Publicize a new business project, convince potential financiers to become shareholders in an SME or find allies to start a business collaboration. These are some of the virtues that have made the Canvas Model one of the best systems for communicating a company’s strategy in an attractive and visual way, allowing the feasibility of an idea to be evaluated quickly and efficiently.
Origin and structure of the Canvas model
After the publication in 2010 of the Business Model Generation , prepared by Osterwalder and Pigneur, the Canvas has become one of the most used tools by entrepreneurs and businessmen from all over the world. It is made up of nine blocks that make up the business model of an entity , such as its value proposition, the main characteristics of the company, the identification of target customers or the revenue architecture, that is, how it is intended to obtain benefits by analyzing the bills.
What is the canvas of the Canvas model?
From the faithful analysis of all these sections is how the so-called Canvas is built , which is nothing more than the graphic representation of those nine blocks, with a dynamic structure, that is, it will evolve as the competitive strategy varies. of the entity as a result of the different vicissitudes that it is experiencing in the market.
This canvas is divided into two parts, depending on whether they define the value that the business intends to generate for customers (right hemisphere) or analyze the company’s internal activities and how to structure its operations (left hemisphere). Despite this differentiation into two groups, it must be borne in mind that any change in one of them ends up affecting the entire group , so the structure itself must be constantly reviewed.
The analysis blocks of the Canvas model
The main challenge of the Canvas is that the business model can be captured graphically on a single page . To do this, it must collect the fundamental information of the same as a synthesis, but offering an integrating vision of the whole. Therefore, it is designed to be printed in large size, hung on a wall and be analyzed and reviewed periodically by entrepreneurs.
These are the blocks that are analyzed using the Canvas:
Value proposal
It is the fundamental core of the business model, that is, what the company offers to satisfy a need in the market.
customer segments
It aims to define the type of customers that the company tries to attract, according to different criteria, such as their age, their purchasing power, what they buy and when, or their place of residence.
Channels
This is one of the most important decisions to make as it often determines profit. It is the entity’s strategy to deliver its value proposition to the market by virtue of the customer experience it intends to achieve.
Customer relations
This section is increasingly influenced by aspects such as the company’s reputation or its perception among society. It involves the way in which you try to retain and retain customers, as well as the relationship systems between them and the company.
sources of income
A fundamental element to ensure the economic viability of the business since it deals with how the company intends to charge for its products and services, for example, through payment methods.
key resources
It incorporates everything that the company uses to carry out its activity, such as placing its products on the market, generating income or the relationships it maintains with stakeholders and customers.
key activities
They are all the actions, tasks and processes necessary to provide value over the rest of the existing offer in the market. Among them, post-sale assistance, marketing, transport or distribution stand out.
key partners
It analyzes the suitable and necessary suppliers and agents to be able to carry out all the processes successfully. With them, different kinds of agreements and alliances can be established to ensure the maintenance of the company’s activity in the long term.
cost structure
The main objective of any entity is to guarantee its sustainability. For this reason, it is critical to evaluate all the fixed costs of the business, opting for the most appropriate in terms of efficiency and profitability or protecting against non-payment problems with services such as credit and surety insurance .
Lean Start Up
The Canvas methodology is part of the lean start up approach , a system devised by Eric Ries (author of “The lean start up” whose main objective is to serve to create viable businesses, both from an economic and growth point of view. One of the Ries’s great maxims is that each resource must be used to the maximum, carrying out an objective analysis of the project through the design of a business model that is agile and focused on knowing the client.
