Develop and Plan

Business Model Canvas

The Business Model Canvas is a strategic tool that helps you visualise, design, and analyse how your business creates, delivers, and captures value. It offers a clear, one-page overview of the key building blocks of a business model, making it easier to test ideas, spot gaps, and communicate your business logic. It consists of nine core elements:

• Customer Segments – Define the different groups of people or organisations your business serves. Understanding who your customers are is crucial for tailoring your value proposition.
• Value Propositions – Outline what makes your product or service attractive to each customer segment, focusing on the problems you solve and the benefits you deliver.
• Channels – Identify how you deliver your value proposition to customers, whether through digital platforms, physical stores, or other means.
• Customer Relationships – Describe how you interact with and support your customers, from initial contact through to after-sales service.
• Revenue Streams – Clarify how your business earns money from each customer segment, whether through direct sales, subscriptions, or other models.
• Key Resources – List the assets required to deliver your value proposition—these could be physical, financial, intellectual, or human resources.
• Key Activities – Highlight your business's most important actions to operate successfully and deliver value.
• Key Partnerships – Identify the external companies or suppliers that help you reduce risk, acquire resources, or perform core activities.
• Cost Structure – Understand the major costs of operating your business and delivering your value proposition.

By mapping these components, the Business Model Canvas allows you to see how everything fits together and make informed decisions about where to pivot, invest, or improve. It encourages a holistic, customer-centred approach and supports the shift from idea to viable business.

A template can be found here and you can also find templates to create an interactive version on Miro. 

Value Proposition Canvases 

A value proposition clearly explains why a customer would choose your product or service and the benefits it gives them. A value proposition canvas helps you visualise, design and test how you create value for customers. It has two parts: 

1. Profile your customers, considering the jobs they need to get done, their pain points and what a job well done looks like. The more you speak to and learn about your customers, the clearer this profile becomes.
2. Build a value map, listing the products and services your value proposition builds on, how it relieves pain points and creates gains. 

You can achieve fit by connecting what matters to customers to how your products and services ease pains and create gains. It’s a very valuable tool to switch your thinking from ‘technology push’ to ‘market pull’.

A template can be found here.