4.

The 55 business model patterns

No Pattern Affected Exemplary companies Pattern description

name BM
compo-
nents
1 What Ryanair (1985), SAP The core offering is priced competitively, but there are
ADD-ON (1992), Sega (1998)
Value numerous extras that drive the final price up. In the end, the
costumer pays more than he or she initially assumed. Cus-
tomers benefit from a variable offer, which they can adapt
to their specific needs.
2 How Amazon Store (1995), The focus lies in supporting others to successfully sell
A FFILIATION Cybererotica (1994),
Value products and directly benefit from successful transactions.
CDnow (1994), Pinterest Affiliates usually profit from some kind of pay-per-sale or
(2010)
pay-per-display compensation. The company, on the other
hand, is able to gain access to a more diverse potential
customer base without additional active sales or marketing
efforts.
3 Who Six Flags (1961), The Aikido is a Japanese martial art in which the strength of an
AIKIDO Body Shop (1976),
What attacker is used against him or her. As a business model,
Swatch (1983), Cirque du Aikido allows a company to offer something diametrically
Value
Soleil (1984), Nintendo
(2006) opposed to the image and mindset of the competition. This
new value proposition attracts customers who prefer ideas
or concepts opposed to the mainstream.
4 What eBay (1995), Winebid Auctioning means selling a product or service to the high-
AUCTION (1996), Priceline (1997),
Value est bidder. The final price is achieved when a particular end
Google (1998), Elance time of the auction is reached or when no higher offers are
(2006), Zopa (2005),
MyHammer (2005) received. This allows the company to sell at the highest
price acceptable to the customer. The customer benefits
from the opportunity to influence the price of a product.
5 What Procter & Gamble (1970), Barter is a method of exchange in which goods are given
BARTER Pepsi (1972), Lufthansa
Value away to customers without the transaction of actual money.
(1993), Magnolia Hotels In return, they provide something of value to the sponsor-
(2007), Pay with a Tweet
(2010) ing organisation. The exchange does not have to show any
direct connection and is valued differently by each party.
6 How American Express (1891), In the Cash Machine concept, the customer pays upfront for
CASH MA- Dell (1984), Amazon
CHINE Value the products sold to the customer before the company is
Store (1995), PayPal able to cover the associated expenses. This results in in-
(1998), Blacksocks
(1999), MyFab (2008), creased liquidity which can be used to amortise debt or to
Groupon (2008) fund investments in other areas.
7 How Shell (1930), In this model, services or products from a formerly exclud-
CROSS IKEA(1956), Tchibo
SELLING What ed industry are added to the offerings, thus leveraging
(1973), Aldi (1986),
Value existing key skills and resources. In retail especially, com-
SANIFAIR (2003)
panies can easily provide additional products and offerings
that are not linked to the main industry on which they were
previously focused. Thus, additional revenue can be gener-
ated with relatively few changes to the existing infrastruc-
ture and assets, since more potential customer needs are
met.
8 How Marillion (1997), Cassava A product, project or entire start-up is financed by a crowd
CROWD- Films (1998), Diaspora
FUNDING Value of investors who wish to support the underlying idea, typi-
(2010), Brainpool (2011), cally via the Internet. If the critical mass is achieved, the
Pebble Technology
(2012) idea will be realized and investors receive special benefits,
usually proportionate to the amount of money they provid-
ed.
St. Gallen Business Model Navigator – www.bmi-lab.ch 6

No Pattern Affected Exemplary companies Pattern description

name BM
compo-
nents
9 How Threadless (2000), The solution of a task or problem is adopted by an anony-
CROWD- Procter & Gamble (2001),
SOURCING Value mous crowd, typically via the Internet. Contributors receive
InnoCentive (2001), a small reward or have the chance to win a prize if their
Cisco (2007), MyFab
(2008) solution is chosen for production or sale. Customer interac-
tion and inclusion can foster a positive relationship with a
company, and subsequently increase sales and revenue.
10 What Sperry & Hutchinson Customers are retained and loyalty assured by providing
CUSTOMER (1897), American Airlines
LOYALTY Value value beyond the actual product or service itself, i.e.,
(1981), Safeway Club through incentive-based programs. The goal is to increase
Card (1995), Payback
(2000) loyalty by creating an emotional connection or simply
rewarding it with special offers. Customers are voluntarily
bound to the company, which protects future revenue.
11 What Spiegel Online (1994), This pattern relies on the ability to turn existing products or
DIGITIZA-
How WXYC (1994), Hotmail services into digital variants, and thus offer advantages
TION
(1996), Jones Internation- over tangible products, e.g., easier and faster distribution.
al University (1996),
CEWE Color (1997), Ideally, the digitization of a product or service is realized
SurveyMonkey (1998), without harnessing the value proposition which is offered
Napster (1999), Wikipe- to the customer. In other words: efficiency and multiplica-
dia (2001), Facebook tion by means of digitization does not reduce the perceived
(2004), Dropbox (2007), customer value.
Netflix (2008), Next Issue
Media (2011)
12 What Vorwerk (1930), Tupper- Direct selling refers to a scenario whereby a company's
DIRECT ware (1946), Amway
SELLING How products are not sold through intermediary channels, but
(1959), The Body Shop
Value are available directly from the manufacturer or service
(1976), Dell (1984),
Nestle Nespresso (1986), provider. In this way, the company skips the retail margin
First Direct (1989), Nestlé or any additional costs associated with the intermediates.
Special.T (2010), Dollar These savings can be forwarded to the customer and a
Shave Club (2012), Nestlé standardized sales experience established. Additionally,
BabyNes (2012) such close contact can improve customer relationships.

13 What Dell (1984), Asos (2000), Traditional products or services are delivered through
E- Zappos (1999), Amazon
COMMERCE How online channels only, thus removing costs associated with
Store (1995), Flyeralarm
Value running a physical branch infrastructure.
(2002), Blacksocks
(1999), Dollar Shave Club Customers benefit from higher availability and conven-
(2012), Winebid (1996), ience, while the company is able to integrate its sales and
Zopa (2005) distribution with other internal processes.
14 What Harley Davidson (1903), The value of a product or service is increased with the
EXPERIENCE IKEA (1956), Trader
SELLING Who customer experience offered with it. This opens the door
Joe's (1958), Starbucks for higher customer demand and commensurate increase in
Value
(1971), Swatch (1983),
Nestlé Nespresso (1986), prices charged. This means that the customer experience
Red Bull (1987), Barnes must be adapted accordingly, e.g., by attuning promotion or
& Noble (1993), Nestlé shop fittings.
Special.T (2010)
15 What SBB (1898), Buckaroo In this model, a single fixed fee for a product or service is
FLAT RATE Buffet (1946), Sandals
Value charged, regardless of actual usage or time restrictions on
Resorts (1981), Netflix it. The user benefits from a simple cost structure while the
(1999), Next Issue Media
(2011) company benefits from a constant revenue stream.
16 What Hapimag (1963), Netjets Fractional ownership describes the sharing of a certain
FRAC- (1964), Mobility Carshar-
TIONAL How asset class amongst a group of owners. Typically, the asset
ing (1997), écurie25 is capital intensive but only required on an occasional basis.
OWNERSHIP Value
(2005), HomeBuy (2009)
While the customer benefits from the rights as an owner,
the entire capital does not have to be provided alone.
St. Gallen Business Model Navigator – www.bmi-lab.ch 7

No Pattern Affected Exemplary companies Pattern description

name BM
compo-
nents
17 What Singer Sewing Machine The franchisor owns the brand name, products, and corpo-
FRAN- (1860), McDonald's
CHISING How rate identity, and these are licensed to independent fran-
(1948), Marriott Interna-
Value chisees who carry the risk of local operations. Revenue is
tional (1967), Starbucks
(1971), Subway (1974), generated as part of the franchisees’ revenue and orders.
Fressnapf (1992), The franchisees benefit from the usage of well known
Naturhouse (1992), McFit brands, know-how, and support.
(1997), BackWerk (2001)
18 What Hotmail (1996), Survey- The basic version of an offering is given away for free in
FREEMIUM Monkey (1998), LinkedIn
Value the hope of eventually persuading the customers to pay for
(2003), Skype (2003), the premium version. The free offering is able to attract the
Spotify (2006), Dropbox
(2007) highest volume of customers possible for the company. The
generally smaller volume of paying ‘premium customers’
generate the revenue, which also cross-finances the free
offering.
19 What Toyota (1975), Zara This pattern describes the strategy of a company to decen-
FROM PUSH- (1975), Dell (1984),
TO -P ULL How tralize and thus add flexibility to the company's processes
Geberit (2000) in order to be more customer focused. To quickly and
flexibly respond to new customer needs, any part of the
value chain - including production or even research and
development - can be affected.
20 What NetJets (1964), PHH Within this model, the availability of a product or service is
GUARAN- Corporation (1986), IBM
TEED AVAIL- How guaranteed, resulting in almost zero downtime. The cus-
(1995), Hilti (2000),
ABILITY Value tomer can use the offering as required, which minimizes
MachineryLink (2000),
ABB Turbo Systems losses resulting from downtime. The company uses exper-
(2010) tise and economies of scale to lower operation costs and
achieve these availability levels.
21 What JCDecaux (1964), Sat.1 The logic that the user is responsible for the income of the
HIDDEN
How (1984), Metro Newspaper business is abandoned. Instead, the main source of revenue
REVENUE (1995), Google (1998),
Value comes from a third party, which cross-finances whatever
Facebook (2004), Spotify
(2006), Zattoo (2007) free or low-priced offering attracts the users. A very com-
mon case of this model is financing through advertisement,
where attracted customers are of value to the advertisers
who fund the offering. This concept facilitates the idea of
'separation between revenue and customer'.
22 What DuPont Teflon (1964), Ingredient branding describes the specific selection of an
INGREDIENT W.L. Gore & Associates
BRANDING How ingredient, component, and brand originating from a specif-
(1976), Intel (1991), Carl ic supplier, which will be included in another product. This
Value
Zeiss (1995), Shimano
(1995), Bosch(2000) product is then additionally branded and advertised with the
ingredient product, collectively adding value for the cus-
tomer. This projects the positive brand associations and
properties on the product, and can increase the attractive-
ness of the end product.
23 What Carnegie Steel (1870), An integrator is in command of the bulk of the steps in a
INTEGRATOR Ford (1908), Zara (1975),
How value-adding process. The control of all resources and
Exxon Mobil (1999), capabilities in terms of value creation lies with the compa-
BYD Auto (1995)
ny. Efficiency gains, economies of scope, and lower de-
pendencies from suppliers result in a decrease in costs and
can increase the stability of value creation.
St. Gallen Business Model Navigator – www.bmi-lab.ch 8

No Pattern Affected Exemplary companies Pattern description

name BM
compo-
nents
24 How Dennemeyer (1962), A layer player is a specialized company limited to the
LAYER Wipro Technologies
P LAYER Value provision of one value-adding step for different value
(1980), TRUSTe (1997), chains. This step is typically offered within a variety of
PayPal (1998), Amazon
Web Services (2002) independent markets and industries. The company benefits
from economies of scale and often produces more efficient-
ly. Further, the established special expertise can result in a
higher quality process.
25 What Amazon Store (1995), New value is created by collecting customer data and pre-
LEVERAGE Google (1998), Payback
CUSTOMER How paring it in beneficial ways for internal usage or interested
(2000), Facebook (2004), third-parties. Revenues are generated by either selling this
DATA PatientsLikeMe (2004),
23andMe (2006), Twitter data directly to others or leveraging it for own purposes,
(2006), Verizon Commu- i.e., to increase the effectiveness of advertising.
nications (2011)
26 How BUSCH (1870), IBM Efforts are focused on developing intellectual property that
LICENSE (1920), DIC 2 (1973),
Value can be licensed to other manufacturers. This model, there-
ARM (1989), Duales fore, relies not on the realization and utilization of
System Deutschland
(1991), Max Havelaar knowledge in the form of products, but attempts to trans-
(1992) form these intangible goods into money. This allows a
company to focus on research and development. It also
allows the provision of knowledge, which would otherwise
be left unused and potentially be valuable to third parties.
27 What Gillette(1904), Lego Customers are locked into a vendor's world of products and
LOCK-IN (1949), Microsoft (1975),
How services. Using another vendor is impossible without incur-
Hewlett-Packard (1984), ring substantial switching costs, and thus protecting the
Value
Nestlé Nespresso (1986),
Nestlé BabyNes (2012), company from losing customers. This lock-in is either
Nestlé Special.T (2010) generated by technological mechanisms or substantial
interdependencies of products or services.
28 How Amazon Store (1995), Instead of concentrating on blockbusters, the main bulk of
LONG TAIL eBay (1995), Netflix
Value revenues is generated through a 'long tail' of niche prod-
(1999), Apple ucts. Individually, these neither demand high volumes, nor
iPod/iTunes (2003),
YouTube (2005), allow for a high margin. If a vast variety of these products
are offered in sufficient amounts, the profits from resultant
small sales can add up to a significant amount.
29 Who Porsche (1931), Festo Know-how and other available assets existing in the com-
MAKE MO- Didactic (1970), BASF
RE OF IT What pany are not only used to build own products, but also
(1998), Amazon Web offered to other companies. Slack resources, therefore, can
How
Services (2002), Senn-
Value heiser Sound Academy be used to create additional revenue besides those generat-
(2009) ed directly from the core value proposition of the company.
30 What Dell (1984), Levi's Customizing products through mass production once
MASS (1990), Miadidas (2000),
CUSTOM - Value seemed to be an impossible endeavor. The approach of
PersonalNOVEL (2003), modular products and production systems has enabled the
IZATION
Factory121 (2006),
mymuesli (2007), My efficient individualization of products. As a consequence,
Unique Bag (2010) individual customer needs can be met within mass produc-
tion circumstances and at competitive prices.
31 How Ford (1908), Aldi (1913), Value creation focuses on what is necessary to deliver the
NO FRILLS McDonald's (1948),
What core value proposition of a product or service, typically as
Southwest Airlines
Value basic as possible. Cost savings are shared with the custom-
(1971), Aravind Eye care
System (1976), Accor er, usually resulting in a customer base with lower purchas-
(1985), McFit (1997), ing power or purchasing willingness.
Dow Corning (2002)
St. Gallen Business Model Navigator – www.bmi-lab.ch 9

No Pattern Affected Exemplary companies Pattern description

name BM
compo-
nents
32 What Valve Corporation In open business models, collaboration with partners in the
OPEN BUSI- (1998), Abril (2008)
NESS MODEL Who ecosystem becomes a central source of value creation.
Value Companies pursuing an open business model actively
search for novel ways of working together with suppliers,
customers, or complementors to open and extend their
business.
33 Who IBM (1955), Mozilla In software engineering, the source code of a software
OPEN (1992), Red Hat (1993),
SOURCE What product is not kept proprietary, but is freely accessible for
mondoBIOTECH (2000), anyone. Generally, this could be applied to any technology
How
Wikipedia (2001), Local
Value Motors (2008) details of any product. Others can contribute to the product,
but also use it free as a sole user. Money is typically earned
with services that are complimentary to the product, such as
consulting and support.
34 How Procter & Gamble (1970), Within this model, the company's focus is on the core
ORCHE- Li & Fung (1971), Nike
STRATOR Value competencies in the value chain. The other value chain
(1978), Bharti Airtel segments are outsourced and actively coordinated. This
(1995)
allows the company to reduce costs and benefit from the
suppliers' economies of scale. Furthermore, the focus on
core competencies can increase performance.
35 What Hot Choice (1988), In this model, the actual usage of a service or product is
P AY PER Google (1998), Ally
USE How metered. The customer pays on the basis of what he or she
Financial (2004), Better effectively consumes. The company is able to attract cus-
Value
Place (2007), Car2Go
(2008) tomers who wish to benefit from the additional flexibility,
which might be priced higher.
36 How One World Everbody Eats The buyer pays any desired amount for a given commodity,
P AY WHAT (2003), NoiseTrade
YOU WANT Value sometimes even zero. In some cases, a minimum floor price
(2006), Radiohead (2007), may be set, and/or a suggested price may be indicated as
Humble Bundle (2010),
Panera Bread Bakery guidance for the buyer. The customer is allowed to influ-
(2010) ence the price, while the seller benefits from higher num-
bers of attracted customers, since individuals’ willingness
to pay is met. Based on the existence of social norms and
morals, this is only rarely exploited, which makes it suita-
ble to attract new customers.
37 What eBay (1995), Craigslist This model is based on a cooperation that specializes in
P EER-TO- (1996), Napster (1999),
P EER Value mediating between individuals belonging to an homogene-
Couchsurfing (2003), ous group. It is often abbreviated as P2P. The company
LinkedIn (2003), Skype
(2003), Zopa (2005), offers a meeting point, i.e., an online database and commu-
SlideShare (2006), Twit- nication service that connects these individuals (these could
ter (2006), Dropbox include offering personal objects for rent, providing certain
(2007), Airbnb (2008), products or services, or the sharing of information and
TaskRabbit (2008), Re- experiences).
layRides (2010), Gidsy
(2011)
38 What Rolls-Royce (1980), A product's price is not based upon the physical value, but
P ERFOR- Smartville (1997), BASF
MANCE- Value on the performance or valuable outcome it delivers in the
(1998), Xerox (2002) form of a service. Performance based contractors are often
BASED
CONTRAC- strongly integrated into the value creation process of their
TING customers. Special expertise and economies of scale result
in lower production and maintenance costs of a product,
which can be forwarded to the customer. Extreme variants
of this model are represented by different operation
schemes in which the product remains the property of the
company and is operated by it.
St. Gallen Business Model Navigator – www.bmi-lab.ch 10

No Pattern Affected Exemplary companies Pattern description

name BM
compo-
nents
39 What Standard Oil Company The basic product is cheap or given away for free. The
RAZOR AND (1880), Gillette (1904),
B LADE How consumables that are needed to use or operate it, on the
Hewlett-Packard (1984),
Who other hand, are expensive and sold at high margins. The
Nestlé Nespresso (1986),
Apple iPod/iTunes initial product's price lowers customers’ barriers to pur-
(2003), Amazon Kindle chase, while the subsequent recurring sales cross-finance it.
(2007), Better Place Usually, these products are technologically bound to each
(2007), Nestlé Special.T other to further enhance this effect.
(2010), Nestlé BabyNes
(2012)
40 What Saunders System (1916), The customer does not buy a product, but instead rents it.
RENT Xerox (1959), Block-
INSTEAD OF How This lowers the capital typically needed to gain access to
buster (1985), Rent a Bike the product. The company itself benefits from higher prof-
BUY Value
(1987), Mobility Carshar-
ing (1997), MachineryL- its on each product, as it is paid for the duration of the
ink (2000), CWS-boco rental period. Both parties benefit from higher efficiency in
(2001), Luxusbabe product utilization as time of non-usage, which unneces-
(2006), Flexpetz (2007), sarily binds capital, is reduced on each product.
Car2Go(2008)
41 What CDnow (1994), HubPag- Revenue sharing refers to firms’ practice of sharing reve-
REVENUE es(2006), Apple iPh-
SHARING How nues with their stakeholders, such as complementors or
one/AppStore(2008), even rivals. Thus, in this business model, advantageous
Value
Groupon (2008)
properties are merged to create symbiotic effects in which
additional profits are shared with partners participating in
the extended value creation. One party is able to obtain a
share of revenue from another that benefits from increased
value for its customer base.
42 What Bayer (1897), Pelikan This pattern refers to obtaining a competitor's product,
REVERSE
Value (1994), Brilliance China taking it apart, and using this information to produce a
ENGINEER- Auto (2003), Denner
ING similar or compatible product. Because no huge investment
(2010)
in research or development is necessary, these products can
be offered at a lower price than the original product.
43 What Logitech (1981), Haier Simple and inexpensive products, that were developed
REVERSE (1999), Nokia (2003),
INNOVATION Value within and for emerging markets, are also sold in industrial
Renault (2004), General countries. The term ‘reverse’ refers to the process by which
Electric (2007)
new products are typically developed in industrial countries
and then adapted to fit emerging market needs.
44 How Aravind Eye Care System The same product or service is provided to ‘the rich’ at a
ROBIN (1976), One Laptop per
HOOD What much higher price than to ‘the poor’. Thus, the main bulk
Child (2005), TOMS of profits are generated from the wealthy customer base.
Shoes (2006), Warby
Parker (2008) Serving ‘the poor’ is not profitable per se, but creates econ-
omies of scale, which other providers cannot achieve.
Additionally, it has a positive effect on the company's
image.
45 What McDonald's (1948), A part of the value creation is transferred to the customer in
SELF- IKEA (1956), Accor
SERVICE How exchange for a lower price of the service or product. This is
(1985), Mobility Carshar- particularly suited for process steps that add relatively little
ing (1997), BackWerk
(2001), Car2Go (2008) perceived value for the customer, but incur high costs.
Customers benefit from efficiency and time savings, while
putting in their own effort. This can also increase efficien-
cy, since in some cases, the customer can execute a value-
adding step more quickly and in a more target-oriented
manner than the company.
St. Gallen Business Model Navigator – www.bmi-lab.ch 11

No Pattern Affected Exemplary companies Pattern description

name BM
compo-
nents
46 Who Tim Hortons (1964), Instead of opening new branches, a partner is chosen whose
SHOP-IN- Tchibo (1987), Deutsche
SHOP Value branches can profit from integrating the company's offer-
Post (1995), Bosch ings in a way that imitates a small shop within another shop
(2000), MinuteClinic
(2000) (a win-win situation). The hosting store can benefit from
more attracted customers and is able to gain constant reve-
nue from the hosted shop in the form of rent. The hosted
company gains access to cheaper resources such as space,
location, or workforce.
47 What Lantal Textiles (1954), A full service provider offers total coverage of products
SOLUTION Heidelberger
P ROVIDER How and services in a particular domain, consolidated via a
Druckmaschinen (1980), single point of contact. Special know-how is given to the
Tetra Pak (1993), Geek
Squad (1994), CWS-boco customer in order to increase his or her efficiency and
(2001), Apple performance. By becoming a full service provider, a com-
iPod/iTunes (2003), 3M pany can prevent revenue losses by extending their service
Services (2010) and adding it to the product. Additionally, close contact
with the customer allows great insight into customer habits
and needs which can be used to improve the products and
services.
48 How Blacksocks (1999), Net- The customer pays a regular fee, typically on a monthly or
SUB- flix (1999), Salesforce
SCRIPTION What an annual basis, in order to gain access to a product or
(1999), Jamba (2004), service. While customers mostly benefit from lower usage
Spotify (2006), Next Issue
Media (2011), Dollar costs and general service availability, the company gener-
Shave Club (2012) ates a more steady income stream.
49 What King Kullen Grocery A company sells a large variety of readily available prod-
SUPER- Company (1930), Merrill
MARKET Value ucts and accessories under one roof. Generally, the assort-
Lynch (1930), ment of products is large but the prices are kept low. More
Toys“R”Us (1948), The
Home Depot (1978), Best customers are attracted due to the great range on offer,
Buy (1983), Fressnapf while economies of scope yield advantages for the compa-
(1985), Staples (1986) ny.
50 What Grameen Bank (1983), The product or service offering does not target the premium
TARGET THE Arvind Mills (1995),
P OOR How customer, but rather, the customer positioned at the base of
Bharti Airtel (1995), the pyramid. Customers with lower purchasing power
Value
Hindustan Unilever
(2000), Tata Nano (2009), benefit from affordable products. The company generates
Walmart (2012) small profits with each product sold, but benefits from the
higher sales numbers that usually come with the scale of
the customer base.
51 Who Duales System Deutsch- Used products are collected and either sold in other parts of
TRASH-TO- land (1991), Freitag
CASH What the world or transformed into new products. The profit
lab.ag (1993), Greenwire
How scheme is essentially based on low-to-no purchase prices.
(2001), Emeco (2010),
Value H&M (2012) Resource costs for the company are practically eliminated,
whilst the supplier's waste disposal is either provided, or
associated costs are reduced. This also addresses custo-
mers’ potential environmental awareness ideals.
52 What Diners Club (1950), A two-sided market facilitates interactions between multi-
TWO-SIDED JCDecaux (1964), Sat.1
MARKET How ple interdependent groups of customers. The value of the
(1984), Amazon Store platform increases as more groups or as more individual
Value
(1995), eBay (1995),
Metro Newspaper (1995), members of each group are using it. The two sides usually
Priceline (1997), Google come from disparate oups, e.g., businesses and private
(1998), Facebook (2004), interest groups.
MyHammer(2005),
Elance (2006), Zattoo
(2007), Groupon (2008)
St. Gallen Business Model Navigator – www.bmi-lab.ch 12

No Pattern Affected Exemplary companies Pattern description

name BM
compo-
nents
53 What Lamborghini (1962), This pattern describes the strategy of a company to focus
U LTIMATE Jumeirah Group (1994),
LUXURY Value on the upper side of society's pyramid. This allows a com-
MirCorp (2000), The pany to distinguish its products or services greatly from
World (2002), Abbot
Downing (2011) others. High standards of quality or exclusive privileges are
the main focus to attract these kinds of customers. The
necessary investments for these differentiations are met by
the relatively high prices that can be achieved - which
usually allow for very high margins.
54 What Spreadshirt (2001), Lulu Within user manufacturing, a customer is both the manu-
USER DE- (2002), Lego Factory
SIGNED How facturer and the consumer. As an example, an online plat-
(2005), Amazon Kindle
Value form provides the customer with the necessary support in
(2007), Ponoko (2007),
Apple iPhone/AppStore order to design and merchandise the product, e.g., product
(2008), Createmytattoo design software, manufacturing services, or an online shop
(2009), Quirky (2009) to sell the product. Thus, the company only supports the
customers in their undertakings and benefits from their
creativity. The customer benefits from the potential to
realize entrepreneurial ideas without having to provide the
required infrastructure. Revenue is then generated as part of
the actual sales.
55 What Foxconn (1974), Riche- A white label producer allows other companies to distribute
WHITE lieu Foods (1994), Print-
LABEL How its goods under their brands, so that it appears as if they are
ing-In-A-Box (2005) made by them. The same product or service is often sold by
multiple marketers and under different brands. This way,
various customer segments can be satisfied with the same
product.
St. Gallen Business Model Navigator – www.bmi-lab.ch 13

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Testimonials
The St. Gallen Business Model NavigatorTM has been applied successfully in numerous enterprises. The following are
testimonials from individuals who have worked with our methodology:

“For Bosch it will become increasingly important to not only develop excellent products, but to also exploit new busi-
ness models. The 55 business model types that are enumerated and presented here are an excellent tool kit with which
to develop our own business models, especially in regards to the Internet of things and services.”
Dr. Heinz Derenbach, CEO of Bosch Software Innovations GmbH

“These patterns are a very powerful creativity method and a great tool to generate a ‘business model thinking’ atti-
tude.”
Dr. Angela Beckenbauer, Corporate Innovation Manager, Hilti

“The St. Gallen Business Model Navigator TM provides a structured approach to the fuzzy field of business model inno-
vation. The 55 patterns make it easy to think about alternative ways of running your business.”
Dr. Michael Daiber, Innovation Agent, ABB Turbo Systems

“Reducing the world to 55 business models? At first it seems impossible, but on closer inspection these models are a
great source of inspiration; they allow us to innovate our own business model and to bring it into the future. The book
is a must-read!”
Bernhard Klein, Director of Brand, Vienna Tourist Board

“We leverage the Business Model Navigator TM for our Business Model Innovation approach and discovered that it is a
great methodology with high practical relevance.”
Dr. Ulrich Eisert, Research Manager, SAP (Schweiz)

“Working with the St. Gallen Business Model Navigator TM not only helped us to structure our internal approaches
better, it also drove us to analyze and understand our competitors’ business models and therefore their and our posi-
tion in the market space.”
Dr. Reiner Fageth, Management Board, CEWE Color

“These Business Model Patterns are an important source for inspiration and best practice to create and implement
radical innovations.”
Daniel Ledermann, Head of Incubation and Portfolio, Swisscom

“Applying the St. Gallen Business Model Navigator TM helps in challenging today’s business logic, opening up the
solution space and creating a new mindest. We see this as a prerequisite for future success.”
Dr. Christoph Meister, Corporate Innovation Manager, Holcim

“How would Amazon’s CEO run my company? Which new customer segments would Robin Hood try to acquire if he
were in my position? The St. Gallen Business Model Navigator TM allows you to break free from your own industry
mindset and thus enables a veritable explosion of new ideas.”
Wolfgang Rieder, Managing Partner, Head of Advisory Switzerland, PricewaterhouseCoopers

“We have applied the Business Model NavigatorTM in a 3-day workshop format with a key customer. Apart from jointly
developing a promising business model option, the common experience has also strengthened the bonds inbetween for
future intensive cooperation.”
Dr. Susanne Schröder, Innovation Manager, Siemens Energy Sector

“Working with the Business Model NavigatorTM provides you a broad portfolio of ideas and structures for business
models. It helps you to create new and individual solutions for your specific business challenge.”
Stefan Strauss, Director Business Development Service, MTU Friedrichshafen
St. Gallen Business Model Navigator – www.bmi-lab.ch 15

“The St. Gallen Business Model Navigator TM offers a great opportunity to challenge our habitual thinking concerning
business models and revenue generation. Challenging discussions with the project teams and staff are thought provok-
ing and trigger collaborative development.”
Dr. Ian Roberts, CTO, Bühler

“An aspiring field such as New Space really benefits from the St. Gallen Business Model Navigator TM because the
market will be defined by a variety of innovative business models – going through all the possibilities is a real compet-
itive advantage!”
Dr. Henning Roedel, NASA Ames Research Center

“The Business Model NavigatorTM demonstrates impressively that sustainable innovation is not created by inspiration
alone, but can and should be approached systematically building on shared experience and based on data. Identifying
patterns in the fast changing environment and dynamically adapting your company’s business model to them will be
crucial for success in any industry.”
Dr. Ralf Schneider, Group CIO, Allianz

Thanks to the Business Model Navigator TM we are able to understand our business model as a whole and to work on
the entire system. The methodology developed in St. Gallen doesn’t just yield results, it expands your mindset.”
Daniel Sennheiser, President Strategy and Finance, Sennheiser

“The Business Model NavigatorTM with its tools, strategy, and visualizations are a perfect compliment to the ’Fore-
sight and Innovation by Design’ philosophy at Stanford. They work in practice and in theory.”
Professor Dr. Larry Leifer, Founding Director of the Stanford Center for Design Research