Business Model Canvas
To build a business strategy aligned with your goals and vision.
- Steps
- 9
- Last edited
- Jul 30, 2026
- Created by
- Nova
About this process
Use this tool to understand how your business structure is connecting the key areas of your business.
The process in detail
9 steps- 1
đź§ Clarify the Value Proposition
- 2
💬 Customer Relationships — How You Connect, Retain, and Grow Each Segment
- 3
🎯 Identify Customer Segments
- 4
💬 Channels & Relationships — How You Reach and Keep Them
- 5
⚙️ Key Activities & Resources — How You Deliver Value
- 6
🤝 Key Partners — Who Amplifies or Enables You
- 7
💰 Revenue Streams & Cost Structure — How the Engine Works
- 8
📊 Validate and Turn It Into a Visual Deck
- 9
🚀 Decide the 3 Next Strategic Moves
Read the full text
1. đź§ Clarify the Value Proposition
Start with the core of everything: what real problem do you solve, for whom, and why it matters now. Don’t describe features — describe the change you create. Ask yourself:
Value proposition statement template:
Our [🛵product/service] helps [🙂user type/target segment] who wants to [job to be done] by [verb (like reducing, avoiding)] and [customer pain] and [verb (increasing/enabling) [customer gain] unlike [...]
🎯Type of value:
Functional - Save time/money/effort
Personal - Feel better/ Feel safe
Social - Look good/professional
Entertainment - Smile/Amaze/Fun
✅ Tip: If your statement can’t finish the sentence “Customers pay us because…” — it’s still too vague.
2. 💬 Customer Relationships — How You Connect, Retain, and Grow Each Segment
Most people fill this box with vague words like “support” or “community.” That’s not enough.
This block should define how you build trust, maintain engagement, and turn customers into promoters — and it must be designed intentionally, not assumed.
Here’s how to think about it step-by-step:
1 | Clarify the Purpose of the Relationship
Ask yourself:
✅ Tip: Every relationship type should increase the customer’s likelihood of success. If it doesn’t, it’s just noise.
2 | Choose the Relationship Type for Each Segment
Use these five classic relationship archetypes as a starting point — then adapt them to your context:
3 | Map the Relationship to the Customer Journey.
âś… Formula:
Relationship Journey = [Onboarding Experience] + [Retention Routine] + [Expansion Mechanism].
4| Design Moments That Feel Personal & Integrate Relationships Into Operations
Add emotional intention. Customers remember how you made them feel.
Summarize it in one powerful statement: We build [type] relationships with [segment] through [method], to [outcome].
3. 🎯 Identify Customer Segments
Define the specific groups of customers you serve — and the difference between them.
Avoid generic audiences (“companies,” “SMBs”). Think in jobs, pains, and behaviours:
Use this structure:
👉 Segment = [Type of Customer] + [Core Pain] + [Decision Maker Role] + [Buying Trigger]
Example: “Marketing agencies (10–50 people) that lose time managing multiple clients and projects — Operations Director buys when workload spikes.”
đź’ˇ Tip: Focus on the one who signs the contract, not everyone who uses the tool.
4. 💬 Channels & Relationships — How You Reach and Keep Them
Map how customers discover you, evaluate you, and stay with you. Think end-to-end.
Ask yourself:
Use the Customer Journey Formula:
👉 Awareness → Consideration → Purchase → Onboarding → Retention → Referral
Write the main channel(s) for each stage and note which one converts best.
âś… Tip: Double down on channels where trust > reach (referrals > ads).
5. ⚙️ Key Activities & Resources — How You Deliver Value
List what you must do consistently to deliver your promise — not what you “could” do.
Ask yourself:
Use this formula:
👉 Key Activities = [Action] + [Purpose] + [Strategic Impact]
Example: “Design scalable onboarding templates → reduce customer time-to-value → increases retention.”
Then pair each activity with the resources that make it possible:
👉 Resource = [Type] + [Why It’s Critical]
Example: “Team of process designers → ensures every template drives real results.”
💡 Tip: Limit to 3–5 per category — otherwise, you’re listing your to-do list, not your model.
6. 🤝 Key Partners — Who Amplifies or Enables You
Think strategically: who makes you stronger, cheaper, or faster?
Ask:
Use this formula:
👉 Partner = [Entity] + [What They Provide] + [How It Strengthens Our Model]
Example: “Integration with Notion → adoption channel + credibility.”
✅ Tip: Great partnerships change your economics — if they don’t, they’re just suppliers.
7. 💰 Revenue Streams & Cost Structure — How the Engine Works
Get brutally clear about where money comes from and where it goes.
Start with:
Then list your key costs — people, tech, marketing — and mark the ones that grow faster than revenue with ⚠️.
Ask: “If revenue doubled, which cost would choke us first?”
✅ Tip: A good model shows leverage — one side grows faster than the other.
8. 📊 Validate and Turn It Into a Visual Deck
Download your canvas and use this AI prompt to turn it into a 1-slide summary you can share with investors or teammates:
“Using this Business Model Canvas, create a clean presentation slide summarizing the 9 blocks, highlighting key insights, and suggesting one area to optimize for growth.”
Upload your deck and share it with your team to confirm accuracy.
✅ Tip: The moment you can explain your model clearly in 60 seconds — you own it.
9. 🚀 Decide the 3 Next Strategic Moves
Look at your completed canvas and ask:
Pick 1 to 3 actions — one to validate, one to improve, one to scale.
Add a new session, and write them as action = [What] + [Why] + [Deadline] and assign them.
✅ Tip: Strategy is iteration — clarity without movement means nothing.
- Our [🛵product/service] helps [🙂user type/target segment] who wants to [job to be done] by [verb (like reducing, avoiding)] and [customer pain] and [verb (increasing/enabling) [customer gain] unlike [...]