S19 Business Model and Value Proposition Design

Explain to the client what business model and value proposition tools are for, and how they can help a business of their size and stage

Choose tools suited to the client's situation, purpose and confidence, and adapt how you use them for the client

Help the client set out their current business model on one page, covering their customers, the value they offer, channels, customer relationships, revenue, key resources, activities, partners and costs

Help the client understand their customers' jobs, problems and hoped-for gains, using evidence rather than assumption

Help the client describe how their products and services relieve those problems and create those gains, and judge how well they fit

Use the tools to generate new ideas for products, services, customers and ways of earning revenue, as well as to analyse what already exists

Help the client identify the assumptions their business model and value proposition depend on, and rank them by risk and uncertainty

Help the client design simple, low-cost tests of their riskiest assumptions with real customers, and interpret the results

Help the client compare alternative business models and value propositions, including their costs, risks and sustainability

Help the client turn the agreed model into priorities and actions, and link it to their financial plans

Facilitate the use of the tools with teams, partners or groups, in person and online

Encourage the client to revisit their business model and value proposition as the business and its market change, and build their confidence to use the tools on their own

What a business model and a value proposition are, and how they differ from a business plan

The building blocks of a business model and how they affect each other

Recognised visual tools for business model and value proposition design (for example the Business Model Canvas and the Value Proposition Canvas), their strengths and limits, and the terms on which they can be used

How to understand customer needs, including customer segments, the jobs customers are trying to get done, their problems and the gains they want

What makes a good fit between a value proposition and customer needs, and how to evidence it

Techniques for generating new business models and value propositions, including starting from the value created for customers

How to identify, prioritise and test assumptions (for example customer interviews, prototypes, landing pages and pilot sales), and how to read the evidence

Common business model patterns (for example subscription, freemium, marketplace, licensing and social enterprise models) and when they fit

How business model choices affect costs, revenue, cash flow and risk

How to adapt the tools for social enterprises, the self-employed and very small businesses

Facilitation techniques for canvas-based workshops, in person and online, including digital whiteboards