Crisis and innovation. It is often said that creativity is the key for success. Over the past few months, and the economic difficulties that most companies had to face, many managers have searched for the best way to reinvent their business model. The question is then: is there really a way to reinvent it? Is it only wishful thinking, or are there ways to radically change your daily business?
For Marc Sniukas, senior consultant at Doujak Corporate Development, there is no such debate: “Of course, business model innovation does exist! Look at companies like Southwest Airlines, Amazon or Dell to mention just the obvious ones. Other companies, more established ones, have started to innovate their business models. Indeed, Amazon still does it. Daimler has done it with Car2Go, just like McDonald’s did it with the McCafé. Where are the latest ‘innovations’ in this field? In general companies are trying to find new business models to make use of new technologies, others are trying to create new markets.”
One of the trends that emerged over the last years is the subscription model, in comparison to the classic sale. Auto manufacturers don’t sell you a car anymore; they mostly sell you a lease, and sometimes some kind of service level agreement with the vehicle. For Marc Sniukas, this is “an example of a new revenue model, which is part of the business model. The freemium model is another example.”
Freemium is a business model that splits the offer in two: on the one hand, a basic product, free of charge. On the other hand, a premium product, with a fee to access more advanced features. Companies have now widely adopted this model for online services or traditional software.
Innovation is not limited to a particular sector, or a particular company profile. Marc Sniukas underlines the fact that “established companies surely face different challenges than start-up, but they still can innovate.” The main problem is that business model innovation is more risky for large companies: “It potentially effects the business as a whole. On a more personal level, it is challenging, as we have to change our mental models, the way we are used to see things and think about them. That’s usually the first challenge to overcome.”
So, business model innovation is also a personal and team management challenge. To help them overcome the difficulties, companies have tools at their disposal: “There are methods that really work! It pays to start with outlining your existing model and the dominant model in the industry. Often a good representation, and there are good tools for visualizing it, can already give you new insights. We have developed discussion guides, collections of strategies and examples that we use as inspiration.”
Are crisis a better time for such business model innovation, or are they just as good as any other? “The crisis has certainly advantages and also challenges to it: the advantage is that many companies feel the pressure to do something new and are more prepared to think about, and try out, new approaches. The downside is that time is lacking… and operational matters might be more urgent than thinking about new markets, new value propositions and new ways of doing business.” ...
For Marc Sniukas, senior consultant at Doujak Corporate Development, there is no such debate: “Of course, business model innovation does exist! Look at companies like Southwest Airlines, Amazon or Dell to mention just the obvious ones. Other companies, more established ones, have started to innovate their business models. Indeed, Amazon still does it. Daimler has done it with Car2Go, just like McDonald’s did it with the McCafé. Where are the latest ‘innovations’ in this field? In general companies are trying to find new business models to make use of new technologies, others are trying to create new markets.”
One of the trends that emerged over the last years is the subscription model, in comparison to the classic sale. Auto manufacturers don’t sell you a car anymore; they mostly sell you a lease, and sometimes some kind of service level agreement with the vehicle. For Marc Sniukas, this is “an example of a new revenue model, which is part of the business model. The freemium model is another example.”
Freemium is a business model that splits the offer in two: on the one hand, a basic product, free of charge. On the other hand, a premium product, with a fee to access more advanced features. Companies have now widely adopted this model for online services or traditional software.
Innovation is not limited to a particular sector, or a particular company profile. Marc Sniukas underlines the fact that “established companies surely face different challenges than start-up, but they still can innovate.” The main problem is that business model innovation is more risky for large companies: “It potentially effects the business as a whole. On a more personal level, it is challenging, as we have to change our mental models, the way we are used to see things and think about them. That’s usually the first challenge to overcome.”
So, business model innovation is also a personal and team management challenge. To help them overcome the difficulties, companies have tools at their disposal: “There are methods that really work! It pays to start with outlining your existing model and the dominant model in the industry. Often a good representation, and there are good tools for visualizing it, can already give you new insights. We have developed discussion guides, collections of strategies and examples that we use as inspiration.”
Are crisis a better time for such business model innovation, or are they just as good as any other? “The crisis has certainly advantages and also challenges to it: the advantage is that many companies feel the pressure to do something new and are more prepared to think about, and try out, new approaches. The downside is that time is lacking… and operational matters might be more urgent than thinking about new markets, new value propositions and new ways of doing business.” ...
Marc Sniukas (Doujak Corporate Development)
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