THE UNITE BUSINESS MODEL ENVIRONMENT CANVAS
FINANCIAL MODEL
COST MODEL
Create value through
unique cost strategies
Asset Standardization
Reduce operating costs
and increase modularity by
standardizing your assets.
Cost Leadership (No Frills)
Keep variable costs low and sell
high volumes at low prices.
Costs per Unit
Decrease costs per unit so as to
improve the scalability of your cost
structure.
Decrease Service Level
Decrease service levels through
automation or customer self-help
communities.
Economies of Scale
Create cost advantages as the
output expands.
Economies of Scope
Create cost advantages as the
scope of operations expands.
Fixed to Variable Costs
Turn fixed into variable costs by
leasing or other schemes.
Fractional Ownership
Share an asset that is occasionally
used across a group of owners.
Location
Relocation of operations to lower
cost environments.
Outsourcing
Strategically outsource non-core
activities to decrease costs and
improve business focus.
Physical > Digital Assets
Move customer experiences from
brick and mortar branches to
online omni-channels.
Pool Purchasing Power
Collaborate with other businesses
to save money on supplies and
other goods.
Shared Incentives
Put shared incentives in place to
reduce costs.
Virtual Office
Reduce office/operating costs by
working remotely.
T H E U N I T E I N N OVAT I O N & T R A N S F O R M AT I O N M O D E L S
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license.
Designed by: Digital Leadership AG – digitalleadership.com. Building on the 10 types of innovation from Doblin, the 55 Business Models from the University of St. Gallen and the Business Model Gallery.
REVENUE MODEL
Create value through
creative ways of making money
Add On
Offer a core product for slim or
no margins; then realize profit on
additional offerings.
Advertising-Based
Provide a free product or service
and rely on hidden advertising
revenue.
Broker
Provide a platform where buyers
and sellers can meet, thus
facilitating their interactions.
Cash Up Front
Receive payment upfront and earn
interest prior to product delivery.
Flat Rate
Single fixed fee charged for
product or service regardless of
usage.
Forced Scarcity
Limit the availability (by quantity,
time frame or access) to drive up
demand and prices.
Bait & Hook
Sell the basic product cheaply
and earn money through ongoing
purchase of consumables.
Membership
Charge for access to offerings that
non-members don’t have.
On-Demand
Charge a premium for the
convenience of on-demand
services.
Pay What You Want
Invite customers to set the price
they want to pay.
Premium
Price at a higher margin than
competitors, usually for a superior
offering.
Subscription
Enjoy recurring revenue by
charging customers upfront
monthly payments.
OPER ATING MODEL
VALUE CHAIN
Create value through
superior processes
Add on Financial Services Crowdsourcing
Capture revenue not only from Outsource repetitive or
the direct sale but from after-sale challenging work to a large group
financial products. of semi-organised individuals.
Auction Flexible Manufacturing
Allow a market and its users to set Use a production system that can
the price for goods and services. rapidly react to changes and still
operate efficiently.
Bundled Pricing Intellectual Property
Sell grouped products at a price Use a proprietary process to
less than the sum of individual commercialize ideas in ways that
products, increasing total revenue. others can’t copy.
Disaggregated Pricing Lean Production
Allow customers to buy exactly Reduce waste and costs in your
(and only) what they want. manufacturing process and other
operations.
Dynamic Pricing Localization
Vary prices for an offering based Adapt an offering, process or
on demand. experience to target a specific
culture or region.
Freemium Lock In
Draw customers in with a free Lock in customers via technological
product, while making certain mechanisms or product
features available to paid users. interdependencies.
Licensing Logistic Systems
Develop intellectual property that Manage the flow of resources
can be licensed to other parties between the point of origin and
for a fee. the point of use.
Metered Use On-Demand Production
Allow customers to pay only for Produce items after an order has
what they use. been received to reduce inventory
costs.
Pay per Use Predictive Analysis
Capture revenue from usage or Model past data and predict future
from consumables down the line. success by designing and pricing
accordingly.
Performance-Based Process Automation
Waive standard fees or costs if Apply tools/systems to manage
certain goals are achieved, but routine activities in order to free
charge extra if they are not. up employees’ time.
Revenue Sharing Process Efficiency
Share revenue across customer Create more while using less
bases and market interfaces. in terms of materials, energy
consumption or time.
Process Standardisation
Use common procedures to reduce
complexity, costs and errors.
Vertical Intergration
Control key value chain steps,
including all resources and
capabilities that create value.
KEY RESOURCES
Create value through
talent and assets
Competency Center
Cluster resources, practices and
expertise into centers to increase
efficiency and effectiveness.
Corporate University
Provide job-specific or company-
specific training for managers.
Decentralized Management
Devolve decision-making
governance closer to the people or
business.
Incentive Systems
Offer rewards to provide
motivation for a particular course
of action.
Innovation Teams
Combine talent and other key
assets in new ways that unlock
hidden value.
IT Integration
Integrate technology resources
and applications.
Knowledge Management
Share relevant info internally to
reduce redundancy and improve
performance.
Leverage Customer Data
Collect and analyze customer data
to increase revenue.
Make More of It
Sell excess assets and capability
capacity to other companies.
Organizational Design
Make form follow function and
align your structure with core
qualities and processes.
Outsourcing
Assign responsibility for
developing or maintaining a
system to an outside vendor.
Reverse innovation
Market a product produced for
emerging markets as a low cost
option in developed markets.
KEY PARTNERS
Create value through
better networks
Affiliation
Support others in selling products,
benefiting from their transactions.
Alliances
Share risks and revenue to jointly
improve individual competitive
advantage.
Competition
Join forces with a competitor to
achieve common goals.
Complementary Partnering
Leverage assets by sharing them
with companies that serve similar
markets.
Consolidation
Acquire multiple companies in the
same market or complementary
markets.
Coopetition
Cooperation between competing
companies resulting in mutually
benefical market growth.
Crowdfunding
Finance a product or project by
harnessing small investors via the
Ichainnternet.
Franchising
License business principles,
processes and brand to paying
partners.
Horizontal Intergration
Increase the production of goods
and services at the same part of
the supply chain.
Merger & Acquisition (M&A)
Combine two or more entities to
gain access to capabilities and
assets.
Open Business
Collaborate with with partners in
the ecosystem to create additional
value.
Open Innovation
In-license or out-license processes
or patents to leverage, extend and
build on expertise.
Secondary Markets
Connect waste streams or by-
products with those who want
them.
Supply Chain Integration
Integrate information and/or
processes across different parts of
the value chain.
VALUE MODEL
VALUE PROPOSITION
Create value through
products
Added Functionality
Add new capabilities to an existing
offering.
Adjacent Jobs to be Done
Strengthen the overall offering by
developing in adjacent areas of the
core customer JTBD.
Bespoke
A Value Proposition that is
completely tailored to each
customer‘s requirements.
Conservation
Design your product so that end
users can reduce their use of
energy or materials.
Demand-Driven
Allow a customer to automatically
use more or less of a resource in
real time.
Ease of Use
Make your product simple,
intuitive and comfortable to use.
Engaging Functionality
Provide an unexpected feature
that elevates the customer
interaction.
Environmental Sensitivity
Create offerings that reduce
resource needs or are even
beneficial to the environment.
Feature Aggregation
Combine a number of existing
features from disparate sources
into a single offering.
Focus
Design a product or service for a
particular audience.
Market-Agnostic Specialization
Provide one value-adding step
across many different markets.
Mass Customization
Allow the customer to change the
offering to their own preferences
and needs.
Opposites Attract
Create an offering that is diametrically
to competitors, the novelty of which
attracts new customers.
Safety
Increase the customer’s level of
confidence and security.
Simplification
Omit superfluous details, features
and interactions to reduce
complexity.
Superior Product
Develop an offering of exceptional
design, quality and/or experience.
PRODUCT SYSTEM
Create value through
product systems
Complements
Up-sell or cross-sell related or
peripheral products or services to
a customer.
Ecosystem Play
Develop platform API spaces that
target a unique set of players in an
ecosystem.
Extensions or Plug-Ins
Allow additions from internal or
third-party resources that add
functionality.
Integrated Offering
Combine otherwise discrete
components into a complete
experience.
Long Tail
Sell small quantities of a large
range of digital products.
Modular Systems
Provide a set of individual
components that gain utility when
combined.
Product Bundling
Sell several products as one
combined offering.
Productize Services
Package your service like a
product.
Product Line
Create a product system that
allows customers to upgrade/
downgrade in terms of needs.
Product/Service Platforms
Develop systems that connect
other products or services to
create a holistic offering.
Product Smartification
Develop smart add-on technology
to products and services that
enhances customer value.
SERVICE MODEL
Create value through
services
Added Value
Include an additional service or
function as part of the base price.
Automatic Adjustment
Create services that differeniate
for varying levels of product usage
and support.
Concierge
Provide premium service by
taking on value-adding tasks for
customers.
Customization
Allow the customer to tailor the
service to their preferences.
Guarantee
Remove customer risk of losses or
downtime from product failure or
purchase error.
Lease or Loan
Let customers pay over time to
lower their upfront costs.
Loyalty Programs
Provide benefits and/or discounts
to frequent and high-value
customers.
Managed Service
Managing complex processes for
customers on a proactive basis.
On-Demand
Provided services that deliver
value to a customer upon request.
Personalization
The tailoring of a service to a
customer based on their personal
information.
Realtime/Scheduled
Fullfill a customer request
immediately or according to
schedule.
Self-Service
Provide tools to customers so that
they can serve themselves.
Superior Service
Provide services that offer a better
experience than your competitors.
Supplementary Service
Offer ancillary serivces that fit
with your offering.
Total Experience Management
Provide a thoughtful, holistic
experience across an offering’s
lifecycle.
Try Before You Buy
Let customers test and experience
offering before investing in it.
User Support Systems
Provide a communal resource for
product and service support, use
and extension.
EXPERIENCE MODEL
CHANNELS
Create value through
the mode of delivery
Context-Specific
Offer timely access to offerings
that areappropriate for a specific
situation.
Cross Selling
Offer additional products or
services when customers are likely
to want to buy them.
Digitization
Convert products or services into
digital versions allowing for rapid
distribution.
Diversification
Add/expand into new or different
channels.
E-Commerce
Deliver traditional products and
services through online channels.
Flagship Store
Create a retail outlet to showcase
quintessential brand and product
aspects.
Go Direct
Skip traditional retail channels and
connect directly with customers.
Indirect Distribution
Use others as resellers who take
responsibility for delivering
offerings to the final user.
Low Cost Center
Sell a high volume and wide
range of products in a low cost
enviornment.
Outsourced Sales
Sell bulk/commoditized goods via
an independent sales forces.
Non-Traditional Channels
Employ relevant but creative
avenues to reach and service
customers.
On-Demand
Deliver goods in real-time
whenever and whereever they are
desired.
Pop-Up Presence
Create a noteworthy but
temporary space to showcase and/
or sell offerings.
Premium Experience
Sell premium offerings in a
high-end customer experience
environment.
CUSTOMER
ENGAGEMENT
Create value through forms
of customer engagement
Augmented Reality
Humanize your offerings with
intentional, on-brand immersive
experiences.
Community & Belonging
Facilitate emotional connections
in order to make people feel that
they are part of a movement.
Customer Autonomy
Grant customers the power to
shape their own experience.
Customer Sourcing
Gather key customer insights in a
way that benefits both parties and
strengthens loyalty.
Direct Marketing Automation
Use data, algorithms and know-
how to give your target market
exactly what they want.
Experience Automation
Remove repetitive tasks from users
to simplify their lives and make room
for more pleasurable experiences.
Experience Enabling
Offer a previously improbable
set of experiences that appeal to
customer emotions.
Experience Simplification
Reduce complexity and focus on
delivering specific experiences
exceptionally well.
Gamification
Leverage gamification to enhance
insights gained from customer
interfaces.
Mastery
Help customers to obtain a useful
skill or deep knowledge of some
activity or subject.
Personalization
Alter a standard offering to allow
the projection of the customer’s
identity.
Reward Engagement
Reward customer engagement
that promotes your brand.
Status & Recognition
Appreciate, recognize & reward
customer‘s individual value.
Use Data
Use customer data to improve
customer engagement and
experience.
CUSTOMER
RELATIONSHIPS
Create value through the nature
of your customer relationships
Automated Services
Combine self-service with highly
automated and personalized
processes.
Co-creation
Co-create products/services/
support/content with customers.
Communities
Leverage communities for critical
processes over the customer
lifecycle.
Long-Term
Drive value by focusing on long-
term customer relationships and
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).
Personal Assistance
Offer personal assistance to the
customer at key moments in the
relationship.
Relationship Model
Dedicate a representative to work
specifically with high-value clients.
Self Service
Give customers the resources
to do their own support and
troubleshooting.
Single Point of Contact (SPOC)
Provide a single person that
a customer can contact with
requests or inquiries.
Switching Costs
Increase or decrease the costs asso-
ciated with a customer switching to
an alternative product or service.
Transactional
Make the relationship with
customers transactional in nature.
BRAND
Create value through
brand strategy
Brand Architecture
Develop sub-brands to extend
offeringsas variants of your brand
for new target groups.
Brand Development
Develop your brand to engage the
emotions and attract new
customers.
Brand Leverage
Allow others to use your brand
to lend them credibility while
extending your reach.
Co-Branding
Cooperate with complementary
brands to increase value.
Component Branding
Invest in additional branding of an
iconic component to leverage
overall brand value.
Employer of Choice
Create strong employer branding
to attract the best talent.
Increased Loyalty
Strengthen the emotional bond of
identification with customers to
motivate re-purchase.
Ingredient Branding
Create a brand that brings value
to an ecosystem of products and
other brands.
Private Label
Strengthen the retail company‘s
brand with a derived label.
Umbrella Brand
Leverage a single brand name for
the sale of several products.