Business Model Canvas Tool: Part 3

June 7, 2019

The Channels and Customer Relationships building blocks

Today’s post author is Victor Oyervides, retail business specialist with FFED. He shares information about one of the tools that our Enterprise Development team uses to support Iowa’s entrepreneurs with business startups: the Business Model Canvas. This article is the third in a series.

In this our third piece on the Business Model Canvas (BMC) tool, we’ll discuss the following segments: Channels and Customer Relationships.

Channels are the methods that a business uses to communicate to its Customer Segments (CS) in order to deliver a Value Proposition (VP = product/service). They serve to:

  • raise awareness
  • assist customers to gauge the VP
  • create a pathway to purchase and receive delivery of the VP, and
  • accommodate for a post-purchase customer experience
Business Model Canvas tool poster.

Key questions on Channels

Key questions to ask in this segment:

  • Which channels do your customers prefer?
  • How do you reach them now?
  • Which channels work best?
  • Which are most cost-effective?
  • How can you integrate them to create a great customer experience and maximize revenues?

A business should also identify and define the type of Customer Relationships it wishes to establish with each of its Customer Segments. Customer Relationships can range from personal assistance to dedicated personal assistance to self-service to automated services.

Customer Relationships can focus on any of the following objectives: customer acquisition, customer retention and increase of sales.

Key questions on Customer Relationships

Key questions to ask:

  • What type of relationship does each of your CS expect you to establish and maintain with them?
  • Which ones have you established?
  • How are they integrated with the rest of your business model?
  • How costly are they?

An excellent tool to deepen your understanding of the Business Model Canvas tool is the book Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers, by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur (Wiley, 2010). Throughout this series I reference this source.

Watch for more information on Enterprise Development team tools in upcoming posts. If you have a question for Victor, you can email him or call (515) 294-7517.

Business Model Canvas Tool: Part 1

Business Model Canvas Tool: Part 2

Learn more about our Enterprise Development program.