Canvas or Business Model Canvas: what is it?

Business Model Canvas is a visual tool for organizing business ideas, creating an easily adaptable and effective plan.

It is common for industries to use tools to organize their routine, improve processes, control quality and productivity, and to achieve many other goals.

In this sense, the use of auxiliary tools can be highly advantageous, providing clarity and organization to the information.

In this article, we will cover Canvas, also known as Business Model Canvas, a widely used tool. Find out why!

What is the Business Model Canvas?

Canvas, also known as Business Model Canvas, is a visual tool that helps organize business ideas, allowing you to create an easily adaptable and easy-to-manage plan.

Created in 2010 by Swiss consultant Alexander Osterwalder during his doctoral thesis, this tool soon gained global popularity due to its practicality and effectiveness.

In the business plan, the manager details the entire future of the company and the way to achieve the objectives. However, due to its complexity, people often overlook it and set it aside after creation.

Therefore, a simpler and more visual tool was developed to allow an easy and direct design of the business plan.

Canvas is a framework where you describe the general objective of the business and what is needed for its operation.

You can use it when opening a new company or sector within an existing company. That is, it is applicable both in newly designed industries and in factories with many years of history.

This organization model is applicable in factories to launch new products, modify business models, reach new audiences or establish a company overview.

 

How important is the Business Model Canvas for industries?

Canvas is ideal for providing a broad view of companies' new and current projects.

This tool is useful so that the manager does not get lost in the midst of old and new ideas, it provides the manager with a direction to reach products that deliver quality to the customer.

How does Canvas work?

Canvas is divided into two parts:

• Right side: corresponds to the more emotional and subjective aspects of the business.
• Left side: focused on the business rationale.

It is composed of nine blocks that complement each other and need to be well connected. Are they:

1st Block: Customer segment

In this block it is necessary to define the target audience. It's important to decide which type of customers to focus on, that way you guarantee that someone, specifically, will be impacted by your product, and that they won't be left adrift waiting for just anyone.

To define this audience, you can consider some questions, such as what is the purpose of the product/service? What problems will it solve? What form of resolution does it bring? Who will look for him?

2nd Block: Value proposition

The value proposition is defining what you intend to deliver to customers.

Here you need to think about what expectations you will need to meet with these products, what problems they need to solve, and ask yourself what reasons will lead customers to purchase your product.

3rd Block: Channels

In this step you will define which will be the delivery channels of your product.

4th Block: Relationship with customers

In this block it is necessary to focus on the routine with the client, on how you can establish a relationship with him on a daily basis.

In this sense, you should analyze your customers' profile to understand how you can reach them and make them want to reach you.

5th Block: Source of revenue

In this step you will ask questions about the financial area.

Here it can be helpful to assess the market value of your items, how much customers are willing to pay for your service, and all cash-in issues.

These five blocks form the right side of the Canvas, that is, the emotional and subjective side of the business.

6th Block: Key Resources

From this block we will see the left side of the Canvas, which deals with practical and rational issues.

At this stage, all the resources necessary to meet the customer's needs must be taken into account.

Different types of resources should be considered at this stage, such as physical, intellectual, human and financial.

Physical resources refer to location, tools and equipment, while intellectual resources encompass the team's essential knowledge and skills.

In human resources, you will decide how the team should be for the business to work. And finally, the financial resources address the investments that will be necessary to leverage the business.

7th Block: Key Activities

Here you should list all the actions necessary for the operation of your company, from production to administrative tasks.

8th Block: Key Partnerships

In this block you will evaluate which are the suppliers you can count on. It is important to choose reliable suppliers, as they will be part of your company's success.

9th Block: Cost structure

Finally, in this last block you will list all the costs, direct or indirect, necessary to deliver your business proposal.

check

After you finish filling in the data above, it is important to review it.

That way you'll notice if something needs to be changed, added or if everything is fitted properly.

>> Read also: Databook: what is it and what is it for

Conclusion

The Canvas tool is innovative, agile and relaxed. Therefore, if you are looking for innovative solution methods for your business, this is the ideal tool.

Its aim is to condense the key ideas for building a company into just one page. It offers practicality and efficiency, dynamics and agility.

With Canvas you can analyze your business more broadly, creatively add ideas and develop market-accepted products and plausible strategies through key questions. With all the blocks well defined and related, your business innovation will be clear and right in front of your eyes, and above all, it will be achievable and efficient!

If you decide to open or innovate a business, have no doubts, Canvas can be an escape valve from all the complexity to a simple and objective system. Study the blocks, fill in the data and turn theory into practice!

>> Read also: What are performance indicators and how to use them