Businesses start out as an idea, thought out and imagined. But putting that idea into practice and making it successful is not usually easy. Today there are a large number of tools that will help you focus on your business and make it more likely to increase the chances of success.
The Canvas model is a great tool to apply to any company, regardless of its size, sector or activity. Canvas was developed with the purpose of defining, creating and graphically representing a business model.
Canvas allows you to focus on two main sections: one focuses on what the company has to offer its customers, and the other focuses on its internal functioning. This includes the company's activities and its structure, in order to have an idea of the method to follow to generate income.
You can continue reading our article What is the Canvas model? for more information, because in this article we will focus on explaining the steps to follow so that you understand how a Canvas model is created. Continue reading to learn how to use this tool with your projects.
Benefits of creating a Canvas model
1. Provide a simple business outline
The Canvas model offers a view made up of a series of blocks, which allows you to quickly and easily see the structure of the business. It is a visualization that allows you to clearly and concisely see the state of the company, and is a direct reference for all departments and even externally, focusing on advisors, investors and partners.
2. Promotes a comprehensive and systemic approach
The Canvas model summarizes the internal and external elements of the business, to provide global information about the company. It allows understanding the different functions, activities and existing processes, which facilitates the early detection of inconsistencies between the different areas.
3. It allows you to see the strengths and weaknesses of the business
By identifying the strengths and weaknesses of a business plan Canvas, you can maintain the value proposition to boost competitiveness. This way, you can identify the most important elements, allocate more resources and promote business success.
4. It benefits strategic decision making
The canvas model facilitates decision-making that will favour innovation in the business model. This serves as a starting point for evaluating the economic viability or different alternatives within the business model and for understanding the system in its entirety.
How to create a Canvas model?
The Canvas model is divided into 9 parts that cover four main areas of a business:
✅ Clients
✅ Offer
✅ Infrastructure
✅ Economic viability
1. Value proposition
The Canvas model considers the value proposition to be the core of the business. The value proposition differentiates your business from the competition. It is what you have to offer, the problems you help your clients solve, or the need you satisfy.
If you have several customer segments, you must have different value propositions focused on the needs of each of them.
2. Market segments
Create a Canvas model with a special focus on the market segments you are targeting. This should be answered by those who create value for you and who your most important customers are. This leads us to draw up the different buyer personas. And the more details you have about the customer, the more effective and specific your market strategies will be.
3. Established relationship with customers
Create a Canvas model , creating a strategy to establish a relationship with your clients, from attracting them, retaining them and building loyalty. You must define whether it will be automated or personal. At this point, you must consider the type of relationship depending on the different types of market and how these are integrated into your business model.
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4. Define distribution channels
Create a Canvas model defining the channels you will establish for your customers to buy the product and the strategy to distribute the value proposition to a market, based on the experience you want your buyer persona to go through. Choose those channels that relate and establish better results and provide greater attention to customers after the purchase.
5. Determine the sources of income
Create a Canvas model defining the sources of income, that is, the way in which each segment of clients will generate income. What will determine whether your business is profitable, you must make clear what your clients are willing to pay, how they would like to pay and how much the different sources contribute.
6. Necessary resources
Create a Canvas model establishing everything your business needs to develop its activity, from physical space, offices, machinery, instruments and human capital. You must establish the financial resources, how you will obtain them, whether through a bank loan, partners, capital or a fundraising campaign.
7. Important activities
Here you can define those actions, tasks and processes that will provide value to your buyer persona to differentiate yourself from the competition.
8. Important associations
Every business plan includes agreements, negotiations and strategic alliances that will allow you to launch the business and ensure long-term sustainability. Create a Canvas model identifying suppliers, partners, distributors and investors to share experiences, resources and costs. Each of these alliances will be key to the success of your business.
9. Create the cost structure
Create a Canvas model by evaluating the costs of resources, maintenance and all the costs that will be generated. This will allow you to evaluate the fixed costs and obtain a profitability strategy. Determine which will be the most important and necessary costs according to your business model, depending on the activities and resources that require the greatest investment.
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