Apple’s Jonathan Ive changed the world with his designs. The Apple devices are more known because of their design, rather than the logo they carry. Looking at the device that was the first stepping stone in this for Apple, the iPod 1, many people claim their is a great deal of resemblance with Braun’s T3 pocketradio, launched in 1958 (nrc). This radio was designed by Dieter Ram, head of product design from 1955-1998.
Ram applied ten principles to good design. According to Ram good design:
- is innovative
- makes a product useful
- is aesthetic
- makes a product understandable
- is unobtrusive
- is honest
- is long-lasting
- is thorough down to the last detail
- is environmentally friendly
- is as little design as possible
Applying these 10 principles to business model design, the following guidelines are derived:
- is innovative
A good business model is unique, and therefore hard to imitate. - makes a product useful
Using the business model, from the company as well as the customer perspective, is easy. - is aesthetic
A good business model does not cause any irritation or confusion. Only well executed business models can be beautiful. - makes a business model understandable
It makes the business model clearly express its function by making use of the user’s intuition. At best, it is self-explanatory. - is unobtrusive
The business model leaves room for the user’s self-expression. Business models fulfilling a purpose are like tools that add to the quality of life of its users. - is honest
An honest business model does not make a product or service seem more valuable than it really is. Influencing and manipulation of customers and users by the business model is not done. - is long-lasting
A good business model avoids being fashionable and therefore never runs the risk of being outdated. - is thorough down to the last detail
In the design sufficient attention has been paid to the details of the design, creating a true experience for customers and users. In the execution of a good business model these should implemented accurately. - is environmentally friendly
Good business model design is aware of its environmental impact and aims to make an important contribution to the preservation of the environment by conserving resources and minimizing physical and visual pollution. - is as little design as possible
Keeping it pure! Everything that is non-essential to a business model should be kept out of its design.
When designing new business models these 10 principle will help you to focus your effort and flow your creativity accordingly to make beautiful, meaningful new business models.
Business model innovation will be the next big differentiator for companies aspiring innovation leadership. Innovation leaders are breaking away from the pack by allocating increasingly more resources to business model innovation1. And they are right. Research has illustrated that more value is to be expected from business model innovation, than from any other form of innovation. Business model innovation has a higher impact on business results.
Guest post by Freek Duppen
As the knowledge partner of the World Innovation Forum, Capgemini Consulting has recently completed its global innovation survey on the current state of innovation. The study offers a unique perspective by looking at the differences in behavior of innovation leaders vis-à-vis laggards across five key areas (strategy, capabilities, technology, innovation function, and spending) in order to identify what drives the success of companies that view themselves as successful innovators.
The study is based on an online survey, generating responses from 375 executives (representing the full range of industries, regions, functional specialties, and seniority) and 13 follow-up interviews – to get a better understanding of the context of the findings and to add depth to the result interpretation.
In summary, this study reveals that:
- Given the strategic priority companies allocate to innovation and their corresponding spending plans, the maturity of their formal innovation governance structure lags behind considerably. To overcome many of the innovation bottlenecks encountered, it is time to establish an innovation function that is able to deal with this kind of innovation governance and decision-making.
- Furthermore, there is an enormous unlocked potential for innovation in the involvement of external parties in the innovation process. Innovation leaders may have out-paced their peers by simply being better at involving external parties, leveraging a much broader innovation network and increasing innovation potential.
- The study also shows that more value, in terms of impact on business results, is to be expected from business model innovation, than from any other form of innovation. Targeting new business opportunities in emerging markets is much more likely to be successful when approached outside of the traditional competitive landscape.
The whole topic of business model innovation receives ever more attention. Looking at what has been published recently still there is a strong tendency to focus on business to consumer (B2C), incl. cases and examples.
Business to business (B2B) seems to be ignored. Odd, because understanding business model innovation in a B2B context and being able to deliver successful models is more challenging, but also much more rewarding.
The Challenges
Most challenging aspect is typically the value chain. By the term value chain not the typical Porter kind of value chain is meant, but a series of interlinked activities, performed by various entities that deliver customer value.
Based on this view a value chain does not exist within companies, but amongst companies active within industries form value chains together.
Typical B2B business model innovation impacts either the positions more closely to the end users (forward business model innovation) or the positions that supply the firm that aims to change its business model (backward business model innovation).
With forward and well as backward business model innovation the current situation will change. Effectively the power within the chain and therefore the margins firms make are about the change. Nobody likes change…
Typically it seems that for most forward business model innovations it is extremely difficult not to disturb current relations with direct customers.
For innovating B2B business models a thorough understanding of all entities active throughout the chain is required. How is value being built up with each stage in the chain? Who is the captain that has most power over rest of the chain? What trends are influencing the value chain? Etc.
The Rewards
Most value chains seem difficult to change. The way firms have done business has not changed within recent years and leadership of companies is reluctant to start experimenting. Only in situations of entering new markets or when competition forces to apply other business models, companies step away from status quo.
Traditionally the B2B side of value chain is one that hasn’t seen much change in financials as well over the last years. Only by competition and crisis companies have been forced to lower their costs via optimization. Margins seem to be stuck; there is no room to be found to improve them.
Via business model innovation companies are able to step out of the margin squeeze and apply new ways they create and capture their value, and with better numbers. The concept is simple:
- backward business model innovation
For all resources and activities that can be sourced in a better way; more efficient, more effective or simply cheaper the cost concerned with that specific element of the business model lowers, having a direct positive impact on margin for the overall business model. Means to improve sourcing can be e.g. via new forms of partnerships. - forward business model innovation
Value builds as the product or service that is created by the value chain becomes closer (in terms of proximity) to the end user. Leapfrogging forward has the potential to extremely grow margins. Coping with some of the challenges mentioned must be taken care off, if the goal is not to upset the current set of companies too much.
Even though the concept is simple the process itself is rather delicate. Deciding when to move forward and engage with others and partners pas proven to be critical to the business model success. If applied wrong there could be damage done to the existing models; if done well B2B business model innovation is extremely rewarding.
As stated in one of the previous posts: coping with a crisis is no sexy business. Traditional approaches to stay financially in shape concentrate around cost cutting, very often leading to reducing headcount by layoffs. Many major companies such as IBM (5000 people), Bombardier (10% of work force), GM, and many others saw themselves forced to let people go. In fear of layoffs at a French Caterpilar site four bosses were even helt hostage for several hours.
There is an other way to cope with market decline and even crisis while building stronger businesses: Business Model Convergence.
Most companies run a portfolio of products and brands, active in various markets, across the globe. In terms of business models they have numerous.
In itself this is not really a problem… as long as markets are growing. When growth seizes to a halt this can become a problem. The organization that needs to deliver all these business models is by all means not the most focused one. Maintaining all the business models is extremely challenging.
When converging business models it becomes apparent that a company basically has a few generic ones that apply to most businesses. Focusing on the implementation and how to run these effectively enables a company to distinguish between the activities that seem important and the ones that are.
Elaborating capabilities around the activities that are truly important grows a organization that understands the most important aspects within the core business models and that is able to implement them flawless.
Companies that aim to simplify their businesses first need to create an overview of all of its’ (most important) business models. From there an assessment needs to be made to highlight the main commonalities and discrepancies and captured into core business models.
Next is to translate the generic business models into implications they brings to functions and functional domains within the organization all the way till the level of concrete actions. Implement those and you will have an organization that is better able at delivering its’ core business models.
Side effect is that the business models that are more distant from the core ones are recognized based upon their true merits which enables them to choose and pursue their own business model without being forced into a core one that will not do the job.
Business Model Convergence is a way to strengthen business by simplification of the portfolio of business models aiming to build stronger businesses based upon outperforming, excellent organizations by focusing, freeing up potential to spur new business growth.
Recently one of my business contacts pointed me towards the Best Global Brands report by Interbrand. In the discussion we had on how to enable new business model implementation he posed the statement that any strong business model basically gave away one of the 4Ps out of the classical marketing mix.
Giving it some more thought there are numerous examples of strong brands, set by convincing business models that basically all have a certain WOW factor. Most of the WOW comes from an empathic component within their respective business models.
More and more companies involve their customers in their business model, stepping away from classical transactional mentality moving towards strong customer experiences. Meanwhile the relationship between company and customer is further tightened, making it almost impossible to switch, not based on product specifications, but on the firm’s lovemark.
By opening up business models to consumers of products and services companies are able to provide experiences that can be tailored to one’s unique preferences. The late management guru Prahalad labeled this as N=1 in The New Age of Innovation.
Empathic business models examples
- Product
Nescafé (#25) let’s you create coffee to your own preferences with their new Dolce Gusto system
Nike (#26) provides customers to design a tailor made sneaker based on the offered options - Price
Google (#7) provides you everything you needs for free, you only need to provide google with your personal data for advertisement purposes
IKEA (#28) is able to offer its’ products at an extremely low price; you have to do the assembly yourself - Place
eBay (#46) provides possibilities to globally auction and bid on running auctions detached from place and time
MTV (#54) is offering most of the content also online, so that it can be viewed anytime, anywhere - Promotion
Amazon (#43) recommends products based on other people’s buying behavior
Nokia (#5) has numerous online fan communities that support users in the use of their devices; totally separate from the company
Being successful is about being connected. For this purpose you as a company do not be in close proximity of your customer 24/7, but you need to find a mechanism that they share their hopes and dreams with you.
Based on those you know where to focus and distinguish between the must-haves, and the nice-to-haves. Then find ways to involve your customers in your business model. Maybe they will not even notice, but they will appreciate it. For sure!
Recently the book Business Model Generation has received much attention. For many people it has truly caused a disruption in the way they look at Business Models. Discussing the book and the model it is striking that most people concentrate solely on how to create new business models… For most large corporations this provides challenges, they already have at least one Business Model, but most often many more. Typically Business Model are found within large organizations at the level of a Product-Market Combination.
The slides below provide some first guidance in how to optimize your Business Model; change it to better fit with the inside and outside world. Most important to bear in mind is that a Business Model in term is success is valuated by its’ customers and ecosystems, changing it requires closing the gap with requirements from the outside world and the current Business Model basis. Doing this in a more consistent way will increase performance and strengthen the brand.
“Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers” is now on the market. You can preview it below or buy it at www.businessmodelgeneration.com
Mid of 2008 I was present at the kickoff in Amsterdam of a new book around Business Model Innovation. Together with Gert Steens, Patrick van der Pijl, and Mick Walvisch the first step on a new book from Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur was set.
Without going into all detailed steps Alex has made since then I would like to point you to a great initiative.
Alex has started together with Patrick: the Business Model Innovation Hub. The Hub is used as a community which not only reviews the chunks of the book as they come out. It mainly is a place where people with a strong common interest on Business Models meet. Therefore, besides the good stuff Alex produces, a lot interesting content is created by the community itself. Just to tickle your brains a bit:
- Deliberately unsustaining Business Models
- Tools for Business Model Innovation
- Open source licensing
- Business Model Patterns
- …
Just have a look at the presentation and see you at the Hub!
For the last couple of months no news program or website is talking about hardly anything else the the global economic crisis and the effects it has on every kind of business within all sectors. Surviving for many companies suddenly became key rather then expanding portfolios.
Traditionally companies need to grow value in order to keep Mr. Shareholder happy. Growth means higher demand for shares and therefore higher rates. Mr. Shareholder sees his total share value growing.
Most companies have basically two ways to achieve value growth:
- Increase market size and share, by innovation or acquisition
- Reduce costs
The last way is normally not that popular during economic upturn, but is immediately on top of mind during economic downturn. Cost reduction programs tends to be rather spreadsheet driven hunting for the large cost chunks rather than assessing cost versus value.
Together with Daan Giesen I have come to an approach which enables growth by setting a stronger brand experience based on reduction of number of current business models. Organizational functions and capabilities can bebuild around these strong business models, showing opportunities to reduce cost without weakening the organizational capabilities.
Within the coming months more on the Business Model Convergence approach will be shared with you. However, if you cannot wait feel free to use the contact form.
