Desirability in the Business Model Canvas

value Proposition

The value propositon is a statement of the unique benefits the business will offer it's customers.  Primary research about the customers needs or problems and the offerings of alternative or competing offerings in the market will lead to mastery of the value proposition.

• For help with primary customer research visit the Villanova Consumer Insights Lab
• Consult books such as Lean Customer Development by Cindy Alvarez for advice on how to understand your potential customers.  
• Search for ebooks that cover how to conduct consumer surveys, focus groups, interviews and observational, ethnographic studies.
• To learn about alternative or competing offers in the the marketplace, google as your potential customers might.  Then use business news databases, industry reports and company profiles to check out the competiton.

customer relationships

Articulating the customer relationship involves knowing how the business will serve and communicate with different customer segments.  The forms that customer relationships take are mediated by customer preferences and cost considerations.

One research approach is to search both the scholarly and business news.  For example, there is a robust academic  literature devoted to understanding the use of self check outs, user reviews and chatbots to name a few.  Use the databases listed below to discover the research.

customer Segment

The customer segments are the different types of people or organizations that need your product or service.  They can be grouped by common attributes based on levels of profitability, how they are reached, why they need your product/ service,  or demographic and psychographic characteristics to name a few.  

Consumer Oriented

Products or services oriented to individuals will find consumer surveys and demographic data useful for customer segmentation.

business to Business

When the intended end customer is another business, gathering intelligence on individual potential customers/decision makers and trends in the marketplace will be needed.  Company directories & profiles, industry and market research reports and data gleaned from trade publications and trade associations will be needed.  

The most efficient databases for finding large publically traded firms are different from the ones you might use to find technology startups or mom and pops.  Likewise industry and market research databases can be specialized by sector.

See this lists of company and industry report databases or contact me for more specific recommendations.

customer Channels

Often channels refer to how a product/service is distributed or where it is sold.  In the BMC, channels refer more broadly to how customers are reached.  So channels encompass how a business raises awareness, the media customers like to use to learn about the product/service, and what distribution channels will offer the product/service.

consumer Oriented

Marketing and advertising databases provide data and insights into how consumers respond to different communication approaches.  Market research databases provide data on existing channels used to deliver consumer oriented goods.

business to Business

Practice oriented books or case studies on marketing and distribution may provide insights.  Trade association membership lists, trade shows or industry reports on wholesaleing for the relevant section may be useful.

To find trade or professional assocations google the keywords that describe the category and limit to site:org.  Industry reports (IBISWorld and NetAdvantage) often list relevant trade associations too.   The website Trade Show News Network lists top trade shows, but the search function found by scrolling on the right pane is poor.