What is a Business Model Canvas?

A Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a one-page template that shows how a business creates and captures value. Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur developed it. The canvas covers 9 building blocks: Key Partners, Key Activities, Key Resources, Value Proposition, Customer Relationships, Channels, Customer Segments, Cost Structure and Revenue Streams.

What are the 9 building blocks of the Business Model Canvas?

The 9 blocks of the Business Model Canvas: (1) Key Partners, the people and organisations you work with; (2) Key Activities, what your business must actually do; (3) Key Resources, what you need to operate; (4) Value Proposition, the problem you solve; (5) Customer Relationships, how you stay in touch; (6) Channels, how you reach customers; (7) Customer Segments, who you serve; (8) Cost Structure, your main costs; (9) Revenue Streams, how you earn.

What are Key Activities in the Business Model Canvas?

Key Activities are the things a company must do to deliver its Value Proposition. There are a few types: production work (building and shipping a product), problem-solving work (consulting or custom services) and platform work (running a marketplace or software). What counts as a Key Activity depends entirely on your model. A SaaS company codes and maintains its product. A consultancy delivers workshops and advice.

What is Key Partners in the Business Model Canvas?

Key Partners are the suppliers and collaborators your business model depends on. Companies build partnerships to get access to resources they don't own, to reduce operational risk or to scale faster. The four common partnership types are: strategic alliances, coopetition (working with competitors on shared goals), joint ventures and buyer-supplier relationships.

Is mybmctool free to use?

Yes. mybmctool is free for up to 3 canvases. No credit card needed to start. Pro and Team plans give you AI features, unlimited canvases and tools like an investor readiness score and pitch deck generator.

Can I share my Business Model Canvas with clients?

Yes. Every canvas gets a shareable link. Add a password if needed. Clients open the link directly without creating an account.

What AI features does mybmctool have?

Pro and Team users can paste a website URL to fill the canvas automatically, upload photos of whiteboards or documents and use voice input. The AI sorts everything across the 9 blocks for you.

Channels: how do you reach your customers?

Channels describe how a company communicates with and reaches its Customer Segments to deliver its Value Proposition. The right channels can make or break a business model.

Channels: how do you reach your customers?

Channels describe how a company communicates with and reaches its Customer Segments to deliver a Value Proposition. They are the touchpoints through which customers experience the company, from first awareness through purchase and after-sales support.

Most businesses have more channels than they realise, and fewer that actually work.

The five channel phases

Awareness. How do we raise awareness of our products and services?
Evaluation. How do we help customers evaluate our value proposition?
Purchase. How do we allow customers to buy?
Delivery. How do we deliver the value proposition to customers?
After sales. How do we provide post-purchase support?

Walking through all five phases is a useful exercise. Many businesses have strong acquisition channels and almost nothing after the sale.

Channel types

Direct channels. You own and operate them: sales force, web store, owned social media, physical stores.

Indirect channels. You reach customers through partners: distributors, retail partners, third-party marketplaces.

Each has trade-offs. Direct channels give you more margin and more control over the customer experience. Indirect channels give you reach at lower upfront cost, but you sacrifice margin and relationship ownership.

Own vs. partner channels

| | Own channels | Partner channels | |---|---|---| | Margin | Higher | Lower | | Setup cost | Higher | Lower | | Customer data | Full access | Limited | | Brand control | Full | Shared |

Most businesses use a mix. The key is being intentional about which segments you serve through which channels and why. Defaulting to whatever is cheapest is not a channel strategy.

Questions to explore with clients

How do customers first hear about you today, and what is your main awareness channel?
How do potential customers evaluate whether to buy from you?
Where do customers currently purchase, and is that the most convenient option for them?
Are your current channels reaching the right customer segments, or are there gaps?
Which channels are most cost-effective relative to the revenue they generate?
Are there channels you should be using but are not?

Channels: how do you reach your customers?

Channels: how do you reach your customers?

The five channel phases

Channel types

Own vs. partner channels

Questions to explore with clients

More articles