In recent years, the world economy has undergone constant vertiginous changes where the main engines of the world economy have been affected, resulting in many companies declaring bankruptcy and increasing competition among companies that managed to survive the crisis. And before this reliable reality, numerous alternatives have emerged that allow the strengthening of the companies that subsist, being one of the most outstanding: reinvention in the business model.
Today it is no longer enough to offer only a good product or service, but also to add value and offer shopping experiences under a highly competitive business concept. And the changes that are taking place today force companies to abandon traditional approaches to strategic planning and their way of doing business, to tackle a new way of competing and generating new growth paths. American entrepreneur and writer Jack Welch claims that when the pace of internal change within a company is outweighed by the pace of external change, then its end is near.
I invite you to examine whether your company is moving at the right speed, adapting to global trends and competing with the intensity under which your strongest competitors operate. If you recognize that your company is in a period of stagnation and that your income is beginning to decrease, then it is time to reinvent your way of doing business.
Before reinventing your business model, it is essential that you understand that a business model is the concept under which a company operates and adds value to what it offers to its customers, integrating innovative strategies in order to generate profitable income for the organization. Creating a business model involves visualizing business opportunities that others do not see and taking advantage of them.
But how do you reinvent the business model under which your company currently operates? In response to this question, I recommend that you implement the 9 basic pillars of building a business model developed by Dr. Alexander Osterwalder, which allows you to visualize the current situation of your company and thus be able to discover areas of opportunity. Below I will briefly describe what each of these 9 pillars consists of:
- Pillar 1: Market segments. Are there new market segments that are not being adequately served? For whom are we generating value? Who are our most important clients? Do we know our clients well? Do we know your specific needs? Pillar 2: Value proposition. How to satisfy the needs of the clients with different solutions? Do your current customers consider the value proposition you offer valuable? Can your competitors improve the value proposition in terms of price, quantity, and quality? Do your products and services generate value for a specific segment? Do you know the reason why your customers decide to buy from your company? Pillar 3: Distribution channels.Can you innovate in the way you distribute your value proposition to your customers? How does your company communicate and reach market segments to deliver the value proposition? Does your company reach customers directly? Do you know if the distribution channel you manage is the right one? Pillar 4: Customer relations. How can you improve customer acquisition and retention by innovating in your relationship with them? Does your company have a communication strategy for its clients? Does your company have customer feedback? Do you have strategies to acquire and achieve effective customer retention? Pillar 5: Sales flows.Are there alternatives to increase sales by innovating in the marketing way? Are current sales profitable? Is the company's income diversified? Is the sales flow constant? Do you know the amount of money generated by each of the market segments that you currently serve? Pillar 6: Key resources. How can you improve the relationship with the key resources for the value proposition? Do you know what are the assets required for your business to operate correctly? Are physical, intellectual, human and financial resources suitable? Pillar 7: Key activities. How to improve the company's activities related to design, production, problem solving,among others? Is your company efficient in what it does? How do you solve your company's problems? Should I use outsourcing? Pillar 8: Strategic partners. What strategies can you identify to achieve better alignment and synergy with your suppliers and / or strategic partners? Do you identify your strategic partners? Is your company totally dependent on them? Do you have a network of suppliers and partners? Do you have a strategic alliance? Do you make any kind of cooperation with your competitors? Pillar 9: Cost structure. Can you improve the cost structure to maximize the success of your company's business model? What are the most important costs? What key resources and activities are most expensive?What strategies can you identify to achieve better alignment and synergy with your suppliers and / or strategic partners? Do you identify your strategic partners? Is your company totally dependent on them? Do you have a network of suppliers and partners? Do you have a strategic alliance? Do you make any kind of cooperation with your competitors? Pillar 9: Cost structure. Can you improve the cost structure to maximize the success of your company's business model? What are the most important costs? What key resources and activities are most expensive?What strategies can you identify to achieve better alignment and synergy with your suppliers and / or strategic partners? Do you identify your strategic partners? Is your company totally dependent on them? Do you have a network of suppliers and partners? Do you have a strategic alliance? Do you make any kind of cooperation with your competitors? Pillar 9: Cost structure. Can you improve the cost structure to maximize the success of your company's business model? What are the most important costs? What key resources and activities are most expensive?Can you improve the cost structure to maximize the success of your company's business model? What are the most important costs? What key resources and activities are most expensive?Can you improve the cost structure to maximize the success of your company's business model? What are the most important costs? What key resources and activities are most expensive?
Remember that reinventing a business model is not just about surprising the market with a revolutionary product or service, sometimes it is just enough to explore other types of clients that others are not serving. For example: if your business is a traditional stationery, you can allocate an area for organic products, offer the service of engraving agendas, printing photos and digitizing documents. If your business offers haberdashery, then you can set up craft workshops.
The important thing about reinventing your business model is capturing captive clients with specific needs.
Let's not forget that the success of a company consists in having the ability to constantly redefine the rules of the game.
Dare to reinvent your way of generating income!
