Some well-known examples of business model patterns are ones that use subscription revenue streams and/or have product platforms whereby one part of the product relies on the other to make money (think cheap handles, expensive blades, or cheap printers, expensive ink), often called bait-and-hook. Business model patterns are like formulas that can be applied to a business model to address a new customer need, or create a new revenue stream, etc. When you scan the landscape of existing business models, one thing you’ll notice is that there exist lots of business model patterns. Other areas to place focus on using this method might be your customer segments (what else could you offer them) your value proposition (what other customer segments could you address?) revenue streams (what other ways might you sell, lease, or rent your product/service?) or even your channels (what else could you leverage your channels to do?). Now what? What else could we do with such resources?Įpicenter-based innovation: what if we removed everything but BMW’s key resources? If again, we were BMW, and we removed everything but the key resources, we might be left with a shiny brand, a pool of really talented people, manufacturing facilities, and perhaps a bunch of IP. What would you build if you kept that one? For instance, what if you were able to bring to bear your company’s resources to create an entirely new business model? Amazon did just this when it figured out that it could use its cloud-infrastructure to generate revenue. One way this works is to clear your business model of eight boxes, leaving the focus on one. With epicenter-based ideation, you effectively have nine different boxes, or epicenters, to play with in order to generate more ideas. This lends itself well a technique called epicenter-based ideation. If you’re familiar with the BMC, then you know that this tool represents a dynamic system, whereby there is interplay – cause and effect – between each and every block changing an element in one block will affect another. No cheating: don’t sneak the removed sticky note back in! This constraint will definitely give you new ideas. Chances are your business model now has a big hole in it. It could also be an irreplaceable partner or a specific customer segment.īMW’s current business model: what if you removed its core? nice, German-engineered cars built for people who love to drive). For instance, if you’re running a business wherein you make and sell cars, like BMW, this might be the core value proposition, “The Ultimate Driving Machine ®” (i.e. Look at your business model, and find the one thing you are absolutely certain is how your company creates, delivers, or captures value (it’s your special sauce). With Freshwatching you’re simply looking at your company through the lens of another.
It doesn’t matter if the company is an online business, an offline retailer, or even a massively popular one. What might happen if you applied Uber’s business model to your own? How would it change things? How would you go about making money in a different way? How would your company change operationally?įreshwatching: what might happen when you overlay Uber’s business model on top of your own?
For instance, say you’re current business model is one by which you sell accounting software to accountants through an extensive reseller channel to other business (i.e. This is the purpose of the freshwatching ideation technique.įreshwatching – a made-up term invented in The Netherlands – is an ideation method by which you mix and match (or overlay) business models from other companies, often totally outside of your business or industry, with your own business model to see what you can come up with. Need a jumpstart to start ideating based on your current business model? Why not use another company’s business model to start your creative engine. In other words, if you’re starting from zero, there are probably better methods for ideation. The key to using the BMC for ideation is that it’s best to start with your current business model. While there are plenty of really great methodologies and frameworks, like open brainstorming and the Creative Matrix, designed specifically for ideation, the BMC can also be a really powerful tool to get the creative (ideation) juices flowing. In other words, if you know where you are today and you’re looking for ways to create business models for tomorrow, you must ideate. However, in between those two things is ideation. And, just as often it’s used to make an idea (for the future) more concrete. Often we see people employ the BMC to better understand how their company creates, delivers, and captures value today. There are many…many ways to use a Business Model Canvas (BMC).