Business model | Pros | Cons |
|---|
Brokerage | Customers can find several different services and products in one place
The broker is seen as trustworthy by customers
Logistics, payment transactions etc. are provided by the broker
The broker can combine the BM with for instance advertising, transactions | The broker has to engage two or more groups of stakeholders
Without one stakeholder group, the other one cannot be engaged
Transactions are probably needed to be fulfilled in order to gain revenue |
Advertising/ Affiliates | Gives customers the possibility of using a service for free
Can be combined with other BMs
Interesting if you have many customers
Can be targeted to your customers
Possibility to reach more customers through other actors
The customer is exposed to advertisements that might be in their interests | Information sources can be seen as less trustful by customers
Too much advertising can be annoying for customers
Have to reach a lot of users to be interesting to advertisers
The website can be seen as less trustworthy due to advertisements |
Infomediary | Gives customers the possibility of using service for free
Gives the owner access to valuable information
Can be combined with other BMs | The owner needs to be trustworthy and needs access to data
The customer can find it sensitive to share certain type of data |
Subscription | Accessibility for the customer
The owner can easily predict the demand
The owner has a recurring revenue
Access to customer information | The owner has to create a lasting value
The model does not suit every customer segment |
Community | Gives the customer access to a network of people and clout
Recurring revenue (paid membership)
Access to customer information
Can be combined with other BMs | The owner has to create a lasting value
The owner probably has to gain revenue through another BM |
Transaction Based (Utility ) | The customers pay for what they use
Low barrier for buying
Can be combined with other BMs
The customer gets access to a global market and 24-hour availability
The customer gets lower prices and more to choose from
The owner does not need to set up a store etc.
It is easy for the owner to gather customer information | Revenue is difficult to estimate for the owner
The customer has lost the availability to verify product quality
Trust and risk issues
The owner and the customer have to deal with security threats as well as cultural and legal issues |
Freemium | Minimum barrier for entry of customers
Viral marketing
Easier to sell the premium version to a "free" customer than a new one
The owner gets access to free beta testing
Large number of users can support other BMs | The owner has to define the difference in value between free and premium version
The owner has to find a balance between free and premium users
The customer do not get access to the premium version without paying |
Crowdfunding | The owner receives funding from multiple sources
The users get early access to new solutions
A diverse set of actors/users can contribute
The owner can get access to knowledge that cannot be found in-house
The users get early access to new solutions | Insecure or unreliable funding
Need to engage the crowd |