design a business model canvas

Business Model Canvas: Explained with Examples

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.

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.  

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.

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.

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).

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)

Written by Raquel Alberdi

Business | entrepreneurship, 16 comments(s).

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

“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:

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.

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.

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.

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 Hudson Yards, New York

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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 .

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.

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

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Well explained with practical business case

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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.

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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.

© 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:

© 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

Service design - design is not just for products.

The Relationship Between Visual Design and User Experience Design

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Business Model Canvas Template

Determine and align your business priorities in a simple and visual way with the Business Model Canvas Template.

Trusted by 65M+ users and leading companies

About the Business Model Canvas Template

The Business Model Canvas template, designed by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur, provides a strategic and powerful way to understand your business. The Business Model Canvas (BMC)  displays a business model, and it contains nine blocks: fill in each one using stickies, links, sketches, pictures, and videos. Use this business model template collaboratively with your team to clearly explain and visualize your business.

How to use a Business Model Canvas template: 9 key elements

The canvas provides nine key business elements to illustrate, summarize, and track. The nine building blocks of a BMC template are:

1. Key partners

List the key partnerships your business leverages or relies upon for success. Include the resources or value your business gets from these partnerships.

2. Key activities

Summarize the key activities that allow your business to provide services and deliver on your value proposition.

3. Key resources

List the key resources your business relies upon or uses in order to operate and provide services.

4. Key propositions

Summarize the different value propositions that set your business apart from your competition.

5. Customer relationships

Define and describe the primary relationships you have with your customers, including how you interact with them, how these interactions differ among different types of customers, what different customer needs are, and the level of support the different customers receive.

6. Channels

Detail how your customers are reached, how your services are provided, your different distribution channels, and how your value proposition is delivered.

7. Customer segments

Define the ideal customer personas your value proposition is intended to benefit, then describe the key differences between these segments and potential steps in the customer journey.

8. Cost structure

Identify the primary costs associated with operating your business and providing your services, then detail the relationship between these costs and other business functions.

9. Revenue streams

Describe how your business generates revenue through the delivery of your value proposition.

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When do you use the Business Model Canvas template?

Business Model Canvases are not intended to serve in place of a business plan . Instead, the BMC template is used to summarize and visually illustrate the most important information of a business model and to provide centralized ongoing clarity.

This canvas is appropriate for illustrating existing business models, regardless of whether the business is new. The Business Model template is also appropriate for visualizing new business models for startups, as it helps organize and consolidate ideas around your key functions. Keep in mind that the Business Model Canvas should be reviewed periodically, as all the factors listed can change over time.

5 Benefits of creating a Business Model Canvas online

Filling in the BMC template makes it easy to visually and collaboratively outline the core aspects of your business's unique value proposition. Here are a few benefits of using the template:

1. Provides a structure for ideation

The Business Model Canvas is extremely useful for structuring your business model visually. This helps at different stages of defining your business canvas and makes it easy to keep up-to-date as strategies shift.

2. Focuses you on your value proposition

It can be easy to get distracted by the varying factors involved in running a business. The value proposition is at the heart of the entire Business Model Canvas template, so you can continually focus on why your business exists. You should use your value proposition as a guiding star to give you direction as you fill out all other parts of the canvas.

3. Fast to complete

Whether or not your business model is clearly defined or you are testing out different business models, the Business Canvas template can be completed quickly and helps you generate new business ideas. This allows for quicker feedback, quicker ideation, and faster iteration.

4. Provides a holistic view of your business

With the Business Model Canvas, you can see how all of the elements of your business are interrelated and inform or affect each other. This provides you with a better understanding of how your business operates as a system or ecosystem.

5. Gives you a central document to share externally

Once you’ve filled out your Business Model Canvas template, you can share it widely, get feedback, and make any needed updates. Because the visual presentation is easy to grasp and understand, teams, stakeholders, advisors, and partners should find the canvas relatively straightforward and easy to understand.

Can I customize the template to suit my business or add more details?

Yes, you can customize the Business Model Canvas template to match your specific business needs and add additional notes or details as necessary.

How often should I update or review the BMC for my business?

The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a dynamic tool that should be reviewed and updated regularly to reflect changes in your business model or market.

Can I use the BMC template for both startups and established businesses?

Yes, the Business Model template is suitable for both startups and established companies. It's a versatile tool that can be used for business model development, refinement, and innovation at any stage.

Is there a way to link external resources or documentation directly in the Business Model Canvas template?

Yes, in Miro, you can embed external links directly onto the canvas. This is particularly useful if you want to provide more detailed information or references for specific model sections or business cases.

Can I export my Business Model Canvas to share with stakeholders not using Miro?

Absolutely! Miro provides multiple export options for your canvas. You can save your Business Model Canvas as an image (PNG, JPEG), a PDF, or even a CSV file for the data.

Are there any integrations available to enhance my use of the Business Model Canvas template in Miro?

Yes, Miro offers a suite of integrations with popular tools and platforms to streamline your workflow. For example, you can integrate with tools like Slack for team communication, Google Drive for document storage, or Jira for project management. Using these integrations, you can seamlessly bring in external data, notify team members of updates, or even automate specific tasks directly within your Business Model Canvas board.

Get started with this template right now.

Startup Canvas Template

Works best for:.

Leadership, Documentation, Strategic Planning

A Startup Canvas helps founders express and map out a new business idea in a less formal format than a traditional business plan. Startup Canvases are a useful visual map for founders who want to judge their new business idea’s strengths and weaknesses. This Canvas can be used as a framework to quickly articulate your business idea’s value proposition, problem, solution, market, team, marketing channels, customer segment, external risks, and Key Performance Indicators. By articulating factors like success, viability, vision, and value to the customer, founders can make a concise case for why a new product or service should exist and get funded.

Three-Hour Brand Sprint Template

Marketing, Workshops, Sprint Planning

Before customers will believe in your brand, your team has to believe. That’s where brand sprints work wonders. Popularized by the team at Google Ventures, a brand sprint will help your team sort through all different ideas about your brand and align on your brand’s fundamental building blocks—your values, audience, personality, mission statement, roadmap, and more. Whether you’re building a new brand or revamping an existing one, brand sprints are ideal for trigger events such as naming your company, designing a logo, hiring an agency, or writing a manifesto.

PEST Analysis Template

Ideation, Strategic Planning, Business Management

No business operates inside a vacuum, so if you want to succeed, you have to successfully deal with local laws, government regulating bodies, the health of the local economy, social factors like the unemployment rate, average household income, and more. Use the PEST Analysis Template to help you explore how the world impacts your business and how you can work around it.

Executive Summary Template

Leadership, Project Management, Documentation

Pique their curiosity. Get them excited. Inspire them to keep reading, diving further into your proposal details. That’s what a good executive summary has the power to do—and why it’s a crucial opening statement for business plans, project plans, investment proposals, and more. Use this template to create an executive summary that starts building belief, by answering high-level questions that include: What is your project? What are the goals? How will you bring your skills and resources to the project? And who can expect to benefit?

Change Control Process Template

Agile Methodology, Documentation, Product Management

You can predict, research, and plan for every detail of a project to go a certain way—then along comes the unforeseen and modifications are needed. That’s when a change control process comes into play. It helps define the right steps to take, gives stakeholders full visibility, and reduces the chances of errors and disruption. And this template is easy to use and highly effective—for ensuring that proposed changes are reviewed before they’re implemented, and empowering teams to veto changes that might prove unnecessary or disruptive.

Opportunity Canvas Template

Leadership, Decision Making, Strategic Planning

Features and capabilities — they make or break a product, which is why companies spend so much time and effort focusing on them. Sound like you? Try it with an Opportunity Canvas. This streamlined one-pager gives you and your team the power to improve your product by exploring the use cases, potential setbacks, strategies, challenges, and metrics. An Opportunity Canvas is ideal if you’ve already built a product, because you don’t need to consider the operational or revenue model.

• Create your own canvas

Create a new Business Model Canvas

The Business Model Canvas was proposed by Alexander Osterwalder based on his earlier book: Business Model Ontology . It outlines nine segments which form the building blocks for the business model in a nice one-page canvas. You can find a detailed explanation in his bestselling book "Business Model Generation".

If you want to try it a Business Model Canvas without entering your email address, please use our Canvanizer 2.0 Business Model Canvas Demo for a first impression.

Canvas Title:

Description :

Your Name :

More about the Business Model Canvas

The Business Model Canvas reflects systematically on your business model, so you can focus on your business model segment by segment. This also means you can start with a brain dump, filling out the segments the spring to your mind first and then work on the empty segments to close the gaps. The following list with questions will help you brainstorm and compare several variations and ideas for your next business model innovation.

Key partners

• Who are your key partners/suppliers?
• What are the motivations for the partnerships?

Key activities

• What key activities does your value proposition require?
• What activities are important the most in distribution channels, customer relationships, revenue stream…?

Value Proposition

• What core value do you deliver to the customer?
• Which customer needs are you satisfying?

Customer Relationship

• What relationship that the target customer expects you to establish?
• How can you integrate that into your business in terms of cost and format?

Customer Segment

• Which classes are you creating values for?
• Who is your most important customer?

Key Resource

• What key resources does your value proposition require?
• What resources are important the most in distribution channels, customer relationships, revenue stream…?

Distribution Channel

• Through which channels that your customers want to be reached?
• Which channels work best? How much do they cost? How can they be integrated into your and your customers’ routines?

Cost Structure

• What are the most cost in your business?
• Which key resources/ activities are most expensive?

Revenue Stream

• For what value are your customers willing to pay?
• What and how do they recently pay? How would they prefer to pay?
• How much does every revenue stream contribute to the overall revenues?

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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

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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.

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How to create a business model canvas: the ultimate guide

This blog will explain what a BMC is and a step-by-step explanation of how to define a business model with this famous canvas. To learn more about business models I recommend the following blog:  Types of business model in less than 800 characters .    

What is BMC and what is it for?  

BMC is an acronym of the words  Business Model Canvas ; in Spanish it is called lienzo de modelo de negocio. The BMC is a tool to show how the organization captures, delivers, organizes, and creates value. It is an essential tool for creating business models. With the help of this tool, the main aspects of the business idea that are necessary for the project to work properly are described.  The main components of a BMC are explained below.

Index  

• What is BMC and what is it for? 
• Essential components 
• Step-by-step explanation of the BMC

Main components  

The business model canvas can be designed with multiple aesthetic variants. But there are certain main components that the tool must have so that the business model can be created in a satisfactory way. In addition, it must be defined in a way that makes it truly clear what the business idea and the value proposition with the customer is.  The main components are these 3 :  

• Cost Center  
• Value Proposition  
• Profit centre

Step-by-step explanation of the BMC  

In the picture above you can see a gift that represents your company's value proposition to the customer. Everything to the right of this gift corresponds to the profit center and everything to the left corresponds to the cost centers.  Below is a more detailed diagram of how these components are divided and what questions need to be answered:  

• Value Proposition :  What customer problem is being solved and how?  
• Cost Center 
• Key Partners : Who should you partner with to deliver and create a solution?  
• Key Activities : What actions must be taken to create and deliver a solution?  
• Key Resources : What is needed to produce and deliver a solution?  
• Cost Structure : What are the components involved in the business model and the cost associated with each component?  
• Profit Center  
• Customer relationships : How do we acquire new customers? What would be the desired customer relationships in the business model?  
• Customer   segments : To which groups of people do we want to offer our solutions?  
• Channels : How do you deliver your solution to your customers? Where can customers find your solution?  
• Revenue   streams : How do you generate revenue?  

What is the best way to use the tool?  

While the use of this canvas does not have a rigid structure that prevents, for example, a preliminary brainstorming that allows for a better design of the business model, the questions where the organization is clearer about its business model can be answered.  You could even answer the questions where the organization is clearer about its business model, and once the confidence to provide ideas grows, you could go into the questions that require a more detailed analysis. Even so, I recommend that when creating your first BMC you follow the steps below:  

1. Choosing customer segments  

A useful strategy for segmenting customers is to group them according to their needs, the channels they can be reached through and the different types of offerings or relationships. In this way you are also creating ideas for the other sections and have a very orderly way of understanding the customer.  

2. Define the value proposition 

What features and benefits are created for the customer of the segment(s) specified in the previous step? It is recommended to use the following criteria to justify the value proposition:  

• Novelty: How novel are the products and services offered.  
• Performance: What is the quality and speed that increases the value of the business model.  
• Customization: How customizable are the services and products offered.  
• Design: How our design differentiates us from the competition.  
• Price: How high or low the price will be (depends on the chosen business model).  

3. Choosing channels  

Channels can be very varied; they can be partners' or own and simultaneously direct or indirect.  Channels exist in the different stages of the  customer journey . In the  Buyer Journey  these three stages are  Awareness ,  Consideration  and  Decision .  

4. Establishing the customer relationship  

Customer relationships are of utmost importance to deliver, reach and communicate the value proposition to our customer. In this section it is necessary to determine how new customers are acquired and which relationships are in line with the solution that the company needs to deliver.  

5. Determine revenue sources  

How is the company generating revenue for each client, is it recurring revenue or does the client pay only once for the solution? The clearest examples of revenue generation are:  

• Sales: The company sells a product or service for which the customer will owe a one-time payment.  
• Subscription: This is a recurring payment for a specific service.  
• Pay-per-use: This is like subscription; it is a recurring payment. But the cost of this varies according to the customer's usage.  

6. Determine key resources  

Resources are everything that is needed to successfully carry out the business model. They can be divided into: Physical, Intellectual, Human and Financial.

These are all the tasks to carry out a business model that provides the target user or customer with a solution to their problems.  

8. Choose key partners  

This includes the stakeholders, the network of suppliers and partners needed to carry out the business model.  Some factors that make the business model need a partner are: Optimization of economies of scale, risk reduction and the acquisition of resources or activities especially by  outsourcing companies.  

9. Differentiate the costs incurred in the business model  

Finally, to run a successful business model you need to ensure financial viability. For this it is necessary to divide the operating costs as follows: Fixed Costs, Variable Costs. In addition, economies of scale, cost minimization and  premium  value propositions that generate the maximum possible value must be considered.  

In conclusion, the way you do your BMC should not be rigid at all but following a series of steps ensures that the process is sequential and logical. This makes the design process a high value activity.  

For more information I recommend you visit these interesting blogs:  

Business Model Canvas: Osterwalder-Pigneur and alternatives

Construye Paso a Paso un Business Model Canvas  

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Business Model Canvas Template

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Consider the business or project you want to build. Learn about Business Model Canvas to sketch your ideas.

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What is Business Model Canvas?

The Business Model Canvas is a strategic management and planning tool that provides a visual framework for describing, analyzing, and designing a business’s key building blocks and how they interact to create value.

What is the purpose of Business Model Canvas?

The purpose of a Business Model Canvas is to describe, analyze, and design a business model and outline high-level strategic decisions needed to get a business or product onto the market. Designed by the economic theorist Alexander Osterwalder and the computer scientist Yves Pigneur in 2005, the template comes in the form of an intuitive one-page business plan summary consisting of the nine key building blocks, from customer segments to cost structure.

When to use Business Model Canvas?

The Business Model Canvas is an adaptable tool with many applications. It’s commonly employed in the following scenarios:

• Initiating a business: The Business Model Canvas helps flesh out your business concept and assess whether you should proceed with it or consider modifying your approach.
• Enhancing an established business: If you’re dissatisfied with your business’s performance, the Business Model Canvas can assist in pinpointing areas that require improvement.
• Introducing a new product or service: The Business Model Canvas provides insights into how your new product or service aligns with your existing business and the necessary adjustments to ensure its success within the organization.

How can Business Model Canvas benefit established businesses?

• Structural Guidance: It provides a visual framework for structuring your business model, ensuring that the canvas evolves in line with your strategy.
• Value Proposition Focus: The Canvas emphasizes the core value proposition, keeping your business aligned with its fundamental purpose and acting as a guiding principle.
• Efficient Planning: Whether you have a defined model or are exploring alternatives, the BMC template enables rapid and efficient completion, promoting swift ideation and iterative development.
• Holistic Understanding: It offers a comprehensive view of the interconnected elements within your business, enhancing your perception of it as a cohesive system.
• Effective Communication: BMC can be easily shared with teams, stakeholders, advisors, and partners, facilitating clear feedback and understanding.

What should be included in Business Model Canvas (BMC)?

The Business Model Canvas should include 9 sections, each outlining the most strategically important elements of a business. The sections are as follows:

Customer Segments: What customer groups will be interested in your product or service?

Key Partnerships: Who are your partners and suppliers that make your business model work?

Key Activities: What activities do you require to make the business model successful?

Revenue Streams: How are you going to drive revenue?

Value Propositions: Why will customers buy and use your product?

Channels: How are you planning to deliver, promote, and sell your product or service?

Key Resources: What resources do you need to deliver on the value propositions ?

Customer Relationships: What customer communication channels are you planning to have?

Cost Structure: What will drive business’ expenses? How are they related to revenue?

How to create Business Model Canvas online?

For your convenience, you can quickly map out your business plan by filling in all 9 boxes of the BMC template online. There are no strict rules on which component of the BMC to spell out first. You may start by describing key partners, activities, resources, and value propositions and then move on to identifying your customer base and communication channels. The expenses and revenue boxes can be filled at the final stage.

Tips for Creating Effective Business Model Canvas

Here are four key tips to help you make the most of the Business Model Canvas:

Keep it simple. Your canvas should be clear, concise, and easy to understand. Avoid overwhelming it with unnecessary details. Focus on the core components that define your business, such as customer segments, value propositions, channels, and revenue streams. By keeping it simple, you’ll be better equipped to communicate your strategy to others and maintain a clear vision for your business.

Continuously update your canvas. Make it a habit to revisit and update your canvas regularly. Market conditions change, customer needs evolve, and competitors adapt. By regularly updating your canvas, you can ensure that your business remains aligned with current realities and emerging opportunities.

Collaborate with your team. Creating a Business Model Canvas is not a solo endeavor. Collaboration with your team is crucial. Gather input from various departments and individuals, as their perspectives can provide valuable insights. By involving your team, you can tap into their expertise and ensure everyone is on the same page regarding the company’s strategy and goals.

Test and validate your model. A business model is only as good as its real-world performance. It’s essential to test and validate hypotheses it contains. Experiment with different strategies, measure their outcomes and adjust your canvas accordingly. This iterative process of testing and refining will help you discover what works and what doesn’t, allowing your business to adapt and thrive.

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Business Model Canvas

Start creating your Canvas Business Model now. A strategic management template used for developing new business models and documenting existing ones.

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These are PNG/PDF ready-for-download files. Try to edit your Business Canvas Model: access a bigger screen to access our desktop app!

User-friendly Canvas Editor

Save hours of work with our intuitive Business Model Canvas editor. Specifically designed for entrepreneurs and business professionals, this free Business Model Canvas generator simplifies the strategy-building process. Minimize time spent on formatting and focus more on your innovative ideas, accelerating your journey from concept to reality.

High-quality Image and PowerPoint Export

No more manual transferring of your business strategy into presentations. With just one click, export your Business Model Canvas into a high-quality image. Get your business model ready for pitches, brainstorming sessions, team briefings, and stakeholder meetings in no time.

Free Business Model Canvas Maker

The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a powerful strategic management and entrepreneurial tool that allows you to visualize, design, and reinvent your business model. Developed by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur, it provides a holistic, visual overview of your business on a single page. It's designed to be easily understandable and to facilitate business strategy discussions. The BMC comprises nine essential building blocks:

• Customer Segments: Different groups of people or organizations your business aims to reach and serve.
• Value Propositions: The bundle of products and services that create value for specific Customer Segments.
• Channels: How your business communicates with and reaches its Customer Segments to deliver its Value Proposition.
• Customer Relationships: The types of relationships a company establishes with specific Customer Segments.
• Revenue Streams: The cash a company generates from each Customer Segment.
• Key Resources: The most important assets required to make a business model work.
• Key Activities: The most important things a company must do to make its business model work.
• Key Partnerships: The network of suppliers and partners that make the business model work.
• Cost Structure: All costs incurred to operate a business model.

Using these nine segments, you can outline your business's value proposition, infrastructure, customers, and finances, creating a snapshot of your organization's strategy and operational effectiveness.

Enter the Business Model Canvas generator tool. This online tool streamlines the process of creating your own Business Model Canvas, allowing you to concentrate on brainstorming and strategizing rather than formatting a document. Its intuitive interface lets you easily populate each segment of the canvas, helping you quickly visualize and iterate on your business model.

The Business Model Canvas generator tool not only simplifies the creation of a BMC, but it also supports collaboration. Teams can work together on the same canvas in real-time, leading to efficient brainstorming sessions and ensuring everyone is aligned with the business strategy. Furthermore, it allows for easy exporting of your canvas to high-quality images or PowerPoint presentations, saving you valuable time.

The Business Model Canvas is a dynamic and versatile tool, and the Business Model Canvas generator enhances this by providing a user-friendly, collaborative, and secure platform to craft your business model. Whether you're an entrepreneur in the early stages of a startup or a business professional rethinking your business strategy, the Business Model Canvas generator tool can be a game-changer in your planning process.

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11 Free Business Model Canvas Templates in Word and ClickUp

Haillie Parker

March 13, 2024

The foundation of a successful business is an effective business model—your organization won’t be able to get off the ground without one!

At the same time, creating your business model is no walk in the park, and you’ll likely need to lean on some or all of your resources in the development process. One of the most accessible and time-saving resources in this area is a business model canvas template, and if you don’t have one yet or are seeking a new one, you’ve come to the right place!

Follow along as we dive into the top FAQs, benefits, and features of the best business model canvas templates and 11 downloadable examples for any type of business.

What is a Business Model Canvas Template?

What to look for in a business model canvas template, 1. business model canvas template by clickup, 2. startup business model canvas template by clickup, 3. lean canvas template by clickup, 4. business planning template by clickup, 5. business planning document template by clickup, 6. lean business plan template by clickup, 7. business development plan template by clickup, 8. business ideation template by clickup, 9. clickup business brainstorming template, 10. microsoft word business model canvas template by neos chronos, 11. microsoft work blank business model canvas template by the business model analyst, elements of a business model canvas.

Business model canvas templates are pre-built and customizable tools to outline and visualize your business model on a single page. These documents quickly define your company’s unique value proposition , target audience, revenue, cost, resources, key partnerships, and more.

Without a template, developing your business model canvas can be a lengthy and difficult process. Plus, business model canvas templates reduce the margin for error and ensure you’re thinking strategically, working efficiently, and meeting your stakeholder’s expectations.

Business model canvas templates are also great resources to share with the entire team and keep everyone aligned on your organization’s long-term goals.

There are tons of simple, accessible, and free business model canvas templates available for virtually every business management software —but not all templates are created equally! Here are five must-have features to look for before downloading:

• Multiple views to customize the structure of your business model plan and how you visualize it
• Collaboration features to involve the team, stakeholders, and other departments
• Ease of use and simplicity to ensure you’re using the template correctly
• Flexibility to accommodate different company sizes, industries, and business models
• Multiple integrations to bring context and information from other work tools into your template

11 Business Model Canvas Templates in Word & ClickUp

Searching for the perfect BMC template can be an overwhelming process.

Instead of fishing through pages of links or resorting to the trial-and-error method, start here with 11 of the best business model canvas templates for ClickUp and Microsoft. 

The Business Model Canvas Template by ClickUp empowers teams to create new and try different business models with ease on a collaborative Whiteboard . The template starts with nine main color-coded segments to structure your business model canvas:

Key Partners

Key activities, value proposition, customer relationships, customer segments, key resources, cost structure, revenue stream.

Defining these segments will help you develop every element of your business model and give your organization the foundation to thrive. This template also prompts you to indicate the company you’re creating the business model for, along with the designer involved and the date of creation. You can also specify the version name and number if you plan on creating multiple iterations of a business model using this template. And since ClickUp Whiteboards provide an infinite canvas, you’ll never run out of space developing your business ideas.

Startups have unique planning requirements and need a tool that can build a solid foothold for the new company. The Startup Canvas Whiteboard Template by ClickUp was designed with this in mind, and why ClickUp itself is one of the best tools for startups in the planning phase. 

This template includes everything you need to gauge the feasibility of your startup business based on various parameters. The template includes 13 segments that cover nearly every aspect of your startup to help you fully realize your vision for the business. Easily name your organization’s key partners, the problem your business or product will solve, your target market, measurable objectives , equipment costs, the key factor to your success, and more. 

This beginner-friendly Whiteboard template allows you to create a concise summary of your business, what you want to achieve with it, and how you can succeed. It can also serve as a skeletal roadmap for a more comprehensive business plan as your company grows.

The Lean Canvas Template by ClickUp helps business leaders identify the most crucial and dangerous assumptions in their organization. It’s especially helpful when launching a new product or service, as it presents all ideas and potential problems in an organized, easy-to-understand list. Another great resource for startups, this template isn’t just for the planning phase—you can use it multiple times to organize any area of your business throughout its lifecycle.

A little different than the Whiteboard diagrams we saw above, this template applies a pre-made List to your Workspace with three five views including ClickUp’s unique Form view , Kanban-like Board view , and Table view . Using these views, managers can choose how they visualize the issues at hand and can categorize them based on factors like customer segment, cost, metrics, channels, and more.

In this template, you’ll also find a detailed Getting Started Guide ClickUp Doc to support your setup process, three custom statuses, and eight Custom Fields to access key information quickly and directly from your tasks.

If you’re starting a new business idea, the Business Planning Template by ClickUp will help you develop a thorough business plan that leaves no areas overlooked. This details all tasks you and the team must complete and keep everything organized on a clear timeline .

This template will immediately prompt you to plug in your organization’s information, deadlines, and projects into ready-made tasks arranged on an interactive list, Kanban board , or table. With four custom statuses and three Custom Fields to add references, approvals, and sections to each task, this template is somewhat simpler to learn than the previous one but includes a comprehensive Business Plan ClickUp Doc to built-out your strategy.  

Ready to learn more about business strategy? Use this template along with another strategic planning template to ensure you’re taking the proper course of action.

If you’re not ready to put your business model plans into action, start with the Business Planning Document Template by ClickUp to fully outline and visualize your business strategy. What’s unique about this template is that it’s specifically and only for ClickUp Docs. And while it’s intuitive to learn and start using quickly, it’s by no means a simple one-pager !

The formatted Doc guides you from the top down. Starting with your company name, overview, background, and team, you’ll soon be prompted to define key metrics and research including:

• Your marketing analysis
• Sales and marketing strategy
• Operational strategy

And more! Plus, you can link tasks directly in your Business Plan Doc and turn any text into an action item, helping you act on new ideas the moment they come up. And with an automatically saved version history, collaborative live editing, and assigned comments, your Doc will remain updated and act as a referrable source of truth throughout the development of your business proposal and model.

For something a bit less extensive than our other business plan and Whiteboard templates, you can make the most of your resources with this Lean Business Plan Template by ClickUp . 

In this template, you’ll have access to multiple views depending on your preferred layout including a dynamic List, a pre-built Kanban board, and multiple Help Docs . Within each view, you’ll find convenient sections for all of your key information including your plan summary, business model canvas, prioritized tasks, or notes.

In your plan summary, you can categorize your tasks by five different custom statuses, add multiple assignees for cross-functional teams , set deadlines, attach Docs, and more. This template will establish the bare bones of a traditional business plan as you and your team get things done, working toward your business goals.

ClickUp’s Business Development Plan Template offers a comprehensive roadmap tailored for success. With its user-friendly interface, this template facilitates measurable goals and objectives, identification of key milestones for progress tracking, and the creation of clear action plans and strategies.

By utilizing this template, entrepreneurs can effectively chart their path towards sustainable growth and development, ensuring their business remains agile and responsive in today’s dynamic market landscape.

Need the perfect tool to practice and develop your ideation techniques ? Apply the Business Ideation Template by ClickUp to start mapping out new concepts. It’s also a great resource to have on hand during group discussions or brainstorming sessions . 

The template presents users with an Ideation Diagram that includes different segments to help categorize and organize ideas. You can jot down all ideas based on whether they’re business process, product, or people-oriented. The legend indicates each category, and the Pool of Ideas segment will allow you and others to add certain general ideas that you can categorize later.

The entire diagram is highly visual and organized using ClickUp’s digital whiteboard software to capture and develop ideas the moment you have them.

Especially if you rely on ClickUp as brainstorming software , the Business Brainstorming Template by ClickUp will help you nurture new ideas. 

This template allows you to categorize ideas based on:

• What you love
• What you know
• What people need
• What people will pay for 

Include multiple people on your Whiteboard diagram and use collaborative detection to see viewing your work and edit alongside each other without overlap.

This unique visual aid will make everyone feel like they’re actively contributing to discussions and brainstorming sessions, even if you work asynchronously. You can also take this template a step further and use your completed diagram to prioritize newer ideas and determine what’s worth exploring further.

Another option to help develop your business model is the Microsoft Word Business Model Canvas Template. It’s similar to ClickUp’s business model canvas templates and allows for simple organization of the various facets of your company.

Using this basic template, you can establish multiple key details about your business model including key partners and suppliers, your value proposition, and relationships. Identify the channels you’ll need to use to reach your customers, along with the resources required for each activity. In addition, you can add information about revenue streams and cost structure.

This tool is free to download and allows for instant use through Microsoft Word. If simplicity is something you’re looking for from your business model canvas template, this is a good place to start.

Looking for a different Word template to build your next business plan? This Blank Business Model Canvas Template is a little more complex and flexible than the previous document—it’s also free to download!

This template gives you and members of your team a centralized view of your business model, keeping everyone on the same page, literally and figuratively. It takes the segments from the template above and presents them in a diagram format . You can view all key partners, activities, and more in organized sections and add details in the form of sticky notes . Choose from different formatting options, including colors, fonts, and arrangements to optimize how you present your data.

Understanding the key components of a business model canvas is crucial for effectively applying it to your business strategy. Each element plays a vital role in presenting a comprehensive view of your business model. Here are the critical elements of a business model canvas template:

Key Partners are the external companies or individuals who contribute to your business’s success. These can include suppliers, manufacturers, and business allies who support your operations or market entry strategies, helping reduce risks or acquire resources.

Key Activities entail the essential actions your business must take to deliver its value proposition successfully. This can range from production, problem-solving, to delivery, crucial for your business model to thrive.

The Value Proposition defines the unique value your product or service offers to customers. It’s what sets you apart from competitors and addresses specific customer needs or problems, making your offering compelling.

Customer Relationships describe the types of relationships you establish with your customer segments. Whether personal, automated, or self-service, this element outlines how you interact and maintain engagement with your customers.

Customer Segments identify the different groups of people or organizations your business aims to serve. Different segments can have varied needs, and tailoring your approach to each segment can optimize satisfaction and value delivery.

Channels refer to the methods through which your business communicates with and reaches its customer segments to deliver the value proposition. Effective channels ensure the right products and services reach customers at the right time and place.

Key Resources are the assets vital for a business to create and deliver its value proposition, reach markets, maintain customer relationships, and generate revenue. This includes physical, intellectual, human, and financial resources.

The Cost Structure highlights the significant costs involved in operating the business model. Understanding these helps in strategizing on value optimization, cost reduction, and overall financial management.

Revenue Streams constitute the various sources from which the business earns money from each customer segment. This can include direct sales, subscriptions, licensing, or any other revenue-generating mechanisms.

Reach your Goals with Business Model Templates

Choosing the right business model template is essential for developing a successful plan that aligns with your business goals and objectives. With a variety of options available, it can be overwhelming to find the ideal template that fits your specific requirements.

ClickUp’s extensive Template Library offers a range of customizable templates to streamline your business planning process and achieve your goals. Plus, you can access any template, hundreds of productivity features , and over 1,000 integrations for free when you sign up for ClickUp today .

Questions? Comments? Visit our Help Center for support.

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Business models: the toolkit to design a disruptive company

In today's fast-paced business world, having a solid understanding of business models is essential for creating a successful and disruptive company. In this deep dive article, we will explore the toolkit to design a disruptive company through the lens of the Business Model Canvas.

1. What is a business model?

Definition:.

A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers and captures value. It can be described through 9 building blocks: Customer Segments, Value Propositions, Channels, Customer Relationships, Revenue Streams, Key Resources, Key Activities, Key Partnerships & Cost Structure.

Business Model History

Where did the term even come from?

The search to define what a business model is goes as far back as 1994, when Peter Drucker introduced the theory of the business was a set of assumptions about what a business will and won’t do in an article for the Harvard Business Review. He speaks about how companies fail to keep up with changing market conditions, as well as their duty to identify customers and competitors, their values and behaviour. Now considering that we've had businesses for over hundreds of years - it's pretty remarkable we only just came up with the term 'business model' a few decades ago!

In the middle of the 2002 dot com crisis, Joan Magretta  built on Drucker’s business definition to exclaim that business models are “at heart, stories. Stories that explain how enterprises work. A good business model answers Peter Drucker’s age-old questions: ‘Who is the customer? And what does the customer value?'

The shift from a business plan to business model goes hand-in-hand with the rise of personal computers and the use of spreadsheets. Entrepreneurs used to plan their businesses year by year, quarter by quarter, and write it down in a document almost like a book who’s copy is final. The change occurred hand in hand alongside the introduction of powerful new technology such as Microsoft Excel, enabling people to model them digitally and more accurately. Being able to calculate your entire profit and loss for a business was now available to you on a single Microsoft Excel page. This now meant businesses could be modelled before they were actually launched. Products or services could be done ahead of time in terms of calculating the business' recurring revenue, profit, marketing costs, advertising spend etc. in order to model the framework of the business.

This change in approach prompted the likes of Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur to invent the Business Model Canvas in 2005, the first ever visual business tool of its kind. Long gone are the days of having to come up with a long & highly unrealistic business plan,  trying to predict what product or service you'll be selling at the company five years from now!

What is the Business Model Canvas (BMC) ?

The Business Model Canvas is a strategic management and lean startup template for developing new or documenting existing business models. It is a visual tool with elements describing a company’s value proposition, infrastructure, customers and finances. It provides an organized way to lay out your assumptions about not only the key resources and key activities of your value chain, but also your value proposition, customer relationships, channels, customer segments, cost structures, and revenue streams.

It assists companies in aligning their activities by illustrating potential trade-offs by comparing them to one another and being able to see the bigger picture of their overall business framework. It's essentially taken Peter Drucker's hypothetical concept of a business 'model' and turned it into something much more tangible, that we can now see visually and use as a tool to consider all the different aspects of a single business model.

The Business Model Canvas explained in a short 2-minute video:

Why use the Business Model Canvas?

Create a shared language

This concept can become a shared language that allows you to easily describe and manipulate business models to create new strategic alternatives. Without such a shared language it is difficult to systematically challenge assumptions about one’s business and innovate successfully.

Simple, visual and practical

The canvas is perfect for any good discussion, meeting, or workshop on business model innovation and creates a shared language. We need a concept that everybody understands: one that facilitates description and discussion. We need to start from the same point and talk about the same thing. The challenge is that the concept must be simple, relevant, and intuitively understandable, while not oversimplifying the complexities of how enterprises function.

Discover opportunities

By going through the process of listing the different parts of your business on the canvas, you begin to visualise and understand the different relationships between the nine building blocks that make up the tool.

Iterate quickly

Whether you’re using sticky notes on a real life Business Model Canvas or you’re designing your business model on the Strategyzer app , you can iterate on your designs very quickly. The tool enables you to prototype a first version and simply keep iterating until you’ve tested enough ideas to find product-market fit.

Read more: 14 Ways to Apply the Business Model Canvas

2. The 9 building blocks of The Business Model Canvas

We believe a business model can best be described through nine basic building blocks that show the logic of how a company intends to deliver value and make money. The nine blocks cover the three main areas of a business: desirability, viability and feasibility. The business model is like a blueprint for a strategy to be implemented through organizational structures, processes, and systems. Let’s take a look into the three different sections:

Desirability

Value propositions.

The Value Proposition's Building Block describes the bundle of products and services that create value for a specific Customer Segment The Value Proposition is the reason why customers turn to one company over another. It solves a customer problem or satisfies a customer need.

Each Value Proposition consists of a selected bundle of products and/or services that caters to the requirements of a specific Customer Segment. In this sense, the Value Proposition is an aggregation, or bundle, of benefits that a company offers customers. Some Value Propositions may be innovative and represent a new or disruptive offer. Others may be similar to existing market offers, but with added features and attributes

Customer Segments

The Customer Segments Building Block defines the different groups of people or organizations an enterprise aims to reach and serve Customers are the heart of any business model. Without (profitable) customers, no company can survive for long. In order to better satisfy customers, a company may group them into distinct segments with common needs, common behaviors, or other attributes. A business model may define one or several large or small Customer Segments. An organization must make a conscious decision about which segments 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 Channels Building Block describes how a company communicates with and reaches its Customer Segments.

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

• Raising awareness among customers 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

Customer Relationships

The Customer Relationships Building Block describes the types of relationships a company establishes with specific Customer Segments. A company should clarify the type of relationship it wants to establish with each Customer Segment. Relationships can range from personal to automated. Customer relationships may be driven by the following motivations:

• Customer acquisition
• Customer retention
• Boosting sales (up-selling)

Revenue Streams

The Revenue Streams Building Block represents the cash a company generates from each Customer Segment (costs must be subtracted from revenues to create earnings).

If customers is the heart of a business model, Revenue Streams are its arteries. A company must ask itself, For what value is each Customer Segment truly willing to pay? Successfully answering that question allows the firm to generate one or more Revenue Streams from each Customer Segment. Each Revenue Stream may have different pricing mechanisms, such as fixed list prices, bargaining, auctioning, market dependent, volume dependent, or yield management.

A business model can involve two different types of Revenue Streams:

• Transaction revenues resulting from one-time customer payments
• Recurring revenues resulting from ongoing payments to either deliver a Value Proposition to customers or provide post-purchase customer support

Cost Structure

The Cost Structure describes all costs incurred to operate a business model. This building block describes the most important costs incurred while operating under a particular business model.

Creating and delivering value, maintaining Customer Relationships, and generating revenue all incur costs. Such costs can be calculated relatively easily after defining Key Resources, Key Activities, and Key Partnerships. Some are more cost-driven than others. So-called “no frills” airlines, for instance, have built business models entirely around low cost structures

Feasibility

The Key Resources Building Block describes the most important assets required to make a business model work Every business model requires Key Resources. 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 you are building. A microchip manufacturer requires capital-intensive production facilities, whereas a microchip designer focuses more on human resources. Key resources can be physical, financial, intellectual, or human. Key resources can be owned or leased by the company or acquired from key partners.

Key Activities

The Key Activities Building Block describes the most important things a company must do to make its business model work. Every model calls for a number of Key Activities. These are the most important actions a company must take to operate successfully. Like Key Resources, they are required to create and offer a Value Proposition, reach markets, maintain Customer Relationships, and earn revenues. And like Key Resources, Key Activities differ depending on business model type. For software maker Microsoft, Key Activities include software development. For PC manufacturer Dell, Key Activities include supply chain management. For consultancy McKinsey, Key Activities include problem solving.

Partnerships

The Key Partnerships Building Block describes the network of suppliers and partners that make the business model work. Companies forge partnerships for many reasons, and partnerships are becoming a cornerstone of many business models. Companies create alliances to optimize, reduce risk, or acquire resources. We can distinguish between four different types of partnerships:

• Strategic alliances between non-competitors
• Coopetition: strategic partnerships between competitors
• Joint ventures to develop new businesses
• Buyer-supplier relationships to assure reliable supplies

3. Types of business models

In 2009, Amazon expands from platform to sales by launching Amazon private labels. It copies third-party sellers who created successful businesses by sourcing products absent from Amazon’s platform. Amazon sees this as an opportunity to create its own line of products.

In 1999 Amazon launched its third-party seller marketplace and established itself as an incredibly successful e-commerce platform for other retailers. In 2007 Amazon began to use its platform to sell its own electronic devices (Kindle e-reader) and expanded to private label products under the AmazonBasics brand. While many companies aim to shift from sales to platform, Amazon executed are verse shift from platform to sales. With its private label business Amazon started to compete with third-party suppliers who are also customers of its e-commerce business. Amazon continuously expanded its private label product catalog with a wide selection (from electronics to clothing and everyday accessories) and lower prices.

The term “freemium” was coined by Jarid Lukin and popularized by venture capitalist Fred Wilson on his blog. It stands for business models, mainly Web-based, that blend free basic services with paid premium services. The freemium model is characterized by a large user base benefiting from a free, no-strings-attached offer. Most of these users never become paying customers; only a small portion, usually less than 10 percent of all users, subscribe to the paid premium services. This small base of paying users subsidizes the free users. This is possible because of the low marginal cost of serving additional free users.

In a freemium model, the key metrics to watch are:

(1) the average cost of serving a free user

(2) the rates at which free users convert to premium (paying) customers

Flickr, the popular photo-sharing Web site acquired by Yahoo! in 2005, provides a good example of a freemium business model. Flickr users can subscribe for free to a basic account that enables them to upload and share images. The free service has certain constraints, such as limited storage space and a maximum number of uploads per month. For a small annual fee users can purchase a “pro” account and enjoy unlimited uploads and storage space, plus additional features.

Multi-sided platforms, known by economists as multi sided markets, are an important business phenomenon. They have existed for a long time, but proliferated with the rise of information technology. The Visa credit card, the Microsoft Windows operating system, the FinancialTimes, Google, the Wii game console, and Facebook are just a few examples of successful multi-sided platforms. We address them here because they represent an increasingly important business model pattern.

What exactly are multi-sided platforms? They are platforms that bring together two or more distinct but interdependent groups of customers. They create value as intermediaries by connecting these groups. Credit cards, for example, link merchants with cardholders; computer operating systems link hardware manufacturers, application developers, and users; newspapers link readers and advertisers; video gaming consoles link game developers with players.

The key is that the platform must attract and serve all groups simultaneously in order to create value. The platform’s value for a particular user group depends substantially on the number of users on the platform’s “other sides.” A video game console will only attract buyers if enough games are available for the platform. On the other hand, game developers will develop games for a new video console only if a substantial number of gamers already use it. Hence multi-sided platforms often face a “chicken and egg” dilemma.

One way multi-sided platforms solve this problem is by subsidizing a Customer Segment. Though a platform operator incurs costs by serving all customer groups, it often decides to lure one segment to the platform with an inexpensive or free Value Proposition in order to subsequently attract users of the platform’s “other side.” One difficulty multi-sided platform operators face is understanding which side to subsidize and how to price correctly to attract customers.

Multi-sided platforms bring together two or more distinct but interdependent groups of customers. Such platforms are of value to one group of customers only if the other groups of customers are also present. The platform creates value by facilitating interactions between the different groups. A multi-sided platform grows in value to the extent that it attracts more users, a phenomenon known as the network effects.

Let’s take a look into Google ’s multi-sided business model.

As a multi-sided platform Google has a very distinct revenue model. It makes money from one Customer Segment, advertisers, while subsidizing free offers to two other segments: Web surfers and content owners. This is logical because the more ads it displays to Web surfers, the more it earns from advertisers. Increased advertising earnings, in turn, motivates even more content owners to become AdSense partners. Advertisers don’t directly buy advertising space from Google. They bid on ad-related keywords associated with either search terms or content on third party Web sites. The bidding occurs through an AdWords auction service: the more popular a keyword, the more an advertiser has to pay for it. The substantial revenue that Google earns from AdWords allows it to continuously improve its free offers to search engine and AdSense users.

Google’s Key Resource is its search platform, which powers three different services: Web search (Google.com), advertising (AdWords), and third-party content monetization (AdSense). These services are based on highly complex proprietary search and match making algorithms supported by an extensive IT infrastructure.

Google’s three Key Activities can be defined as follows:

1. Building and maintaining the search infrastructure.

2. Managing the three main services.

3. Promoting the platform to new users, content owners, and advertisers.

More platform business model examples: Visa, Google, eBay, Microsoft Windows, Financial Times

In 1999 Salesforce.com disrupts the customer relationship management (CRM) arena by offering CRM-as-a service over the Internet. Salesforce unlocks a new market and continuously strengthens its business model with new innovations.

Salesforce.com was founded in 1999 with the goal of “making enterprise software as easy to use as a website like amazon.com.” Salesforce pioneered the software as-a-service (Saas) for customer relationship management tools. The company didn’t stop there and has constantly improved its services and business model. We distinguish between two, non-exhaustive phases: the early business model in 1999 and extensions starting in 2005.

Subscription

In 2006, Spotify launches a free online music service to compete against freely available, pirated music. Its main revenue source comes from users upgrading to a premium subscription.

Spotify is a music streaming platform that gives users access to a large catalog of music. It uses a freemium revenue model that offers a basic, limited, ad-supported service for free and an unlimited premium service for a subscription fee.

Spotify relies heavily on its music algorithms and its community of users and artists to keep its premium experience delightful. Its premium subscriber base has grown from 10% of total users in 2011 to 46% in 2018.

From the start Spotify saw itself as a legal alternative to pirated music and paid song purchases on iTunes. Spotify pays a significant portion of its revenue in the form of royalties to music labels. It has paid close to $10 billion in royalties since its launch in 2006.

The company accelerated the shift from music downloads to streaming and disrupted Apple iTunes in the process. For the first time in company history, Spotify made a profit in 2019.

4. What is business model innovation?

Business model innovation describes the innovative processes and rationale of how an business creates, delivers and captures value as opposed to how to create a new product or service. It's about fundamentally rethinking your business around a clear, new customer need, and then realigning your key resources, processes and profit formula with this new value proposition.

It’s not easy approach to take when making decisions as it pushes people out of their comfort zones. But the results can be dramatic, providing a real competitive business advantage - and we're seeing this sort of disruption a lot more often. Internet technology giants such as Amazon as world-class at demonstrating this kind of business acumen, where the founder Jeff Bezos even describes his company as 'the best place to fail in the world', referring to his company's approach to coming up with new business ideas.

Take Amazon Web Services for example: A project grew out of the company's need to improve their own tech stack performance. The American company went on to create Amazon Web Services to offers customers reliable, scalable, and inexpensive cloud computing services, paying only for what they used. Within 5-years would go on to totally dominate the cloud computing market and make Amazon over $10bn.

Read the case study we put together for Amazon Marketplace, using the business model portfolio to tell the story of how they validated their business idea: Patience is a Virtue: An Amazon Case Study in Three Parts . Otherwise you can read about the differences between organizations such as Amazon and Nestle .

4. Business Model Patterns

In the following section we outline a pattern library that is split into two categories of patterns: invent patterns to enhance new ventures and shift patterns to substantially improve an established, but deteriorating business model to make it more competitive.

Invent Patterns

Codify aspects of a superior business model. Each pattern helps you think through how to compete on a superior business model, beyond the traditional means of competition based on technology, product, service, or price. The best business models incorporate several patterns to outcompete others.

Shift Patterns:

Codify the shift from one type of business model to another. Each pattern helps you think through how you could substantially improve your current business model by shifting it from a less competitive one to a more competitive one.

Applying Business Model Patterns

Understand patterns to better perform the following business model activities:

Design and assess

Use patterns to design better business models around market opportunities, technology innovations, or new products and services. Use them to assess the competitiveness of an existing one.

Disrupt and transform

Use patterns as an inspiration to transform your market. In the following section, we provide a library of companies that disrupted entire industries. They were the first to introduce new business model patterns in their arena.

Question and improve

Use patterns to ask better business model questions, beyond the traditional product, service, pricing, and market-related questions. Regardless, whether you are a senior leader, innovation lead, entrepreneur, investor, or faculty, you can help develop superior business models based on better questions.

Frontstage Disruption

Market explorers: unlock markets.

Develop innovative value propositions that create, unleash, or unlock completely new,  untapped, or underserved markets with large potential.

Be a pioneer and unearth new revenue potential through market exploration.

Channel Kings: Access customers

Radically change how to reach and acquire a large number of customers. Pioneer innovative new channels that haven’t been used in your industry before.

Gravity Creators: Lock in customers

Make it difficult for customers to leave or switch to competitors. Create switching costs where previously there were none and turn transactional industries into ones with long term relationships.

A great product isn’t enough to bring a flock of customers to your door. You must design a superior business model to attract and retain customers into your ecosystem. Switching costs have enabled industry leaders such as Adobe, Salesforce, Microsoft or Rolls Royce to lock customers in and outcompete other players.

Backstage Disruption

Resource castles: build moats.

Build a competitive advantage with key resources that are difficult or impossible for competitors to copy.

Activity Differentiators: Better configure activities

Radically change which activities they perform and how they combine them to create and deliver value to customers.Create innovative value propositions based on activity differentiation.

Scalers: Grow faster

Find radically new ways to scale where others stay stuck in conventional non-scalable business models.

Profit-Formula Disruption

Revenue differentiators: boost revenues.

Find innovative ways to capture value, unlock previously unprofitable markets, and/or substantially increase revenues.

Recurring Revenue – Generate recurring revenues from one-time sales. Advantages include compound revenue growth (new revenues stack up on top of existing revenues), lower cost of sales (sell once and earn recurrently), and predictability.

Bait & Hook – Lock customers in with a base product (the bait) in order to generate recurring revenues from a consumable (the hook) that customers need recurrently to benefit from the base product.

Freemium Providers – Offer basic products and services free of charge and premium services and advanced product features for a fee. The best freemium models acquire a large customer base and excel in converting a substantial percentage to paid users.

Subsidizers – Offer the full value proposition for free or cheaply by subsidizing it through a strong alternative revenue stream. This differs from freemium, which only gives free access to a basic version of products and services.

Cost Differentiators: Kill costs

Build a business model with a game-changing cost structure, not just by streamlining activities and resources, but by doing things in disruptive new ways.

Resource Dodgers – Eliminate the most costly and capital-intensive resources from your business model to create a game-changing cost structure. (Examples: Airbnb, Uber, Bharti Airtel)

Technologists – Use technology in radically new ways to create a game-changing cost structure. (Examples: WhatsApp, Skype)

Low Cost – Combine activities, resources, and partners in radically new ways to create a game-changing cost structure with disruptively low prices. (Examples: EasyJet, Ryanair, Trader Joe’s)

Margin Masters: Boost margins

Achieve significantly higher margins than competitors by focusing on what customers are willing to pay for most, while keeping your cost structure in check. Prioritize profitability over market share.

Contrarians – Significantly reduce costs and increase value at the same time. Eliminate the most costly resources, activities, and partners from your business model, even if that means limiting the value proposition. Compensate by focusing on features in the value proposition that a well-defined customer segment loves and is willing to pay for, but which are relatively cheap to provide. (Examples: CitizenM, Cirque de Soleil, Nintendo Wii)

High Enders – Create products and services at the high end of the market spectrum for a broad range of high-end customers. Use these to maximize margins and avoid the small size and extreme cost structure of a luxury niche. (Example: iPhone )

5. Business model examples

Below are 4 examples of business models. See our searchable business model examples catalog for dozens of business models analyzed using the business model canvas.

Tesla was founded in 2003 with the goal of commercializing electric vehicles, starting with luxury sports cars and then moving onto affordable, mass market vehicles. In 2008, Tesla began selling its Roadster. Its first breakthrough was in 2012 when it launched the Model S.

Tesla’s first “affordable” car, the Model 3, was announced in 2015 and produced in 2017. Prior to Tesla, the market for electric vehicles was relatively insignificant and was served by utilitarian and unremarkable models. Tesla was the first car manufacturer to view the market for electric vehicles differently: Tesla saw a significant opportunity by focusing on performance and the high end of the market.

Learn more about Tesla’s business model by downloading your free copy of the 100-page preview of our bestselling book: The Invincible Company.

IKEA, the popular furniture company, also relies on customers as their free workforce but in a different way. Hundreds of thousands of IKEA customers assemble their bookshelves, tables, and other furniture at home after buying big boxes at big stores.

This was unthinkable before IKEA made it popular, because people used to expect furniture manufacturers to perform the assembly task. There’s a reason why customers are willing to do the work and it's because IKEA’s business model of boxed furniture offers a larger choice, immediate delivery, and all at a lower cost.

Read more about how Facebook, IKEA, WhatsApp, and Uber's business model make billions .

Dollar Shave Club

Dollar Shave Club (“DSC”) disrupted the market for shaving products by selling directly to consumers through its online store. Because they cut out the middleman (retail), they can pass on savings to customers. DSC makes up for the lack of established brand and distribution reach by harnessing the power of viral videos and internet marketing.

Could you access your customers in an unprecedented and scalable way? How could you cut out the middleman and create direct access to your end-customers?

Apple is one of the leading smartphone manufacturers in the world. But their product doesn’t do it all; in fact, you could argue that there are better smartphones out there. But Apple’s business model has moats that make it extremely difficult for others to overthrow them.

For example Apple’s app store connects its millions of iOS users with countless software developers that supply hundreds of thousands of apps searching for an audience. It's this ecosystem that's hard to copy, not the technology. Even with the best technology it is very hard to gain market share. Only Google with its Android operating system has managed to create a competing ecosystem.

Other interesting business models: AirBnb , ARM , citizenM , Dell , Didi , Dyson , Fortnite , M-Pesa , Microsoft Windows , Patagonia , Spotify , Tupperware , Waze , Whatsapp , Zara .

6. Business model tools and resources

• Business Model Canvas template
• The Portfolio Map template
• Business Model Generation masterclass
• Business Model Generation book
• Value Proposition Design book
• Testing Business Ideas book
• The Invincible Company book
• Business Model Generation Masterclass
• Testing Business Ideas by David Bland & Alexander Osterwalder
• The Invincible Company: Manage a portfolio of innovation

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Create Business Model Canvas Templates Online

If you want to start a new business, use these free editable business model canvas templates from edit.org to state the basic aspects of your project..

Did you have a great idea or you are planning on starting a new company ? If so, this is the time to translate that idea to a Business Model Canvas . With this document, you will be able to learn how to create an effective business model and describe the basic aspects of your new project.

Create a Business Model Canvas with Edit.org editable templates

Having the key points of your project specified before starting is fundamental since you will better understand its reason for being, the future performance and the means you are going to count on at the beginning.

All the Business Model Canvas sections are related to each other, and it is crucial to define them and translate them into a document . Here you have some examples of templates you can edit in a few seconds. In our editor, find dozens of templates with different designs ready to customize online and completely free by inserting your your logo or changing the corporate colors. Use the final result to make others understand your business .

How to customize a Business Model Canvas template online with Edit.org

• Click on any image of this article or go to the editor to get started
• Select the template you want to edit
• Customize it with images, texts, elements, and logo
• Save the changes and download the composition in JPG, PNG or PDF format
• Print it or share it on social media

Parts of a Business Model Canvas explained

• Key partners.  Who are or will be your key suppliers or partners? Are you going to make a partnership agreement? A win-win deal can benefit your project a lot. 
• Key activities . Write here the bullet points of your day-to-day routine. ¿What is the main activity your firm is going to carry out?
• Key resources.  At this point, we will describe which resources your business needs. They can be: financial resources (how much capital do we need, whether we are going to borrow or need investors), human resources (how many staff we will need to develop our project), physical resources (if we need machinery, computers, office premises, etc.) or intellectual resources (brands and trademarks). 
• Value propositions.  Which benefits and advantages do your product or service have? It is perhaps one of the most fundamental points in which we will define if the product exists or not in the market, if it is of good quality, or if it offers better characteristics compared to competitors. Also, we can enumerate if the product or service differentiates by price, quality, or target segment.
• Relationship with customers.  How do you relate to your clients? It can be face-to-face, by phone, or online such as by email. You can also use a software program with which the client himself can solve his doubts through automated processes. The more channels the client has, the greater the satisfaction.
• Channels . It is related to the previous point. Which are the channels with which you are going to convey your messages?
• Customer segments.  In this section, we will have to define our client through a customer persona. It can be the case your product adapts to multiple market niches. It is crucial to be realistic in this section since one of the usual mistakes is to believe everyone is going to buy your product.
• Cost structure.  Here we will define which are the costs that we will have in our project: initial costs (such as a vehicle or a computer), variable costs (such as material purchases, which increase when buying more material), fixed costs (staff, supplies, rentals, etc.), or costs in terms of economies of scale (higher sales means lower expenses).
• Sources of income.  In this section, you must describe how the project obtains revenues: cash charges for selling a product (like in product stores), monthly payments from users (like Netflix), by using telephone lines, etc. Your project can mix several sources of income, that will make your model much healthier.

At the end, you will have understood your business much better , and it will easier to make decisions. Now try to select one of the Canvas Model templates and start editing it. You can download it the final result for free in JPG, PNG or PDF and print it. Try Business Model Canvas templates from Edit.org now!

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Business model canvas.

Developed by Alexander Osterwalder, the Business Model Canvas is a framework that helps business modelers, strategists, entrepreneurs as well as managers determine how a business creates, delivers and captures values. The Business Model Canvas framework is a visual representation of the important aspects or parts to consider when designing a Business Model.

Quick details: Business Model Canvas

Structure: Structured

Preparation: Business idea, Participant recruitment, Workshop setup

Deliverables: Business model canvas

More about Business Model Canvas

The business model canvas is more of a framework than a design method. This framework guides efforts in two ways:

• One can develop prototype models for the business and test to check whether the business actually creates, delivers and captures value as intended.
• One can understand, design and collaboratively innovate the business concept with all the stakeholders.

Business Model Canvas framework

The Business Model Canvas framework is a visual representation of the important aspects or parts to consider when designing a Business Model, these are

Customer segments

There may be several distinct groups of individuals or organizations that a business aims to reach, serve and create value for.

Value proposition

The value that the business creates for the customer segments including the products and services that deliver that value.

The means and ways through which a business reaches its customer segments to deliver its value proposition.

Customer Relationships

The nature of relationships that a business needs to establish with its customer segments.

Revenue streams

The sources through which the money flows into the business.

Cost structure

The costs incurred by a business to run.

Key resources

The physical, financial, intellectual and human assets or resources required by a business to run.

Key activities

The most important things that a business must do to run and create value.

Key partners

The network of suppliers, distributors or other types of partners who will support in running the business and creating value.

Mapping the above mentioned aspects together helps one understand and innovate around each aspect as well as figure out how each aspect interacts with another.

Starting a new enterprise or evaluating the business model of an existing one can start with the modeling team to identify or validate the gaps in the market or need of specific customer segments to deduce the value proposition of the business. The team can then further evaluate the various products and services available in the market intended to fill the gaps or address the needs of the customer segments under consideration. This exercise also involves understanding the context of different customer segments and either contextualizing an existing value proposition or creating a new value proposition entirely. Similarly, other elements of the Business Model Canvas are discussed and defined to arrive at different business model prototypes. These prototypes are then tested and validated with perceived target segments by employing design research methods such as surveys, interviews or focus groups. After the evaluation and validation of the different prototypes, one or at the most two best-fit models are picked to create a business plan. The plan represents a roadmap to implement the business concept, together with the identified key partners and resources within a stipulated timeline.

Advantages of Business Model Canvas

1. collaborative.

Business Model Canvas is a collaborative framework, which helps bringing the different partners and business owners in sync. The quality and number of ideas getting generated are also high.

2. Framework to think through and test

This framework allows business owners, strategists and managers think through business ideas as well as test concepts which would otherwise get tested with potential customers before big bucks get invested.

3. Human centered

Business Model Canvas is human centered and user/customer centered as the key customer segments, key relationships, key activities, value proposition are all elements that focus on creating, delivering and capturing value for customer segments.

4. Rich Data Collection

Depending on the kind of team that ideates and innovates using the Business Model Canvas, the process facilitates collection of rich data.

5. Time & cost effective

As the Business Model Canvas helps ideate, innovate and test concepts before investing big bucks into an actual business that may or may not work – it saves both time and money for business owners as well as allows them to choose a business model which has a higher chance of success.

Disadvantages of Business Model Canvas

1. experienced researcher.

Facilitating ideation and innovation is not for a novice researcher, but can be accomplished by an experienced and strategic researcher .

2. Unclear Vision

If the team involved in developing the business model isn’t strategic or doesn’t have clear goals or vision for the business, then the canvas development could be a time consuming activity which may not give insightful findings at the end .

Think Design's recommendation

Business Model Canvas is a powerful tool that defines your business during foundational stages. It can also be used when we want to relook at our business to improve or transform it. This is a very involving and time-consuming exercise that needs undivided attention of decision makers (usually the founding or foundational teams).

This should be treated as a semi-structured brainstorming/ workshop session and not a formalized board room meeting, in order to achieve the best outcome. You do not want the Business Model Canvas to give you an outcome you will not use or something that is too obvious; use this to innovate/ reinvent your business model creatively.

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Related methods.

• Brainstorming
• Ethnography
• Guided Tour
• Participatory Design
• Task Analysis
• Visit Survey

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How to Design a Winning Business Model

In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, designing a winning business model is crucial for any company aiming for long-term success and growth. A well-crafted business model serves as the blueprint for how a company creates, delivers, and captures value, setting the foundation for its strategy and operations. It encompasses everything from identifying target customer segments and defining unique value propositions to determining revenue streams and cost structures.

As markets evolve and consumer preferences shift, businesses must continuously adapt and refine their models to stay competitive.

This article will guide you through the essential steps to design a winning business model, helping you align your offerings with market demands, leverage emerging opportunities, and create a sustainable competitive advantage in your industry.

[Understanding Your Market]

In the quest to design a winning business model, understanding your market is the critical first step. It forms the bedrock upon which all strategic decisions are based, guiding the direction of your product development, marketing strategies, and customer engagement efforts.

A deep understanding of your market involves analyzing the competitive landscape, identifying target customer segments, and uncovering their needs and preferences. This knowledge enables you to craft a value proposition that resonates with your audience, differentiate your offerings from competitors, and tailor your business model to meet the unique demands of your market.

[Understand the Business Model Canvas Template]

The Business Model Canvas Template is a strategic management tool that allows you to map out the key components of your business model on a single page. Miro’s free business model canvas template consists of nine building blocks: Customer Segments, Value Propositions, Channels, Customer Relationships, Revenue Streams, Key Resources, Key Activities, Key Partnerships, and Cost Structure. This template provides a holistic view of your business model, making it easier to identify areas for improvement and innovation.

[Define Your Value Proposition]

Defining your value proposition is another crucial step in designing a winning business model. It is the unique promise you make to your customers, highlighting the distinct benefits and solutions your product or service offers. A compelling value proposition sets you apart from competitors and captures the essence of what makes your business special. It should address the specific needs, pain points, or desires of your target market, offering a clear reason why they should choose your offering over others.

When crafting your value proposition, focus on clarity, relevance, and differentiation. It should be easily understood, directly relevant to your customer segments, and distinctive in the market. By articulating a strong value proposition, you lay the foundation for all other elements of your business model, guiding your marketing strategies, product development, and customer engagement efforts towards delivering tangible value to your audience.

[Determine Your Revenue Streams:]

Determining your revenue streams is a critical component of designing a winning business model. Revenue streams are the various ways your business generates income from its value proposition. They can include direct sales, subscriptions, licensing fees, advertising, or affiliate income, among others. It’s essential to identify and diversify your revenue streams to ensure financial sustainability and reduce dependency on a single source of income.

Each revenue stream should align with your value proposition and target market, providing a steady flow of income while delivering value to your customers. By carefully selecting and optimizing your revenue streams, you can create a robust business model that supports long-term growth and profitability.

[Map Out Your Key Resources:]

Identify the key resources needed to deliver your value proposition. Key resources are the assets essential for creating and delivering your value proposition, maintaining customer relationships, and generating revenue. These can include physical assets like equipment and inventory, intellectual assets such as patents and brand trademarks, human resources including skilled employees and management, and financial resources like capital and cash reserves.

Identifying and securing these resources ensures that your business has the necessary foundation to operate effectively, compete in the market, and achieve its strategic objectives. By carefully managing and optimizing your key resources, you can enhance your business model’s efficiency and sustainability.

[Outline Key Activities and Partnerships]

List the key activities that your business must perform to create and deliver your value proposition. This may include manufacturing, marketing, sales, and distribution. Additionally, consider any strategic partnerships or alliances that can enhance your business model. Partnerships can help you access new markets, share resources, or improve your product offering.

[Develop Your Cost Structure]

Developing your cost structure is a vital aspect of designing a winning business model. It involves identifying and categorizing the various expenses your business incurs to create and deliver your value proposition. Your cost structure can include fixed costs such as rent, salaries, and utilities, as well as variable costs like materials and marketing expenses.

Understanding your cost structure is crucial for pricing your products or services appropriately, ensuring profitability, and maintaining a competitive edge. By analyzing and optimizing your cost structure, you can make informed decisions about resource allocation, operational efficiency, and strategic investments to support the sustainability and growth of your business.

[Design Your Customer Channels]

Decide how you will reach and interact with your customers. This includes your distribution channels, marketing strategies, and customer service approach. Your channels should be designed to deliver your value proposition effectively and efficiently to your target market.

[Build a Strong Brand]

Building a strong brand is an essential element of designing a winning business model. A robust brand differentiates your business in the marketplace, fosters customer loyalty, and creates a lasting emotional connection with your audience. It encompasses your company’s identity, values, and the unique experience you offer.

To build a strong brand, focus on delivering consistent quality, maintaining a clear and compelling message, and ensuring that every customer interaction reflects your brand’s promise. A well-established brand not only attracts and retains customers but also enhances your business’s credibility and reputation, contributing significantly to its long-term success and growth.

[Test and Iterate]

Once you’ve designed your business model, it’s important to test it in the market. Gather feedback from customers and stakeholders to validate your assumptions. Be prepared to iterate and make adjustments based on real-world insights. A winning business model is one that evolves and adapts to changing market conditions.

[Focus on Continuous Improvement]

Finally, continuously monitor the performance of your business model and look for opportunities to improve and innovate. Stay attuned to changes in your industry and customer preferences, and be proactive in adjusting your business model to stay ahead of the curve.

Designing a winning business model requires a deep understanding of your market, a clear value proposition, well-defined revenue streams, and efficient operations. It’s an ongoing process that involves testing, iteration, and adaptation. By focusing on delivering value to your customers and staying agile, you can develop a business model that drives success and sustainable growth.

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Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers (The Strategyzer series) Paperback – July 13, 2010

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• Part of series Strategyzer
• Print length 288 pages
• Language English
• Publisher John Wiley and Sons
• Publication date July 13, 2010
• Dimensions 9.5 x 0.8 x 7.4 inches
• ISBN-10 9780470876411
• ISBN-13 978-0470876411
• See all details

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From the brand

Alexander Osterwalder is the cofounder of Strategyzer, a leading innovation company that puts practical tools into the hands of business leaders and strategy practitioners around the world. He is a passionate entrepreneur, sought-after speaker, and together with his team, the author of multiple bestselling titles in the popular Strategyzer Series, which visually captures the core concepts in the Strategyzer business toolkit.

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Stunning, full-color library packed with five innovation and visual thinking guides from Strategyzer.

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Ready to reinvent your organization get inspired with the uniquely visual, always innovative strategyzer series:, editorial reviews, amazon.com review.

"... this handbook is likely to prove an excellent help for evaluating business models" ( Anatello.com , July 2011)

From the Inside Flap

Disruptive new business models are emblematic of our generation. Yet they remain poorly understood, even as they transform competitive landscapes across industries. Business Model Generation offers you powerful, simple, tested tools for understanding, designing, reworking, and implementing business models.

Business Model Generation is a practical, inspiring handbook for anyone striving to improve a business model - or craft a new one.

CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK ABOUT BUSINESS MODELS

Business Model Generation will teach you powerful and practical innovation techniques used today by leading companies worldwide. You will learn how to systematically understand, design, and implement a new business model — or analyze and renovate an old one.

CO-CREATED BY 470 STRATEGY PRACTITIONERS

Business Model Generation practices what it preaches. Coauthored by 470 Business Model Canvas practitioners from forty-five countries, the book was financed and produced independently of the traditional publishing industry. It features a tightly integrated, visual, lie-flat design that enables immediate hands-on use.

DESIGNED FOR DOERS

Business Model Generation is for those ready to abandon outmoded thinking and embrace new, innovative models of value creation: executives, consultants, entrepreneurs — and leaders of all organizations.

From the Back Cover

Business Model Generation is a practical, inspiring handbook for anyone striving to improve a business model ― or craft a new one.

Business Model Generation offers you powerful, simple, tested tools for understanding, designing, reworking, and implementing business models.

About the Author

Yves Pigneur , PhD, (Lausanne, Switzerland) is a professor of business and head of the Information Systems Institute of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. He has held visiting professorships at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Dr. Pigneur is the chairperson of several conferences (IFIP, ISDSS, AIM). His research has been published in over fifty books, refereed journals and conference proceedings.

Product details

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0470876417
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ John Wiley and Sons; First Edition (July 13, 2010)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780470876411
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0470876411
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.55 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.5 x 0.8 x 7.4 inches
• #21 in Systems & Planning
• #97 in Entrepreneurship (Books)
• #162 in Business Management (Books)

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About the authors

Yves pigneur.

Yves is a professor at the University of Lausanne since 1984, and has held visiting professorships at Georgia State University, University of British Columbia, National University of Singapore, and HEC Montreal. Together with Alex Osterwalder, he invented the Business Model Canvas and co-authored the international bestselling books "Business Model Generation" and "Value Proposition Design". Yves and Alex are ranked No. 4 among the "Thinkers50's Most Influential Management Thinkers" in the world and hold the Thinkers50 Strategy Award.

Alexander Osterwalder

Dr. Alexander (Alex) Osterwalder is one of the world's most influential strategy and innovation experts, a leading author, entrepreneur, and in-demand speaker whose work has changed the way established companies do business and how new ventures get started.

Ranked No. 4 of the top 50 management thinkers worldwide, Osterwalder is known for simplifying the strategy development process and turning complex concepts into digestible visual models. Together with Yves Pigneur, he invented the Business Model Canvas, Value Proposition Canvas, and Business Portfolio Map - practical tools that are trusted by millions of business practitioners from leading global companies including Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, MasterCard, Sony, Fujitsu, 3M, Intel, Roche, Colgate-Palmolive, and many more.

Strategyzer, the company Osterwalder co-founded in 2010, is an innovation powerhouse, providing online courses, applications, and technology-enabled services to help organizations effectively and systematically manage strategy, growth, and transformation.

Osterwalder's books include the international bestseller Business Model Generation, Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want and Testing Business Ideas, and his forthcoming book for senior leaders, The Invincible Company, to publish in spring 2020.

He holds the Strategy Award from Thinkers50 and the European Union's inaugural Innovation Luminary Award. In 2019, Osterwalder chaired the prestigious Drucker Forum, the premier annual business management conference. A frequent and popular keynote speaker, Osterwalder travels the world discussing his ideas and strategies at Fortune 500 companies, premiere innovation conferences, and leading universities.

He holds a doctorate from HEC Lausanne, Switzerland, and is a founding member of The Constellation, a global not-for-profit organization connecting local responses to global issues around the world.

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