case study

The offer is only one building block to fulfill the value proposition

All elements of a business model have to fulfill the value proposition

One of the beauties of the business model thinking is that we learn to see a business totally different if we really apply stringent thinking and dissect a business into its building blocks. And one of the most important concepts is that the value proposition is not the product.

Why?

The pull in business models: 3 types of Attractors to look for

So you need to know what your customer will love? What excites them? What moves them? This of course allows you to begin the process of designing a business model that delivers to both the customer and the business. Traditional business motivations are usually a push approach. But is this the future? Guest post by James Streeton-Cook

Rethinking your industry logic: Cross Industry Business Model Innovation

’Our industry is unique and should not be compared with other industries!’ This is a common phrase I have heard countless times throughout my consulting career.

But is it true?

It’s not the price, stupid. It is the value (proposition)

We always hear that the customer is not buying because the price is too high. Is the price important?

Customer buys the value of product, not the product

Of course, most clients will say yes in any survey or in sales negotiation. Actually, there are departments at your clients that know only two words: Too expensive!! Give me rebates! That is the purchasing department and it is their job to negotiate the price of a purchase. However, is this true, that even for B2B customers only the price is important?

Banking 2.0: Call for help: Ideas for unsolved or badly solved jobs in today’s banking

Dear readers, this time I would like to tap to your collective and swarm intelligence. It’s a bit like open innovation but in a quick and dirty version.

The hidden cost of Apple’s Business Model

Apple is the poster child of business model innovation. Apple has reinvented several business like music with itunes and the ipod, the telecommunication industry with its iphones and currently, the publishing/news/information industry with the ipad. But success is also associated with costs we should consider.

Apple has a market capitalization of 576.79 billion USD. There are 43’400’000 search results at Google when you look up Apple Business Model Innovation. Apple is the household name for innovation for sexy products and services for which people camp in front of stores to be the first to get the latest gadgets.

But it is also interesting to look at the cost associated with Apple’s success. Take a look at infographics made by mbaonline.com.

Fighting for the next business model in the pets industry

I had in the last months the chance to apply business model thinking & innovation on several, very diverse industries: the airline and travel industry, the pets industry and some time ago on the media industry, particularly newspaper.

Fighting for the next business model innovation in the pets industry

In the upcoming three next posts, I will share some insights I gained from using the business model canvas on these industries. The series will start with the pets industry.

A word of warning to all industry experts: I am not an expert for these industries. I’m not a pet industry expert. I am an expert for the process of re-thinking and re-inventing business models.

The Art of Painting on the Business Model Canvas

We have a great tool for visualization of a business model: the canvas. There is a hype on visual thinking and business model design. But can the tools deliver?

In the last years, I have seen many uses of the business model canvas to real cases. Some showed astonishing results, others were disappointing. Why? Any tool is only as good as the user. A fool with a tool is still a fool. But also: A genius without the right tool might be a fool. So let’s see, what makes the difference.

What business are you in? Business models as social constructs

“What business are you in?” sounds like a simple question. But it’s not. How you define your business determines which direction your firm can go. Based on your answer, you define and limit your strategic options.

In a company, the business model is defined by a dominant group of people. They have a common understanding of what business they are in and how they create value. However, the business model is not an absolute reality. It’s a social construct of dominant opinion makers, e.g. your top management. This is important to understand.

Can you copy a business model? Groupon and its clones

Particularly on the web, we see a lot of copies of successful business models. How many clones are there of Groupon? How many competitors and incumbents wanted to copy Amazon in the late 1990s and failed? The core question is: Is it possible to copy a business model? In this post, I will elaborate on this topic.