The 4 types of Business Model Templates

A Business Model Template (also called Strategic Management Template) is a one-page visual chart that can give different insights on the inner workings and key elements of a business depending on which Business Model Template used and followed.

Choosing your Business Model Template

To choose a Business Model Template, it is important to know what kinds are there. So, without further ado, here are the different templates possible for your business:

Business Model Canvas

Business Model canvas is a management template created on 2008 by Alexander Osterwalder who used to work on Business Model Ontology. It’s the first Business Model Template that was created to fit all different kinds of businesses, but since its creation, a lot more variations have appeared with a more specific and niche usage.

The Business Model Canvas consists of 9 segments, usually called “Building Blocks”, which are: Key activities, Key partners, Key resources, Value proposition, Customer Segment, Customer channels, Customer relationships, Cost structure, and Revenue streams.

Usually, startups use the template (and/or the other templates described below) to formulate hypotheses and change their business model based on the failure or the success of the tested hypotheses.

The 9 segments of the Business Model Canvas make up a total of 4 main elements, which are: The Organization, The Client, The Sales, and The Financials.

The Organization element’s blocks:

– Key Partners: List your business’s Key Partners, this can consist of important suppliers in your supply chain.
– Key Activities: What specific Key Activities your business needs to deliver your Value Proposition?
– Key Resources: Identify your business’s Key Resources or assets that are necessary to deliver your Value Proposition.

The Client element’s blocks:

– Customer Segment: List the profiles of your Value Proposition’s targets. What do they need? What do they enjoy?
– Customer Relationships: Clarify the type of relationship you have with your customers.
– Channels: List your ways to deliver your Value Proposition.

The Sales element’s block:

– Value Propositions: Identify the core values the business provides to customers. What is the difference in your offer that makes your customers more satisfied? The price, quality, design, or status?

The Financials element’s blocks:

– Cost Structure: List the key costs that your business requires to continue functioning and delivering the Value Proposition.
– Revenue Streams: List how your Value Proposition generates money for your business. Does your company offer multiple forms of payment?

Lean Canvas

Like the Business Model Canvas, Lean Canvas is a management template that was created by Ash Maurya in 2010. The Lean Canvas was made with the focus on startups, specifically following the Lean Startup Method. It has the same structure as the Business Model Canvas but with some changes on 4 of the 9 building blocks.

The overall contribution of Lean Canvas offers an important added value to the Lean Startup Method since it allows in one page to share the essential keys of a project with partners and potential investors during the launch phase.

The Lean Canvas focuses more on the solution that your product or service brings forth into the market, which is usually the main point that investors and partners concentrate on rather than how many partners you have.

The Lean Canvas is divided into two halves: The Market and The Product, with only the Unique value proposition as a common block between the two, let’s explain the changed blocks of each part:

The changed blocks in The Market part:

– Problem instead of Key partners: List your customer’s top 3 problems and how they’re solved currently.
– Solution instead of Key activities: List your business’s top 3 solutions to the Problems or to the needs of your clients.
– Key Metrics instead of Key resources: List the key numbers that tell you how your business is doing.

The changed blocks in The Product part:

– Unique Value Proposition instead of Value propositions: List a single, crystal clear, compelling message that turns an unaware visitor into an interested prospect.
– Unfair Advantage instead of Customer relationships: Something you have that can’t be easily copied or bought.

Value Proposition Canvas

The Value Proposition Canvas is unique in the fact that it acts mostly as a supplement to the Business Model Canvas’ Customer segment and Value proposition. It was published in 2012 by the very same Alexander Osterwalder.

The Value Proposition Canvas consists of two elements: The “Value proposition” element divided into 3 blocks —Products and services, Gain creators, and Pain relievers— that correspond to the 3 blocks in the “Customer segment” element —Job-to-be-done, Gains, and Pains.

The Value Proposition Canvas focuses mostly on the customer-product relationships, perceived value of the product or service by the customers and all potential product-market fit.

The Customer segment’s blocks:

– Job-to-be-done: What is the job the customer is trying to get done in their work and in their lives?
– Gains: Describe the concrete benefits customers are seeking and what would make their Job-to-be-done easier.
– Pains: Describe the risks, bad outcomes and obstacles related to the customers’ jobs.

The Value proposition’s blocks:

– Products & Services: A list of all the products and services a value proposition is built around.
– Gain Creators: Describe how your product and services create customer Gains in the Customer segment.
– Pain Relievers: Describe how your products and services alleviate and ease up your customer’s Pains in the Customer segment.

Mission Model Canvas

For the Mission Model Canvas, it is considered to be a variation of the Business Model Canvas since it was co-authored by the very same Alexander Osterwalder alongside Steve Blank in 2016. It also has the same structure as the Business Model Canvas albeit with some different blocks.

The Mission Model Canvas was made mainly for organizations that have a predetermined and limited budget rather than having a goal of raising revenue. These organizations are mainly government agencies and non-profit enterprises.

As in the Lean Canvas, the Mission Model Canvas also borrows many blocks from the Business Model Canvas, but what did exactly change?

Beneficiaries instead of Customer Segment

To fill this block, you can answer the following questions:
– Who are our most important customers/stakeholders?
– What is their archetype?

Buy-in & Support instead of Customer Relationships

To fill this block, you can answer the following questions:
– How does the team get the “Buy-ins” from all the beneficiaries?
– How will you get them interested in your message.

Deployment instead of Channels

To fill this block, you can answer the following questions:
– How will we deploy the product to widespread use?
– What constitutes a successful deployment?

Mission Budget/Cost instead of Cost Structure

To fill this block, you can answer the following questions:
– What is the mission/project budget?
– What are the costs required to deliver the value proposition?

Mission Achievements/Impact Factors instead of Revenue Streams

To fill this block, you can answer the following questions:
– How do you measure success in your mission/project?
– What is the social impact of your mission’s success?

For any concerns or questions, join our forums of discussion in our Startups group and share everything you’re wondering about. Our community would be glad to be of help!

Join us now!