definition 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.

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

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

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

What is a Business Model Canvas?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. A business model canvas will be more agile.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The alexa example.

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

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

1) Selling Echo devices.

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

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

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

Another Hypothetical Example of the Business Model Canvas: Channels

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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What is a Business Model Canvas?

Paul Hersztowski

Head of Studio

26 March 2020

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

Business Model Canvas Definition

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

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

What’s the Purpose of a Business Model Canvas?

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

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

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

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

Elements of a Business Model Canvas

So, what does a business model canvas include?

Customer Segments

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

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

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

General demographic : age range, location, interests, etc

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

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

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

Value Proposition

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Customer Relationships

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

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

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

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

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

Revenue Streams

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

Here are the most common revenue streams to consider:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Key Resources

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

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

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

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

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

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

Key Activities

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

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

Key Partnerships

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cost Structure

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

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

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

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

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

Benefits of a Business Model Canvas

Visuals at a glance.

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

Quick Improvements & Iterations

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

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

TL;DR - What Is a Business Model Canvas?

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

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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.

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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

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Home » What is Business Model Canvas?

What is Business Model Canvas?

July 20, 2021 max 6min read.

Table of contents :-

What Is a Business Model Canvas?

What forms a business model canvas, why should you use a business model canvas, what are some of the business model canvas examples, how can a product manager use business model canvas.

Business Model Canvas Definition

“A business model canvas is the visual representation of the actual business model. It highlights all the critical strategic factors of a business. Components of a business model canvas are the overview of the company’s customers, its workings, revenue streams, and so on .”

A business model canvas refers to a short summarized report including the basic details of the strategy for introducing any product or service to the market. 

Pro tip : Product management software like Chisel gives you a fantastic platform to craft products , create roadmaps and get feedback from team members. 

The contents of the canvas can change based on the type of business and market. However, there are some components identified broadly. 

Since the canvas is generally short and in the form of a summary, it is likely to be a visual representation.

A business model canvas offers a chart describing a company’s or the product’s value proposition, functionality , infrastructure, customers, and finances. 

Alexander Osterwalder originally designed it in 2005 with inspiration from his work on ontology.

The parts of a business model canvas are primarily strategic and aspirational. They must not attempt to portray fine details of a company’s overarching goals. 

Ideally, the canvas should describe a broad image of the customers and the product, including the value proposition. Essentially, the canvas acts as an outline of how the product will benefit the customer.

Notably, the canvas must describe how the business could generate the maximum profit from the marketplace, i.e., how the product aims to make money. 

There will be a description of various pathways through which the product would be distributed in the marketplace and sold. 

The canvas should also identify individuals and groups that could play a role in the product’s success.

Companies must also document the activities happening within the business internally and the budgets, resources, and individuals required. 

At last, businesses must include a summary of all the expenses at every stage of the product development, i.e., production, circulation, marketing, and sales.

The full summary is typically on a single page and some schematic. Hence each element of the product’s story must be dealt with concisely. 

The entire outline is a refined work to the basic requirements of the product. This step is critical because the canvas must always be an intelligent description of various interlaced themes.

There are many reasons, but you could imagine the business model canvas as a mission statement for your product roadmap . Use product roadmap software for a better experience!

It acts as a handy reference point to ensure that you always stay right on track and achieve all the strategic goals described in the roadmap.

Quicker and easier roadmaps

The canvas approach generally takes only a few hours. 

Hence, by this method, rather than writing every single intricate detail about the product beforehand, you can just mention the highlights and then get started with translating the canvas to the product roadmap.

More agility

A major drawback of the old way of documenting business models was that it became almost inaccurate as soon as the author had finished drafting it.

The plans generally included detailed cost estimates and revenue projections going far into the future and even long-term plans on how the staff can grow. 

Obviously, these things can remain accurate for some time but not for much longer.

In product terms, the canvas can be understood as a business plan resembling the MRD – long, detailed, and mostly untrue by the time you finish it.

But only because you can put the canvas together so quickly it become much more accurate while reflecting your strategic plans and company’s current status. And if anything changes, it will be easier than adjusting a long and detailed plan.

Room to pivot as needed

Suppose something happens during the development process forces you to re-prioritize or pivot your product. 

In that case, it will be much easier to update this short, high-level document than updating a long, exhilarating MRD or some business plan to tear apart and update.

With this one-page business model canvas acting as a guide to your business roadmap, you will always be able to spot any plans that might need updating quickly.

You will have to update whenever the priorities of the company change or some new data comes to light that demands a different approach to what you were doing till then.

Let’s look at the business model canvas example of McDonald’s.

McDonald’s business model canvas 

McDonald’s key partners : delivery providers: uber eats and door dash, suppliers

McDonald’s key activities : payment processing, delivery, innovation, and implementation, product sale

McDonald’s value proposition :

for buyers : quick and affordable food, service with consistency in quality

Franchisees : have become more successful than the brand itself.

McDonald’s customer relationships : 

Social media, customer, and community services

McDonald’s customer segments : 

Buyers: it is for the people who wish to buy products like fries, burgers, etc.

Franchisees: restaurants that want to increase their profit, using MacDonald’s name

McDonald’s cost structure :

Salaries, marketing, payment processing, and administration and operations

McDonald’s revenue streams : 

Royalties, license fees, and rent fees

The role of a product manager is crucial in introducing the product to the market . How the product manager chooses to use the business model canvas can play a pivotal role in what the product looks like, the timeline of its release, and how the audience receives it. 

Sometimes, you may replace the traditional business model canvas with a ‘product canvas,’ and it may also be that you may contain the latter in the former. 

Either way, it is up to the product manager to use those terms and what purposes they ought to serve .

The canvas acts as a thorough guide on the product for a product manager.

It contains the costs, budget projections, resources projects, product releases, sales planning, and many other key aspects.

Therefore it acts as a robust document to help the product manager keep the product on track. They must also use product manager tools to guide them. 

A canvas requires a lot of background work. Hence it can be said easily how much the product manager values the document .

In any complex or intricate development process where multiple dependencies may be active, and resources may be limited , the business model canvas serves as an idea for providing the right directions and making correct decisions. 

The canvas may also help the PM take notice of any time constraints and the pressure to meet any deadlines. 

Competing priorities having only a subtle difference between them can be looked into just a glance using the canvas as a reference. 

People with short attention spans and people who can be easily distracted may find the canvas extremely useful without being overly burdened by all the pressure.

Hence, for a product manager, the canvas forms a universal language in product development and helps find solutions to problems and resolve all misunderstandings. 

The workforce in the company can look into the canvas and analyze how their roles and responsibilities affect the final delivery of the product.

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Companies mainly use the business model canvas to visualize the basic building blocks at the start of their development. It describes the product’s or sometimes a company’s value proposition, functionality, infrastructure, customers, and finances.

Generally, the teams work on a business model canvas by answering various strategic questions about the product and the target users. 

For example:

• Who will use this product? 
• How will they use this product? 
• How does it affect their lives? 
• How will the product be marketed or distributed when it is ready? 

Many of these templates are also available online to help you out.

Absolutely, the business canvas model is a strategic management tool. The purpose of the business canvas model is to let businesses visualize and assess their ideas. 

The three main disadvantages of a business canvas model are:

• The business model is limited to well-established businesses and does not include businesses in the early stages of development
• The business model canvas does not take strategy into account
• Thre are no interconnections
• The business model canvas denies the role of a company within its ecosystem

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What Is a Business Model?

• Andrea Ovans

A history, from Drucker to Christensen.

A look through HBR’s archives shows that business thinkers use the concept of a “business model” in many different ways, potentially skewing the definition. Many people believe Peter Drucker defined the term in a 1994 article as “assumptions about what a company gets paid for,” but that article never mentions the term business model. Instead, Drucker’s theory of the business was a set of assumptions about what a business will and won’t do, closer to Michael Porter’s definition of strategy. Businesses make assumptions about who their customers and competitors are, as well as about technology and their own strengths and weaknesses. Joan Magretta carries the idea of assumptions into her focus on business modeling, which encompasses the activities associated with both making and selling something. Alex Osterwalder also builds on Drucker’s concept of assumptions in his “business model canvas,” a way of organizing assumptions so that you can compare business models. Introducing a better business model into an existing market is the definition of a disruptive innovation, as written about by Clay Christensen. Rita McGrath offers that your business model is failing when innovations yield smaller and smaller improvements. You can innovate a new model by altering the mix of products and services, postponing decisions, changing the people who make the decisions, or changing incentives in the value chain. Finally, Mark Johnson provides a list of 19 types of business models and the organizations that use them.

In The New, New Thing , Michael Lewis refers to the phrase business model as “a term of art.” And like art itself, it’s one of those things many people feel they can recognize when they see it (especially a particularly clever or terrible one) but can’t quite define.

• AO Andrea Ovans is a former senior editor at Harvard Business Review.

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What is a Lean Business Model Canvas? Definition and Its Benefits

By Paul VanZandt

Published on: November 3, 2023

What is a Lean Business Model Canvas?

The Lean Business Model Canvas is defined as a visual tool and framework that helps entrepreneurs and business professionals plan and communicate their business ideas, strategies, and models in a concise and structured format. It is derived from the traditional Business Model Canvas, which was popularized by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur in their book “Business Model Generation.”

The Lean Business Model Canvas, also known as the Lean Canvas, was created by Ash Maurya as a more streamlined and focused version of the original canvas. It is particularly well-suited for startups and early-stage businesses aiming to iterate and validate their business ideas and strategies quickly. The Lean Canvas emphasizes the key components essential for a business’s success in a simplified one-page format.

Here are the main elements of the Lean Business Model Canvas:

• Problem: This section defines the specific problem or pain point that your product or service aims to address.
• Solution: Describe your solution or product and how it addresses the identified problem.
• Key Metrics: Outline the critical metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) you’ll use to measure your business’s success.
• Unique Value Proposition (UVP): Explain what sets your product or service apart from competitors and why customers should choose you.
• Unfair Advantage: Highlight any competitive advantages, intellectual property, or unique resources that give your business an edge.
• Customer Segments: Identify your target customer groups, including their characteristics and needs.
• Channels: Describe the marketing and distribution channels you’ll use to reach and serve your customers.
• Customer Relationships: Detail how you plan to build and maintain relationships with your customers.
• Revenue Streams: Explain how you intend to generate revenue and monetize your business.
• Cost Structure: List the key costs and expenses associated with running your business.

The Lean Canvas is designed to be a dynamic tool that can evolve as your business develops. It’s particularly useful for brainstorming, testing hypotheses, and making quick adjustments based on customer feedback and market changes.

Overall, the Lean Business Model Canvas is an essential tool for entrepreneurs and startups to clarify their business ideas, create a shared understanding among team members, and adapt their strategies to navigate the challenges of the business world efficiently.

Learn more:  Lean Canvas vs. Business Model Canvas

15 Benefits of Lean Business Model Canvas

The Lean Business Model Canvas offers numerous benefits to entrepreneurs, startups, and organizations looking to develop and refine their business strategies. Some of the key advantages include:

The Lean Canvas provides a straightforward, one-page framework that distills the essential components of a business model. This simplicity makes it easy to understand and communicate with team members, stakeholders, and investors.

It encourages a sharp focus on the critical aspects of the business model, helping entrepreneurs prioritize what really matters and avoid distractions.

• Iterative and Agile

The Lean Canvas is designed to be a dynamic tool, allowing for rapid iterations and adjustments as new insights and information become available. This agility is particularly valuable for startups in rapidly changing markets.

• User-Centered

The canvas emphasizes understanding the problem and customer segments, making it inherently user-centric. This leads to businesses that are more aligned with customer needs.

• Cost-Effective

By forcing entrepreneurs to think critically about their cost structure and revenue streams, the canvas helps in identifying efficient ways to operate and generate revenue.

• Hypothesis Testing

It encourages the formulation of hypotheses about key aspects of the business model, which can then be tested with real-world data and feedback. This approach reduces the reliance on untested assumptions.

The Lean Canvas facilitates alignment within the team and with investors or other stakeholders. It ensures that everyone is on the same page regarding the business model and its components.

• Rapid Decision-Making

The canvas promotes data-driven decision-making by emphasizing the identification of key metrics. This allows for a more informed approach to strategy development and adaptation.

• Risk Mitigation

By explicitly identifying assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, the Lean Canvas helps entrepreneurs take proactive steps to mitigate those risks.

• Scalability

The Lean Canvas can be applied to both small startups and larger organizations. It is scalable and adaptable to various business contexts.

• Time Savings

The Lean Canvas reduces the time spent on extensive business plans and documentation. This means entrepreneurs can get to market faster and start learning from real-world experiences sooner.

The iterative nature of the Lean Canvas encourages innovation and experimentation. It enables businesses to find new and creative solutions to problems.

• Flexibility

It can be used in conjunction with other methodologies, such as the Lean Startup framework or Design Thinking, allowing for a more comprehensive approach to product development and business strategy.

• Transparency

The Lean Canvas makes it easier to share your business model and vision with potential investors, partners, and stakeholders.

• Cost Control

By focusing on cost structure, businesses can identify areas where they can optimize and reduce expenses, leading to improved profitability.

The Lean Business Model Canvas is a valuable tool that helps entrepreneurs and organizations create a more focused, adaptable, and customer-centric approach to developing and refining their business models. It encourages a mindset of continuous learning, innovation, and data-driven decision-making.

Learn more:  What is a Lean Canvas?

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Business Model Canvas : Pengertian, Tujuan dan Manfaatnya

Business Model Canvas : Pengertian, Tujuan dan Manfaatnya – Untuk membuat atau membuka sebuah usaha, pastinya dibutuhkan rencana yang sangat matang dan jelas dari segala aspek. Kamu mau  membuka bisnis sendiri, baik itu bisnis kuliner, fashion , edukasi, atau usaha lainnya?

Nah, pastinya kamu wajib membuat perencanaan yang maksimal supaya bisa menarik pelanggan dan produk atau jasa yang ditawarkan bisa laku keras. Karena itu, kamu wajib mengenal dan membuat business model canvas sebelum membuka usaha. Pembuatan  business model canvas ini bisa membantu mengatur dan merencanakan usaha kamu, bahkan dari dasarnya.

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Sehingga bisnis kamu bisa sukses dan cepat berkembang. Mau tahu apa yang dimaksud dengan business model canvas dan elemen-elemennya? Yuk, kita simak dan pelajari berikut ini!

Pengertian Business Model Canvas (BMC)

Kamu sudah pernah mendengar tentang rencana bisnis yang satu ini belum? Business Model Canvas atau yang biasa disingkat BMC adalah sebuah strategi dalam manajemen yang berupa visual chart yang terdiri dari 9 elemen untuk membantu perencanaan bisnis sebelum dibentuk.

Model bisnis ini pertama kali diperkenalkan oleh Alexander Osterwalder dalam bukunya yang berjudul Business Model Generation . Dalam buku tersebut, Alexander mencoba menjelaskan sebuah framework sederhana untuk mempresentasikan elemen-elemen penting yang terdapat dalam sebuah model bisnis.

Tapi, kalau dilihat sepintas, sebenarnya alur model dari   BMC ini sangat sederhana dan mudah kamu buat lho . Karena, secara garis besar, alurnya mengalir dari satu elemen bisnis menuju elemen penting berikutnya.

BMC Penting untuk Perusahaan

Nah, kenapa BMC ini sangat penting sebelum memulai bisnis? Karena dengan kesembilan elemennya, sebenarnya kita sudah bisa memvalidasi apakah satu ide bisnis itu potensial atau tidak. Karena itu, membuat bisnis model canvas adalah hal paling awal yang biasanya dibutuhkan seorang pengusaha pemula atau pengusaha yang mau membuat suatu usaha baru.

Pasti pertanyaan selanjutnya yang kamu ingin tahu yaitu apa saja kesembilan elemen ini dan bagaimana cara membuat sebuah BMC yang baik, kan ? Tenang, karena kita akan bahas semuanya disini!

Setelah mengetahui apa itu business model canvas dan isi dari 9 elemennya, tentu business model canvas ini dibuat bukanlah tanpa manfaat didalamnya. Adapun manfaat dari business model canvas yaitu:

Mempersingkat Waktu Penulisan Perencanaan

Jika menggunakan metode konvensional, maka pelaku usaha tentu harus menuliskan panjang lebar terkait perencanaan bisnis yang akan dibuat. Akan tetapi, dengan BMC maka perusahan hanya perlu mengisi poin-poin perencanaan bisnis sesuai dengan blok yang telah ditetapkan tanpa perlu menulis panjang lebar. Penentuan poin-poin penting ni semakin terarah dengan adanya blok yang telah disediakan.

Meningkatkan Fokus Perusahaan

Business model canvas dapat meningkatkan fokus perusahaan terhadap poin penting dari perencanaan penting yang telah dibuat. Dalam hal ini perusahaan perlu fokus pada elemen yang paling penting terlebih dahulu yang dinilai memberikan dampak besar dan mendorong pertumbuhan perusahaan. Intinya, BMC dapat membantu pemahaman dan dapat melihat gambaran keseluruhan bisnis sehingga dapat terlihat kekuatan dan kelemahan tergantung pada inputnya. Hal tersebut akan membangun model bisnis sedemikian rupa sehingga keseluruhannya terdiri dari dan lebih besar dari jumlah bagian yang ada.

Lebih Terstruktur

Perlu diketahui dengan menggunakan business modle canvas maka pelaku bisnis tidak perlu membuat perencanaan bisnis yang sangat panjang dan menghabiskan banyak waktu. Business model camvas dapat dijadikan brainstorming saat meeting dengan seluruh karyawan. Bagian penitngnya business model canvas dapat mempercepat proses meeting dan membuat diskusi menjadi lebih terstruktur agar tidak melenceng ke pembahasan yang lain.

Mengurangi Risiko

Business model canvas dapat mengurangi risiko dari kekeliruan dalam eksekusi bisnis. Jadi, secara tidak langsung BMC ini dapat dijadikan dokumen blueprint perencanaan bisnis untuk suatu perusahaan. Sebagai contoh ketika ada pelaku bisnis yang sedang melakukan eksekusi bisnis maka mereka dapat menjadikan BMC sebagai panduan perusahaan untuk menjalani eksekusi bisnis berdasarkan poin yang telah dirancang sebelumnya. Dengan demikian perusahaan dapat mengurangi risiko kekeliruan dalam eksekusi bisnis.

Tujuan Business Model Canvas

Pembuatan business model canvas bertujuan dalam membantu perusahaan guna merancang perencanaan bisnisnya serta menetapkan dan memvalidasi berbagai poin penting dalam bisnis seperti sumber daya yang ada,aktivitas, hubungan yang hendak dijalani dengan pihak-pihak terkait, mengenai pendapatan serta pengeluaran yang harus dikeluarkan.

9 Elemen Business Model Canvas

Ini dia kesembilan elemen yang terdapat dalam business model canvas yang wajib kamu ketahui dan pahami saat melakukan perencanaan bisnis:

Customer Segments

Elemen pertama yang harus kamu miliki dalam memulai business model canvas ini adalah menentukan segmen pelanggan mana yang akan menjadi target bisnis kamu.

Misalnya, ada 2 stasiun televisi yang menyajikan 2 acara berbeda untuk memenuhi segmen pelanggan yang berbeda, warung makan dengan makanan sehari-hari untuk mahasiswa dan karyawan, atau untuk e-commerce yang berkembang sekarang ini. C ustomer segments mencakup si penjual barang dan pembeli sesuai dengan kebutuhan.

Value Proposition

Elemen ini merupakan penjelasan dan rincian dari  keunggulan produk, dan apa saja sebenarnya poin-poin yang bisa mendatangkan manfaat yang ditawarkan perusahaan bagi target pelanggannya. Hal ini menjadi kesempatan bagi kamu untuk menjabarkan kekuatan dan keunggulan yang membedakan bisnis kamu dengan bisnis yang lain, atau keunikan usaha kamu.

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Melalui penggunaan channels atau alat pemasaran yang tepat, kamu baru bisa menyampaikan value propositions kepada customer segments . Jadi, kamu bisa mulai memikkirkan channels yang mau kamu gunakan dengan baik, karena penentuan channels adalah salah satu elemen penting bagi keberhasilan sebuah  bisnis. Misalnya, kamu bisa memasarkan bisnis kamu lewat media sosial, brosur, website , dan lain-lainnya.

Revenue Streams

Revenue streams ini merupakan bagian yang paling vital, di mana perusahaan atau usaha memperoleh pendapatan dari pelanggan. Elemen ini harus dikelola semaksimal mungkin untuk meningkatkan pendapatan bisnis. Jangan sampai ada bahan baku, produk, atau kinerja yang tidak dimanfaatkan secara maksimal ya untuk mendatangkan keuntungan yang besar.

Key Resource

Key resource atau sumber daya ini merupakan elemen dalam business model canvas yang berisikan daftar sumber daya yang sebaiknya direncanakan dan dimiliki perusahaan. Tujuannya untuk mewujudkan value proposition mereka.

Semua jenis sumber daya, mulai dari pengelolaan bahan baku, penataan sumber daya manusia, dan penataan proses operasional harus kamu perhatikan saat membuat model bisnis. Sebab, hal ini akan berdampak pada jangka panjang di bisnis kamu.

Customer Relationship

Pastinya pelanggan menjadi hal yang sangat krusial dalam sebuah bisnis, kan? Terutama pelanggan setia atau loyal. Nah, untuk terus mendapatkan pelanggan yang loyal, perusahaan harus menjalin ikatan dengan pelanggannya secara intens.

Perlu pengawasan yang ketat dan intensif supaya pelanggan tidak mudah berpaling ke bisnis yang lain hanya karena jalinan hubungan yang kurang baik. Pastikan pelanggan-pelanggan bisnismu mendapatkan pelayanan yang terbaik ya.

Kamu juga harus tahu bagaimana cara bisnis kamu bisa terus keep in touch dengan para pelanggan. Misalnya, kamu bisa mengirimkan newsletter, layanan after sales , dan sejenisnya untuk pelanggan kamu secara rutin.

Key Activities

Key activities ini merupakan semua aktivitas yang berhubungan dengan produktivitas bisnis, yang ada kaitannya juga dengan sebuah produk. Dimana kegiatan utamanya adalah menghasilkan proposisi nilai.

Jadi, pada dasarnya, elemen ini  menjelaskan bagaimana kamu bisa menciptakan value preposition perusahaan dengan melakukan beberapa aktivitas. Supaya produk atau jasa kamu lebih dikenal dan diterima banyak orang.

Key Partnership

Elemen ini berfungsi untuk pengorganisasian aliran suatu barang atau layanan lainnya. Posisi-posisi partner kunci tersebut bermanfaat untuk efisiensi dan efektivitas dari key activities yang telah dibuat.

Tidak ada salahnya menjalin hubungan baik untuk menciptakan siklus bisnis sesuai dengan ekspektasi, kan? Kamu bisa bekerjasama dengan beberapa perusahaan atau usaha lainnya untuk meningkatkan performa usaha kamu supaya lebih cepat meningkat.

Cost Structure

Elemen terakhir yang juga tidak kalah pentingnya dengan kedelapan elemen lainnya yaitu struktur pembiayaan bisnis atau cost structure . Mengelola biaya secara efisien akan membuat bisnis yang dijalani menjadi lebih hemat dan bisa meminimalkan risiko kerugian. Hal ini juga bisa menentukan proposisi nilai yang tepat untuk pelanggan. Karena itu, pastikan kamu membuat laporan keuangan yang tepat dan sesuai untuk bisnis kamu.

Lean Business Model Canvas

Istilah lean startup merupakan sesuatu yang cukup popular beberapa tahun terakhir. Lean business ini pada dasarnya merupakan metode bisnis yang membawa pelaku usaha dari id eke bisnis secepat mungkin.

Dalam lean business, pelaku usaha akan mengeluarkan apa yang disebut dengan istilah minimum viable product (MPV) atau produk minimum yang layak. Artinya produk ini merupakan produk paling dasar tanpa tambahan bahan fitur apapun.

Sebagai pelaku usaha, Anda hanya perlu meletakkan produk tersebut ke sekelompok orang tertentu untuk melihat respon mereka apakah mereka menyukainya ataukah tidak. Jika mereka menyukainya maka Anda dapat melanjutkan dengan produk tersebut. Selanjutnya jika mereka tidak menyukainya maka Anda dapat mengubah atau langsung membuang ide tersebut.

Perlu diketahui bahwa model lean dapat memungkinkan Anda untuk mencapai pasar secepat dan semurah mungkin. Lean business model canvas ini dibuat dengan semangat lean business sehingga ini lebih dapat ditindaklanjuti dan berbasis kewirausahaan dan berfokus pada cara waktu yang dapat mempengaruhi aliran pendapat bisnis. Namun, saat lean business model canvas dibuat maka ada empat elemen yang wajib ditambahkan diantaranya seperti berikut ini:

Masalah dibuat karena banyak pelaku bisnis yang menghabiskan banyak waku dan uangnya untuk produk yang tidak mereka perlukan sehingga hal ini tidak dapat menyelesaikan masalah. Untuk itu, penting bagi pelaku usaha untuk mengetahui masalah apa yang akan dipecahkan sebelum melakukan hal lainnya.

Setelah mengetahui masalah apa yang sedang dipecahkan maka selanjutnya adalah memikirkan solusinya. Disini pelaku usaha haruslah mendeskripsikan minimum viable product (MPV) atau produk minimum yang layak.

Metrik Utama

Selanjutnya adalah metrik utama, metrik utama merupakan sebuah rangkaian produk atau layanan yang ingin disediakan. Metrik utama merupakan kunci untuk memilih metric yang tepat karena jika pelaku usaha salah memilih metric maka hal ini akan menyebabkan bencana pada bisnis yang sedang direncanakan.

Kelebihan Pelaku Usaha

Setelah masalah, solusi dan metrik selanjutnya pelaku usaha pastikan memiliki hal yang mungkin dimiliki yang lebih baik daripada pesaing Anda. Penting juga bagi pelaku usaha untuk mengetahui apakah memiliki suatu keunggulan diatas pesaing ataukah tidak. Dan apakah pesaing memiliki keunggulan diatas Anda sebagai pelaku usaha ataukah tidak.

Agar benar-benar menjadi canvas “lean” dalam sebuah perencanaan bisnis, pelaku usaha harus menghapus beberapa elemen yang mungkin saja dinilai tidak terlalu penting. Namun hal ini hanya berlaku tergantung dari jenis bisnis yang dijalankan, umumnya seperti:

• Kegiatan usaha
• Sumber daya
• Kemitraan utama
• Hubungan konsumen

Beberapa point diatas dikeluarkan karena dinilai hanya membuang-buang waktu untuk stratup yang rampin atau lean. Mencakup dari elemen lain, elemen untuk ini hanya fokus pada bagian luas dan tidak langsung fokus pada bisnisnya.

Alasan Business Model Canvas Penting Untuk Perencanaan Bisnis

Berdasarkan penjelasan diatas dapat diketahui bahwa business model canvas sangat penting digunakan perusahaan untuk merancang sebuah bisnis. Berikut merupakan alasan mengapa business model canvas penting untuk perencanaan bisnis:

Memperjelas fokus bisnis

Seperti yang telah dijelaskan sebelumnya dengan adanya business modle canvas maka hal ini dapat membantu pelaku bisnis membuat rancangan bisnisnya dan memperjelas fokus bisnisnya.

Lebih akurat

Meski terdengar spele, namun siapa sangka business model canvas membantu pelaku usaha menyortir jenis bisnis dan mengetahui kemaan arah bisnis akan berjalan sehingga bisa dinilai bahwa business modle canvas berisi patokan tentang perencanaan bisnis yang bisa dikembangkan saat bisnis mulai berjalan. Semua sudah tertuang secara akurat di business model canvas Anda.

Sesuai target pasar

Kegagalan bisnis baru biasa disebabkan karena produk mereka kurang tepat di pasaran. Hal ini terjadi karena produk yang diciptakan tidak sesuai dengan kebutuhan pasar atau salah memilih target pasar. Namun dengan business model canvas maka pelaku bisnis terbantu dalam memvisualisasikan produk sehingga dapat memperhitungkan target yang tepat.

Risiko gagal yang kecil

Meski terdengar spele, namun business model canvas dapat meminimalisir risiko kegagalan mulai dari membantu menyusun perencanaan bisnis, sumber pendanaa, bagaimana membuat produk, dan bagaimana menjualnya ke target pasar.

Teruji oleh banyak bisnis

Business model canvas sudah teruji kebenaran dan keakuratannya. Tidak hanya pada bisnis yang baru berjalan bahkan yang sudah berjalan juga dapat terbantu oleh business model canvas ini. Business model canvas menjadi solusi strategi perencanaan dan pengembangan bisnis yang tepat.

Bagaimana? apakah kamu siap untuk membuka bisnismu dengan perencanaan matang menggunakan business model canvas ini? Dengan menggunakan business model canvas ini semua proses dan perencanaan bisnis kamu bisa lebih teratur dan bisa dijalankan dengan baik.

Nah, untuk semua laporan keuangan atau cost structure bisnis kamu, serahkan saja semuanya ke JojoExpense dari Jojonomic! Laporan keuangan kamu pasti akan lebih jelas dan akurat, apalagi dengan sistem otomatisnya yang bisa kami pantau dari gadget kamu setiap saat. Sehingga bisa meningkatkan produktivitas perusahaan atau bisnis kamu. Pastinya juga hemat waktu dan biaya! Yuk, coba aplikasinya sekarang jangan sampai ketinggalan!

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