The management tool is based on nine text blocks that have to be edited individually and describe the entire business model. For better visualization, it makes sense to draw the blocks on a poster - as shown in the figure below.
Then you stick the ideas with post-it onto the corresponding canvas. For a detailed explanation of this management model, we recommend the book "Business Model Generation" by Alexander Osterwalder.
The most important question is: «Who is my target group?» By this we mean (if possible) paying customers, users, subscribers - in short: all persons or organisations who see value in your product or service. Only when you have clearly defined your target group do you further develop your business model.
Questions you should ask yourself:
«For whom do I create value with my offer? Who are my most important customers?»
What should be in that field:
A list of personas (groups of users with specific characteristics and usage behavior) or customer segments. In the best case, sort them by priority.
In the second step, you assign a value promise to each customer segment. This must be perfectly tailored to the needs of the customer segment.
Questions you should ask yourself:
«What problem do these customers want a solution for? What benefit/added value do I offer the customer? Which customer needs do I want to meet? What combination of products and services do I offer to the target groups?»
What should be in that field:
Value offers (sorted by priority) that are linked to matching personas or customer segments.
Now you can define which sales and communication channels you want to use to get in touch with your customers and provide them with that added value.
Questions you should ask yourself:
«By which means or through which channels can I reach my customers? Which channels work best? How can different channels work together to bring the customer to me?»
What should be in that field:
A list of the important channels that are linked to the personas or customer segments. You should make additional comments on how and when these channels become relevant to users (keyword "Customer Journey").
In the fourth segment, the focus is on the form of the relationship you want to maintain with your customers.
Questions you should ask yourself:
«What kind of relationship do I have with customers? What do I do to build, maintain and expand the relationship? Does the form of the customer relationship fit my business model?»
What should be in that field:
A description of the customer relationships, differences between customers should be marked separately.
Answer for yourself in which form you would like to achieve income. This is where pricing strategies come in.
Questions you should ask yourself:
«How much money would my customers pay for the benefits you get from me? Are there comparable products/services? What are the revenue streams there? How much does each of the individual revenue streams contribute to the total revenue?»
What should be in that field:
A list of revenue sources that are ideally linked to personas, segments, or value propositions.
In this field, you specify which resources and infrastructure you need to offer your product or service.
Questions you should ask yourself:
"On what resources does my Value Proposition significantly build? Which key resources do I need to fulfil the customer benefits? Which resources do my distribution channels and customer relationships require? Sources of revenue?»
What should be in that field:
A list of key resources that are tied to your value promise.
When considering key activities, you should consider all the key activities that are required to be able to offer your product or service.
Questions you should ask yourself:
«Which activities do I have to carry out in order to fulfil the customer benefit? Which activities are necessary for the distribution channels, which for the customer relationships»
What should be in that field:
A list of key activities that are linked to your value promises. These are also linked to the key resources.
Do you need to access resources from external suppliers? Or do you outsource certain activities? Here you list your cooperation partners.
Questions you should ask yourself:
«Who are my key partners, who are my most important suppliers? What key resources/key activities do I depend on partners for?»
What should be in that field:
A list of key partners. You should note the link to the key activities.
Finally, you look at the financial planning for your startup.
Questions you should ask yourself:
«Which cost structure results from the planning? Which key resources or key activities are the cost drivers?»
What should be in that field:
Value promises (sorted by priority) that are linked to matching personas.
A business idea is important. But only the right strategy defines which steps you should take and when. With the Canvas method you can track down your goals.
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