3.2 Social media potential for change of business models: basics

potential for change

benefit of this topic: Understanding business models and the impact of social media on them.
With this knowledge, we can recognize the impact of social media on business models.

General benefit of the lesson social media options: the social media options are the foundation on which you are designing your social media strategy. You find the input to define the direction and content of the strategy in the social media options. On their input you decide what your strategy could deliver and should deliver. On this basis, you can detail the potential benefits of social media for each business model and contrast them with the requirements from the competition in social media. This allows you to define the individual performances that a successful strategy must provide and justify the resources required for this.

Learning objective: social medias potential for change: This section addresses the need to consider the business model when developing social media. The section only gives an overview of basics and contents. The basics as well as the applications and exercises are covered with the respective components of the business model.

Reading time of this learning unit approx. 29 minutes.

Exercises: The exercises are in the Download sector.

Contents

What is a business model and what is it good for?

Wikipedia provides us with a comprehensive definition and a description of the methods to map a business model.

At pbsm, we use the business model according to Osterwalder and Pigneur because, in my estimation, it is the most widely used and it makes sense to build on a business model that is better known and more frequently used in practice than to rely on a less common approach.

Every company that is successful has a business model per se, because a business model is nothing more than a model description of what a company does to be successful.

The advantage of a defined and presented business model is, among other things, that you know your processes more precisely and, above all, can assess changes, opportunities and risks faster and better. Having a currently defined business model is therefore extremely advantageous for companies, especially in times of dynamic change.

Why should we align social media strategies with the corporate business model?

Anyone who is or wants to be responsible for developing social media strategies should be able to develop social media strategies that take into account not only the performance potential of social media but also the resulting potential benefits of social media for the company’s business model.

If this is not the case, the company receives only a portion of the benefits possible through social media, suffers disadvantages in

  • Competitiveness – as competitors using more powerful social media strategies can easily outperform this company in social media and its impact, especially because they can more accurately shape the competitive landscape.
  • Profitability, because competitors with powerful social media strategies can achieve their impact more economically and, above all, for all relevant modules of the business model.

In addition to aligning the strategy to all relevant modules of the business model, the decisive factor here is the orientation of the strategy at the topic level, which enables markets and competitive situations to be addressed in a more targeted manner.

Why does social media impact business models?

Social media has greatly changed the information and communication behavior of our societies. Look for people around you who don’t communicate via WhatsApp and other messengers, or don’t check out others’ experiences with products, brands, and services. These people exist, but they are far from being the majority. On the contrary, it is a dwindling minority.

Look for companies that are not using social media. Neither for marketing, corporate communications nor human resources. You will certainly find these companies, but they won’t be the majority of companies, and they probably won’t be the innovation leaders in their industries.

The fact is that companies move to where their markets are and their markets inform themselves via social media, communicate there and also form their opinions there about God and the world, but also about companies and their services. Ask a tourism manager if social media has changed this industry. Ask a recruiter looking for engineers for his company if he can do without social media.

It is also a fact that people communicate with their social environment where they encounter this environment. In the past, people met, then they wrote, later they talked on the phone, and now they communicate in real time or time-delayed via a whole range of communication tools that are usually part of a social media offering or form an independent social media offering.

This describes the social media potential for change to business models.

Definition of the social media change potential for business models

We describe the social media potential for change for business models as the performance potential of social media that, due to its effect, can change existing business models or make entire business models obsolete in their existing form.

The potential of change from social media can influence entire business models or individual modules thereof.

Sources of social media potential of change for business models

The source of the social media potential of change for business models lies once in the performance potential of social media and its application. This potential is reinforced by the economic importance of digitization. To see this more clearly, let’s recall some of the crucial effects of social media:

  • Social media creates new market access. This affects not only companies but also social media users. Individuals can use social media and the underlying digital technology to address and work markets like a business.
  • Social media creates new competition and rivals. We have an intensified competition for the limited commodity of attention, which is entered by (attention) competitors from outside the industry as well as by the social media users themselves. As a result, even the company’s own customers and prospects become competitors for attention.
  • Social media creates a new quality of information. Social media enables a new quality of information about markets and individuals, behavior and needs, purchasing power and media preferences. Those who can use this information quality have clear competitive advantages over others. The access and ability to generate this information creates new new businesses whose business model is usually social media based.
  • Social media connects and activates social media users. Users exchange information with each other, influence the attitudes and behavior of others with their experiences, and thus influence markets and the value of company services. Social media can become a platform for generating benefits from social media users that compete or can compete directly or indirectly with business services. Digital services or the digital portion of corporate services are particularly affected by this potential for change. The impact of Wikipedia is an example of influencing an entire business model (encyclopedic knowledge for a fee). The importance of performance evaluations for different industries is another example of social media’s potential for change.

How can social media potential of change impact business models?

Risks and opportunities for business models due to the potential of change of social media

In order for the potential of change from social media to have an impact on a business model, this performance potential must be exploited. A fundamentally existing social media performance potential that is not used – in the market of the business model – has no effect on this business model.

A lack of existing impact could tempt companies not to perceive this potential for change – until it is felt through the deployment of the corresponding performance potential in the respective industry.

The risks arising from the potential for change lie in a business model that becomes completely or partially obsolete or less successful and the associated economic adjustment risk, up to and including an existential threat to the company. Neglecting the change potential of social media on one’s own business model entails competitive disadvantages or existential risks for the company.

The opportunities from the change potential of social media lie in a more successful business model. These opportunities are all the greater the earlier the company recognizes them and exploits them ahead of the competition (temporary structural competitive advantage).

Change potential for complete business models

Wikipedia is occasionally understood to be an exception because of its profound impact. This is true insofar as several effects have supported each other here (digital business model, social media, volunteering). The exception, however, is based on the fact that these effects have not yet been recognized to a large extent, let alone used systematically.

The general impact of social media on business models is based on the change in communication through social media. People have changed the way they communicate through social media.

Rule of thumb: The more this change applies to the markets on which a company focuses, the more its own business model may be affected by social media. Only an analysis of the business model based on the social media performance potential and the information and communication behavior of the market participants can show how far this goes in a specific case.

When a complete business model is changed by social media, the business model is endangered or destroyed or fundamentally / very extensively expanded. This often relates to business performance or market access

  • Company performance: Through the participation of social media users, services are created and made available at an economically much lower cost that companies cannot compete with. The classic example of this is Wikipedia.
  • Market access: this is where market access or part of it shifts to social media. That is, companies rely on social media to access the market. The social media market is generally dominated by social media companies (e.g. Meta for Facebook and Instagram).

Destruction, extensive change or a slight need for adaptation are the effects that social media can have on business models. This does not mean that all business models are fundamentally affected by social media. There will certainly always be one or two exceptions. Apart from these – very rare – exceptions that cannot benefit from social media, all companies are affected by social media to varying degrees. I refer to this effect of social media as Social Media Change Potential (on business models).

Destruction of business models through social media

Wikipedia is a particularly impressive example of how much and how quickly social media can destroy an entire business model. Impressive therefore,

  • because we all know Wikipedia and very many use it frequently.
  • because Wikipedia is a social media construct in more ways than one (wiki count as social media formats, content is user generated content).
  • the economic importance of participation by social media users becomes very clear (social media has also been called the participation web).

And last but not least, we can use Wikipedia to derive not only the success components of a social media offering, but also the yardstick for assessing the degree of existential threat to a business model.

Use of social media for business models

The benefits of social media for companies can be seen in the support of the business model. Social media activities that do not – measurably and sustainably – support the company’s business model are more likely to fall into the “nice to have” category than to be a success factor for the company.

With social media, we can support the individual components of a business model and the business model as a whole.

The individual benefits of social media for a business model can be found in various categories. Here are the main categories

  • Market access
  • Market cultivation
  • Market information
  • Market commitment
  • Market and earnings potential
  • Economic efficiency / cost savings
  • Competitiveness

Social media benefit Market access

Social media offers companies the opportunity of their own market access. Or the possibilities of reaching markets via external social media channels – with the risk of increasing the company’s dependency by another dimension: when using external platforms as market access, the company is not only dependent on the market but also on the external platform.

The prerequisite for establishing a permanently usable market access through social media is the methodical competence of the company and the social media infrastructure required for this.

Social media benefit Market cultivation

Social media can be used by companies to market, through communication, distribution / sales, support. Beyond market cultivation through own resources, social media also enables market cultivation through external resources – through engagement and participation of social media users.

The prerequisites for this are suitable social media infrastructures and the competencies required to build and maintain user engagement within the company.

Social Media Benefits Market Information

Social media can provide valuable market information about the behavior of social media users and their attitudes and assessments. At the same time, individual market information can also be obtained via social media, which can lead to relevant leads.

Prerequisite: Both approaches require appropriate tools and the associated competencies on the company side and, in the case of individual market information, also the appropriate social media infrastructure.

Social media benefit market engagement

Social media can change market development in a fundamental way by turning market participants (social media users) into active supporters of the company. In addition to the efficiency of market cultivation, this can also fundamentally change the competitive situation.

Prerequisite: In addition to user benefits from engagement, user engagement requires the necessary social media infrastructure as well as suitable participation and motivation methods and structures.

Social media benefits Market and revenue potentials

Social media can open up market potential or create additional revenue potential.

Market potential: Social media makes it possible to tap market potential at significantly lower cost. This also allows companies to reach market potentials that would not have been accessible to them via marketing alone. The cause of this effect is cost advantages in communication and the use of social media engagement of users (for example, for the further distribution of content, market cultivation or user retention).

Additional revenue potential from social media can be found in social media itself. The potential tapped therein can, for example, be used for further purposes (such as communication of additional services or advertising). The prerequisite for this is the appropriate social media infrastructure and corresponding competence of the company.

Social media benefits Profitability / cost savings

Cost advantages in communication via social media, cost reduction through user engagement e.g. for support / dissemination or higher profitability of marketing through higher level of information about market and demand are the basis of higher profitability and / or cost savings through social media. Here, too, the prerequisites are sufficient competence on the part of the company and suitable social media infrastructures.

Social media benefit competitiveness

Social media enables measurable, sustainable competitive advantage. Measurable and sustainable competitive advantages through social media are enabled by securing market potential through active relationships with social media users in social media usage formats that bind users to their own platform and reduce their attention and accessibility to competition. Thematic communities can do this. Successful thematic communities secure markets, are successful market accesses, source of market information and user engagement and prevent equivalent market accesses of the competition.

The prerequisite for this is that the market / the topics are suitable for it and the company has the necessary competence for it.

Thematic audiences, which – successfully applied over the long term – can gather attention, are significantly less effective and sustainable. Here, the demands on the topics are not as high, but the competitive pressure (competition for attention) is significantly higher and the potential corporate benefit is significantly lower.

Prerequisite: successful thematic audiences require not only expertise in the topics and social media communication, but also the appropriate social media infrastructure.

Adapting business models through social media

In this case, the company’s behavior changes in individual points in individual components of the business model. Almost “classic” is the shift or expansion of budgets such as activities (business model component key activities) from the classic media portfolio of marketing to social media. The activities are adapted to the new media situation. We know the same for customer relationships (business model component customer relationships) which are now also maintained in social media. If we think about the fact that the evaluation of company performance in social media is commonplace, we realize that the value propositions of the business model (which consist of the company’s services for specific needs) are also influenced by it. This, in turn, is both an opportunity and a risk for companies.

Creating new business models through social media

When we think of the creation of new business models through social media, we probably first think of Facebook and Co. This is only obvious because these companies have not only made social media widely known but often stand for social media itself. But social media can also create business models that are not just pure social media offerings.

Exemplary of this is the use of social media to create revenue potential that is subsequently leveraged in a single or multi-dimensional way. A revenue potential can quite simply be a reach that the company that has built up this reach uses in a classic media way. However, a revenue potential can also be a community that has formed around a certain topic or brand and that is supplied with content and offers on the topic by the operator. An exciting variant of this approach is the creation of a brand community whose use is subsequently offered to the company that owns the brand. A bit of market piracy instead of brand piracy. One is illegal and problematic, the other is legal and can be more economically appealing.

Expansion of business models through social media

Social media has high performance potential for unlocking potential. This performance potential is based on the fact that communication via social media is very cost-effective, but also on the fact that we can act in a very targeted manner in social media and, last but not least, on the fact that we can engage the market – the social media users – for us in social media, provided that the prerequisites for this are met.

Extending an existing business model through social media is a largely unknown opportunity because we don’t take advantage of it. We focus on the risks from social media and the opportunities for the existing business model. The search for potential to expand the existing business model does not take place because this opportunity is largely unknown or there is no mandate for it.

Follow the thoughts below to open your perspective to the potential for expansion.

Standard situation
  • We tap into market potential through social media in the form of social media users.
  • We are exploiting this market potential for our existing business model, i.e. for our existing corporate services.

Mindset: Business performance seeks potential

Extended perspective
  • we examine which additional services of our own we can market to the same market potential.
  • we examine which additional third-party services we can usefully market to the same market potential.

Thinking approach: existing potential seeks suitable services

Innovation does not always have it easy

Changing the mindset can be problematic in the company because it is easier said than done and not every person is immediately excited about the prospect. There are also a number of business arguments against going all out in the search for new services for existing potential. Here are arguments against this expansion.

  • Resources – especially management resources – are scarce. If we divide the same resources among other tasks, there is less left over for the existing tasks. This weakens the current business model.
  • Identity – a change in long-established corporate identity is a cultural challenge.
  • know how – the company would have to expand its know how, venture into new territory.

These few arguments make it clear that for an expansion of the business model through the ability of social media to tap market potential, a number of criteria must be met for this approach to be seriously considered.

  • The company must actually be open to change.
  • new potentials must be required and sought.
  • the new use of existing potential must be economically attractive and not overburden the company.

Out of the Box

To find something new, you have to leave old paths. In other words, we have to leave behind old habits of thought and ways of looking at markets and potentials and expand the scope of our way of thinking beyond previous boundaries. I. e. concretely,

  • we need to look for new business models that we can apply within existing potentials.
  • we need to look for new potential that we can reach for the first time – through the capabilities of social media – and use for existing services.

Out of the box thinking means leaving your own perspective. So think detached from your own business model and your own job.

Example: Human Relations Specialists or traditional “Personnel Managers” are desperately looking for qualified specialists today. Without social media, nothing would have worked for a long time, one hears.

  • Standard: Companies focus social media use on their own known needs. That in itself is logical and makes sense. It is a respectable success to be able to cover our own personnel requirements by this means. So actually perfect.
  • Out of the box: We focus on tapping as much of the best professionals as possible as potential. We keep the best of them ourselves if possible and generate income with the others.
  • Consequences: This approach leads us to a different, more comprehensive social media use that must and will be more powerful than the approach of companies with the limited perspective of “own staffing needs.”
  • Positive impact: more powerful social media use, better quality and quantity choices in staffing, refinancing of recruiting costs, and additional revenue.
  • Negative impact: higher social media literacy and investment. Digital model, i.e. the first and possibly a second competitor will be maximally successful. Other companies are experiencing increased competition and finding themselves in a worse competitive position.

Social media for individual areas of the business model – overview

We use Osterwalder and Pigneur’s business model outline because, in my opinion, it is the most widely used method for representing business models. At pbsm we focus on the modules

  • Customer segments
  • Value Propositions
  • Customer relations
  • Business model channels

because we can expect the greatest benefit of social media for business models in these modules. That doesn’t mean social media isn’t relevant to the remaining modules of the business model. To reduce the complexity of the method, we apply it to the modules of the business model that can benefit most from social media.

Social media and customer segments

Use of social media for customer segments

With the potential-based strategy model, we identify opportunities to support individual customer segments through social media. Through this we recognize,

  • which customer segments are best or less well suited for social media.
  • where we can effectively support all customer segments via a social media strategy or whether this is less advisable.
  • whether we can achieve the leading competitive position for a customer segment in social media.
  • How we use social media most effectively for each customer segment to achieve or secure the leading competitive position in social media for that customer segment.

This allows us to focus our social media activities on the customer segments that are relevant to social media and a priority for the company.

Basics and application are described more comprehensively in the section Social Media Options for Action Business Model: Customer Segments.

Potential for change for the customer segments of the business model

If social media has the potential to change the customer segments module of a business model, the criteria for existing customer segmentation change or new forms of customer segmentation become possible.

  • Changing existing customer segmentation through social media: we have more precise and complementary criteria for addressing existing customer segments. That is, we can use existing criteria more precisely and accurately.
  • New opportunities for customer segmentation through social media: we can use new criteria for customer segmentation. That is, we can use new criteria to form and target customer segments. These can be, for example, needs that we have not been able to use sufficiently well / economically.

Social media and value propositions

The value propositions contain the services that a company provides for the individual customer segments. In the potential-based strategy model, we also analyze the value propositions to see how far they can be supported by social media. Although this overlaps with the analysis of the options for processing customer segments in social media, it is highly recommended both as a safeguard and in the event that not all value propositions are assigned to customer segments or the work with customer segments is subordinate to product management or otherwise regulated, or is not carried out at all.

Leveraging social media for business model value propositions

Social media can be used to communicate the value proposition of the business model and how it is applied. Social media can also be used for recommendation marketing for value propositions, for example by making the experiences of other users available. The assessment of performance and its benefits can be influenced via social media, but also information can be generated about how value propositions are assessed by users.

The change potential of social media for the value proposition of the business model

The change potential of social media for value propositions of a business model can affect the value propositions themselves as well as their valuation.

  • Potential for change in value propositions: in this case, social media directly affects the value proposition and its creation. For example, in which social media users participate in these processes (see example wikipedia).
  • Potential for change in the evaluation of value propositions / company services: in this case, social media has an impact on the evaluation / assessment of company services. This potential for change is already further established, for example through the evaluation of corporate performance. In addition to the direct evaluation of corporate performance, the potential for change offered by social media also includes changes of a fundamental nature, which may affect needs or the value/importance of brands, for example.

Basics and application are described more comprehensively in the section Social Media Options for Action Business Model: Value Propositions.

Social media and customer relations

Customer relationships are the relationships that a company must maintain in order to sustain its business model. The nature of the customer relationship is determined by economic conditions.

Companies that do not consistently use social media for their own customer relationships risk competitive disadvantages and the associated economic damage.

Use of social media for customer relations of the business model

Social media enables customer relationships to be placed on a broader basis in terms of content, quality and economy. In addition to the economic benefits of more stable customer loyalty, this can result in additional strategic advantages such as greater competitiveness – especially against competitors who do not take advantage of these opportunities – such as greater market knowledge and more economically successful use of existing customer relationships. In addition, social media allows existing customer relationships to be leveraged to acquire new customers. Customer relationships can be shaped by relationships between companies and customers as well as relationships between customers.

Potential for change of social media on the customer relationships of the business model

The potential for change in a company’s customer relationships can reshape, intensify or disrupt customer relationships.

Redesigning customer relationships through social media is based on both the cost benefits of digital communications and processes and the benefits of user experiences. Companies can use it, for example, to establish customer relationships or expand and deepen customer relationships that were previously difficult to realize for economic reasons.

Customer relationships can be intensified through the digital nature of communication, made more personalized by gaining more information about user interests and needs, or by establishing relationships between users.

Customer relationships can be disrupted or reduced if content or benefits important to users related to the benefits of customer relationships are better delivered on social media by other providers. These other providers can be performance competitors – providers with similar services – or attention competitors – providers without comparable services.

The basics and application are described more comprehensively in the section Social Media Options for Action Business Model: Customer Relationships.

Social media and business model channels

The channels of the business model are the channels with which the company communicates with its markets, sells its products and maintains customer relationships.

Use of social media for the channels of the business model

Social media can become a channel of the business model but social media can also support the existing channels of the business model, for example by integrating social media into these channels. We can also use social media to become active in the channels of external sales partners, or to build customer relationships with customers that we have not been able to address directly through existing channels.

If we neglect the existing potential of social media for the channels of the business model, this also has a detrimental effect on the success of the company.

Potential for change of social media on the channels of the business model

The change potential of social media includes both the function of social media as a channel for market development and cultivation and the influence and change of existing channels of the business model.

  • In many cases, social media is suitable as a standalone channel for the company’s business model. Depending on the extent and quality of the use of this performance potential, this results in a possible temporary competitive advantage for the innovative company.
  • Social media can influence existing channels of the business model. If we sell corporate services via channels that have a high social media affinity, we must also assume a higher social media change potential for these channels. So the more our channels themselves are affected by social media, the more we need to consider this potential for change.

Change potentials are opportunities and risks at the same time. For example, if we have a high potential for change from social media for an important channel of the business model, this means that this channel can be negatively affected by social media if the companies in this channel do not respond to it constructively. If these channels suffer from social media, this can also have a negative impact on our company. If these channels use social media successfully and constructively, this can have positive effects for our company.

Identify opportunities: In the event that a channel in our business model is highly social media-savvy, but the company or companies in this channel are not up to the challenge, we can use this problem as an opportunity and, for example, become active in and for this channel in social media, thereby not only securing our position in this channel but also establishing a parallel channel to the customers of this channel.

Summary

  • Social media itself can become the channel of the business model.
  • Existing channels can benefit from social media if they are themselves social media savvy – via content and performance.
  • Existing channels can suffer disadvantages as a result of social media if, for example, an existing social media affinity is not used by the channel owner but is used by its competitors.

The basics and application are described more comprehensively in the section Social Media Options for Action Business Model: Channels.

Changing business models through social media

I talk about changing business models through social media when social media fundamentally changes entire components of a business model. This also includes changing the orientation of the business model, i.e. when companies adapt their business model from performance-oriented to platform-oriented. After all, you could imagine an online retailer that first markets its own products and then moves on to marketing others’ products. Social media can play the role of enabler here because it can build reach and tap into interests and needs. I prefer not to imagine how Amazon would develop with an efficient use of social media.

Practical examples we should all know.

Warning: Do not take the following examples as so-called best cases. First of all, they are not, secondly, they were not when they started and still are not. Unless you take best case as the best that is currently on the market and not the best that is possible. Moreover, I am not entirely uncritical of the best-case scenario. Orientation to a best case of the past is not necessarily smart. And hopefully we all know how dynamic the developments in the digital social media environment are.

In addition to the “classic” Wikipedia, we are looking at an industry in tourism where experience platforms have established new players in an industry that are not really loved, but can hardly be ignored. HolidayCheck is a German example of how to build reach through reviews and market them with appropriate products. Networks such as Xing and LinkedIn have become important market cultivation tools for both human resources and sales. The formation of brand communities by brand companies is actually a logical step, but it is usually preceded by the users themselves. The automotive industry is an example of how to be consistently late. And when companies do take the step of building brand communities, the result sometimes suffers greatly from the implementation. Media companies such as Burda(burdastyle) or Gruner + Jahr(couchstyle) offer instructive examples of this.

Business models and social media in pbsm

The potential-based strategy model in social media is based on

  • the performance potential of social media and the resulting options for action,
  • the social media affinity of markets and the resulting options for action,
  • the company’s individual business model, the impact of social media on it, and the resulting options for action,
  • the competitive situation and the options for action arising from social media,
  • of the company’s growth strategy and the use of social media to support it.

In the course module Social Media Options for Action, the possibilities of supporting the business model through social media for the individual areas of the business model are worked out using the structure of the Business Canvas by Osterwalder & Pigneur. From this, the individual performance potential of social media for a company is derived based on its business model. This individual performance potential of social media for the company’s business model is contrasted with the competitive situation in social media. From this, we identify in great detail – for the individual topics of the business model and the competitive situation in the core strategy components which social media courses of action enable the company to achieve which results in the competition in social media. These findings are a central part of the information base from which you derive the social media strategy / social media strategy variants.

The topics of the course module are divided into basics, applications and exercises. The basics compactly convey the essential knowledge for the respective topic. In applications, the practical application for the respective topic is exemplified. In exercises you will train the application based on your own examples / based on suggestions.

Participants with the user package / user certificate upload their exercises. The exercises will be assessed and graded. Participants will receive feedback on their exercises. The final grade is calculated from the sum of the exercises of all modules.

Corporate goals for the business model in pbsm

We consider corporate objectives that affect the business model via the topics addressed or affected by the respective corporate objective.

Explanation and examples

Corporate goals that affect the business model are, for example:

  • working new markets: we address different issues in new markets.
  • the introduction of new company services / value propositions: new value propositions address other needs or problems and thus other issues.
  • the use of new channels (for communication, customer service or distribution / sales): new channels for our business model may require different topics and content.
  • the change in customer relationships: new customer relationships address other needs and thus other issues.
  • thecreation of new customer segments: new customer segments are based on other services or needs and thus also address other issues.
  • the abandonment of markets: as we withdraw from markets, we presumably also withdraw from the issues of those markets.
  • the abandonment of value propositions / corporate services: with the abandonment of value propositions, their issues are no longer relevant.
  • the abandonment of channels of the business model: the abandonment of channels can lead to the abandonment of channel-specific topics.
  • the abandonment or change of customer segments: the abandonment or change of customer segments affects their issues.

The priority of customer segments, value propositions, channels, customer relationships or entire markets goes hand in hand with the priority of the corresponding topics and subject areas.

Why business models have been neglected in social media strategy development

In my estimation, this unhelpful approach for companies has these causes:

  • Social media strategies have so far been developed according to methods that exclude business models. This is partly a consequence of the reduced understanding of social media as a further marketing communication channel.
  • In the technical literature, this central aspect has so far been successfully bypassed.
  • the training of social media managers gives too little space and time to the topic of strategy development. Not least because the topic of business models requires additional qualifications and makes training more demanding.

By developing the potential-based strategy model pbsm as a method and the courses for it, these problems can be solved.

Application

The derivation of the social media action options for the business model is described in the modules of the business model

  • Customer segments
  • Value Propositions
  • Customer relations
  • Business model channels

discussed.

Exercises

The exercises for the business model action options can be found in the business model modules.