55 Business Models
based on the book “The Business Model Navigator”
To build your business successfully, it's super important to understand your business model. In my experience, the best companies mix different models to create something unique.
Here’s a quick list of popular business models to consider:
ADD-ON. The basic product is inexpensive, but there are many different modules offered. These modules can be combined to create a solution for each specific customer.
AFFILIATION. Lead generation. You earn a percentage of the sales of others. CPA networks, offers.
AIKIDO. Playing on the countertrend. If fast food is popular, you create a slow-food restaurant.
AUCTION. Collect a unique popular asset and hold an auction. The seller always makes a super profit from the auction. Buyers compete. Contextual advertising is an example, a battle for clients.
BARTER. Direct exchange without money. Payment with likes. Payment with time.
CASH MACHINE. Collecting money in advance.
CROSS SELLING. Two sellers with a similar audience, but not direct competitors, exchange each other's goods and refer to each other.
CROWDFUNDING. Collective purchases. Several investors invest in the purchase of one asset.
CROWDSOURCING. The problem is solved collectively by the community.
CUSTOMER LOYALTY. Additional attachment to the brand/product through loyalty programs, discounts, etc. This creates barriers to competitors and stabilizes future income.
DIGITIZATION. Digitizing a physical product. Speeds up distribution and scalability. Care must be taken not to devalue the price and value.
DIRECT SELLING. Direct sales to the customer, bypassing intermediaries (stores, companies, etc.). For example, through email newsletters.
E-COMMERCE. Using the internet as the main sales channel. Reduces costs for offices, offline presence, staff, etc.
EXPERIENCE SELLING. Increasing value by selling not just the product, but also related experiences, stories.
FLAT RATE. Fixed price for everything. Simplifies perception, allows for the introduction of subscriptions.
FRACTIONAL OWNERSHIP. Shared ownership by certain turns or rules. For example, timeshares in tourism.
FRANCHISING. A replication model where the brand and standards are centralized, while local operations are entrusted to partners who buy a license.
FREEMIUM. Free basic version + paid add-ons. Free basic version + paid additional features.
FROM PUSH-TO-PULL. From “pushing orders to the market” to “pulling” under needs.
GUARANTEED AVAILABILITY. The necessary product/service is always available upon request.
HIDDEN REVENUE. For example, the free newspaper “Metro” – advertisers pay.
INGREDIENT BRANDING. A brand embedded in another brand. A Lenovo computer with an Intel processor and Microsoft OS.
INTEGRATOR. Vertical integration of all processes from supplier to customer.
LAYER PLAYER. Specialization at a certain level in the process. For example, making only microchips like Intel.
LEVERAGE CUSTOMER DATA. Additional value from collecting customer data. Selling analytics, targeted advertising, etc.
LICENSE. Efforts to create licensed products and sell licenses to others. In cinema – series, software, etc.
LOCK-IN. The client becomes dependent on the seller. First applied by Gillette. If you buy a Gillette razor, you will buy blades from the same company. Switching to a competitor is very expensive.
LONG TAIL. Focus not on “bestsellers”, but on niche products, which are many and sold in units, but collectively provide greater revenue and profit.
MAKE MORE OF IT. Additional sale of company assets to other companies. Company resources used to produce their own products are also sold to other companies. For example, Amazon Web Services.
MASS CUSTOMIZATION. Making mass products individual through minor final customization and assembly.
NO FRILLS. Focus on the main thing. Everything else is discarded. Saving on everything. Customers are involved in this economy.
OPEN BUSINESS MODEL. Maximum transparency in everything. Dodo Pizza. Involving all participants in the search for an optimal business model.
OPEN SOURCE. Developments are made available to the public. WordPress. Provided for free. Money is made on consulting and improvements.
ORCHESTRATOR. Focus on one key competence. Everything else is maximally outsourced.
PAY PER USE. Pay as you use. For those who do not want to buy and need the product, for example, only for a few days.
PAY WHAT YOU WANT. Pay as much as you think is necessary.
PEER-TO-PEER. People to people. The company provides a free platform for exchange. People exchange something.
PERFORMANCE-BASED CONTRACTING. The price is based not on the cost of the product, but on the result obtained. For example, 10% of sales.
RAZOR AND BLADE. Similar to the “Lock-In” model – cheap basic product and money on add-ons. Gillette (razor and blades), Xerox (machine and cartridges), Nespresso (coffee machine and capsules).
RENT INSTEAD OF BUY. If the product is expensive and not often used, it is easier to rent it. Cars, apartments, etc.
REVENUE SHARING. Profit sharing.
REVERSE ENGINEERING. Copying a competitor's product. The competitor invests heavily in research. You take the best and copy it.
REVERSE INNOVATION. Cheap goods from developing countries start to be sold in advanced countries like the USA.
ROBIN HOOD. The same product that is sold for a lot of money to the rich is sold to the poor at a low price or for free. Creates a positive image of the company.
SELF-SERVICE. Part of the operations is transferred to the customer. A double effect is obtained: a) you can reduce the cost price, b) you can engage customers, they begin to value the product more, as they have invested their labor. For example, IKEA furniture.
SHOP-IN-SHOP. Stores inside shopping centers or cafes inside bookshops.
SOLUTION PROVIDER. Supplier of a complete solution, full coverage of a niche. For example, “everything for running” or “all music in one place”.
SUBSCRIPTION. For example, a regular monthly subscription model for disposable razors.
SUPERMARKET. Everything in one place. Provides assortment and convenience for the customer "all in one place".
TARGET THE POOR. Price war. The lowest prices. Pushing out competitors with pricing.
TRASH-TO-CASH. Used items are collected together and sold.
TWO-SIDED MARKET. Working with both merchants and customers simultaneously.
ULTIMATE LUXURY. Targeting the wealthiest customers.
USER DESIGNED. Users choose the design themselves.
WHITE LABEL. A model where a brand can put its own name on your product and sell it under its name.
Book: “The Business Model Navigator”- 55 Models that Will Revolutionise Your Business (Oliver Gassmann, Karolin Frankenberger, Michaela Csik).centres