components like target customers, revenue sources, product or service offerings and financing details. Those details can then be incorporated into business models and strategies.

  18. What is a business model canvas? Overview with template

    What is a business model canvas? What are the 9 components of the business model canvas? Customer segments Value proposition Channels Customer relationships Revenue streams Key activities Key resources Key partnerships Cost structure What are the benefits of using a business model canvas? Visual representation

  19. Make a Business Model Canvas (How-tos, Examples, Tips)

    A business model canvas is a strategic management tool that helps companies visualize new and existing business models they develop. This one-page template allows you to examine the external and internal factors that could make or break your business, such as the infrastructure running your business, what value you're offering, the customers you serve, and the finances that keep your business ...

  20. What is the Business Model Canvas?

    The business model canvas is a tool designers use to map out a business or product's key actors, activities and resources, the value proposition for target customers, customer relationships, channels involved and financial matters. It gives an overview to help identify requirements to deliver the service and more.

  21. How To: Business Model Canvas Explained

    The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a strategic management tool to quickly and easily define and communicate a business idea or concept. It is a one-page document that works through the...

  22. Create a Business Model Canvas Online

    A business model canvas maker like ours helps you visually plot them in beautiful templates. What is the difference between a business plan and a business model? A business model acts like a framework or foundation for your business while a business plan provides a look into its structure. One usually makes a business model canvas in a one-page ...

  23. The Business Model Canvas

    Partner Center. Find new ideas and classic advice on strategy, innovation and leadership, for global leaders from the world's best business and management experts.

  24. How to Create Customer Value with Strategic Frameworks

    The business model canvas is a framework that helps you describe and design your business model, which is how you create, deliver, and capture value for your customers.

  25. Top 15 Costco Competitors and Alternatives (2024)

    Dollar General's business model centers around providing customers with a convenient shopping experience, with many stores open for extended hours and offering a variety of products, including groceries, household goods, and health and beauty items. ... All you Need to Know about Business Model Canvas Innovation. Subscribe to the blog ...

  26. Verstehen der Kundenbeziehung und der Kundensegmente im Business Model

    Das Business Model Canvas (BMC), das von Alexander Osterwalder und Yves Pigneur eingeführt wurde, hat die Art und Weise, wie wir Geschäftsmodelle visualisieren, entwerfen und iterieren, revolutioniert. Innerhalb dieses Canvas ist einer der wichtigsten Abschnitte, die besondere Aufmerksamkeit erfordern, das Segment der Kundenbeziehungen. ...