7 Steps to Build Customer Relationships with Business Model Canvas

Customer relationships are one of the key elements of a successful business model canvas. They describe how a company interacts with its customers and how it creates value for them. In this article, you will learn what customer relationships are, why they are important, and how to build them using the business model canvas framework.

Key Takeaways

Customer relationships are the type of interactions that a company establishes with its customers and how it creates value for them.

Customer relationships are important because they affect the customer’s satisfaction, loyalty, retention, and referrals, as well as the cost and revenue of the company.

To build customer relationships with the business model canvas, you need to identify your customer segments, define your value proposition, choose your channels, design your revenue streams, determine your customer relationships, test and validate your assumptions, and iterate and improve your business model canvas.

What are customer relationships?

Customer relationships are the type of interactions that a company establishes with its customers. They can range from personal to automated, from transactional to long-term, from one-way to two-way. Customer relationships reflect the company’s value proposition, customer segments, channels, and revenue streams.

Why are customer relationships important?

Customer relationships are important because they affect the customer’s satisfaction, loyalty, retention, and referrals. They also influence the cost of acquiring and retaining customers, as well as the revenue potential of each customer. By building strong customer relationships, a company can:

Increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, which leads to repeat purchases and positive word-of-mouth.
Reduce customer churn and increase customer lifetime value, which lowers the cost of customer acquisition and increases profitability.
Gain customer feedback and insights, which helps to improve the product or service and identify new opportunities.
Create a competitive advantage and differentiate from competitors, who may offer similar products or services but with different customer experiences.

How to build customer relationships with business model canvas?

The business model canvas is a tool that helps to design, test, and iterate business models. It consists of nine building blocks that describe the value proposition, customer segments, channels, revenue streams, cost structure, key resources, key activities, key partnerships, and customer relationships of a business.

To build customer relationships with the business model canvas, you need to follow these steps:

1. Identify your customer segments.

Customer segments are the groups of people or organizations that you aim to serve with your value proposition. You need to understand who your customers are, what they need, what they want, and how they behave.

2. Define your value proposition.

Value proposition is the reason why customers choose your product or service over others. It describes the benefits that you offer to your customers and how you solve their problems or satisfy their needs.

3. Choose your channels.

Channels are the ways that you deliver your value proposition to your customers. They include communication, distribution, and sales channels. You need to select the channels that best fit your customer segments and value proposition.

4. Design your revenue streams.

Revenue streams are the sources of income that you generate from your customers. They include the pricing strategies, payment methods, and revenue models that you use to capture value from your customers.

5. Determine your customer relationships.

Customer relationships are the type of interactions that you establish with your customers across each channel and revenue stream. You need to decide how you want to communicate with your customers, how you want to engage them, and how you want to retain them.

6. Test and validate your assumptions.

Before implementing your business model canvas, you need to test and validate your assumptions about your customer segments, value proposition, channels, revenue streams, and customer relationships. You can use various methods such as interviews, surveys, experiments, prototypes, or minimum viable products (MVPs) to collect feedback from your potential or existing customers.

7. Iterate and improve your business model canvas.

Based on the feedback that you receive from testing and validation, you need to iterate and improve your business model canvas. You can use tools such as the lean canvas or the pivot table to track your changes and measure your progress.

Tip

To build strong customer relationships, you need to understand your customers’ needs and wants, deliver value to them consistently, communicate with them effectively, and exceed their expectations.

What is Customer Relationship in Business Model Canvas?

Customer relationship is one of the key components of the business model canvas, a tool that helps entrepreneurs and innovators design and test their business ideas. Customer relationship refers to the type of interaction that a company establishes with its specific customer segments, based on their needs, preferences, and expectations. Customer relationship can have a significant impact on customer satisfaction, loyalty, and profitability.

Types of Customer Relationship

There are different types of customer relationship that a company can adopt, depending on its value proposition, target market, and competitive strategy. Some of the common types are:

Personal assistance: This involves human interaction between the company and the customer, such as phone calls, emails, or face-to-face meetings. Personal assistance can provide customized service, build trust, and increase retention, but it can also be costly and time-consuming.

Self-service: This involves providing the customer with the tools and resources to solve their own problems or fulfill their own needs, without direct contact with the company. Self-service can reduce costs, increase efficiency, and empower customers, but it can also create frustration or confusion if the tools are not user-friendly or reliable.

Automated service: This involves using technology to automate or personalize the service delivery, such as chatbots, recommendation systems, or loyalty programs. Automated service can enhance convenience, speed, and relevance, but it can also reduce human touch and emotional connection.

Communities: This involves creating a platform or a network where customers can interact with each other and with the company, such as forums, social media, or online groups. Communities can foster engagement, feedback, and co-creation, but they can also require moderation and management.

Co-creation: This involves involving the customer in the creation or improvement of the product or service, such as crowdsourcing, user-generated content, or open innovation. Co-creation can increase value, differentiation, and loyalty, but it can also pose challenges in terms of quality control and intellectual property.

Importance of Customer Relationship

Customer relationship is an essential element of the business model canvas because it determines how a company communicates with its customers, delivers its value proposition, and generates revenue. A good customer relationship can help a company to:

Acquire new customers: By attracting and convincing potential customers to choose its product or service over other alternatives in the market.
Retain existing customers: By satisfying and delighting current customers to keep them loyal and prevent them from switching to competitors.
Grow sales: By encouraging and incentivizing customers to buy more frequently, more quantity, or more variety of products or services.

To achieve these goals, a company needs to understand its customer segments well and design a customer relationship strategy that matches their needs and expectations. A customer relationship strategy should also be aligned with the other elements of the business model canvas, such as customer segments, channels, value proposition, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partnerships, and cost structure.

Customer relationship is a vital component of the business model canvas that defines how a company interacts with its customers. Customer relationship can take different forms depending on the type of service delivery and the level of involvement of the customer. Customer relationship can influence customer satisfaction, loyalty, and profitability. Therefore, a company should carefully design its customer relationship strategy based on its customer segments and its overall business model.

Frequently Questions

What is a business model canvas?
A business model canvas is a tool that helps to design, test, and iterate business models.

What are the benefits of using a business model canvas?
A business model canvas helps to clarify the value proposition, customer segments,
channels, revenue streams, cost structure, key resources, key activities, key partnerships, and customer relationships of a business. It also helps to identify assumptions, test hypotheses, and pivot when needed.

How do I create a business model canvas?
You can create a business model canvas using online tools such as Strategyzer or Canvanizer, or using paper templates or sticky notes. You can also use books such as Business Model Generation or The Lean Startup as guides.

How do I use a business model canvas for customer relationships?
You can use a business model canvas for customer relationships by determining the type of interactions that you want to establish with your customers across each channel and revenue stream. You can also use it to test and validate your assumptions about your customer relationships and iterate and improve them based on feedback.

What are some examples of customer relationships?
Some examples of customer relationships are:

Personal assistance: Providing human support to customers through phone, email, chat, or face-to-face.
Dedicated personal assistance: Assigning a dedicated account manager or representative to each customer.
Self-service: Enabling customers to access information and perform tasks by themselves through websites, apps, or kiosks.
Automated service: Using technology to provide personalized and automated responses to customers through chatbots, voice assistants, or algorithms.
Communities: Creating platforms or forums where customers can interact with each other and the company.
Co-creation: Inviting customers to participate in the creation or improvement of the product or service.

References:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Business_Model_Canvas

http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/

https://www.strategyzer.com/canvas/business-model-canvas

https://hbr.org/2014/01/why-the-lean-start-up-changes-everything