Qatar Business Model Development

An introduction to Qatar Business Model Development

The business model (and in turn Qatar Business Model Development) is a way to describe the basic, core and fundamental aspects of a business or project, to define the ways of creating, delivering and capturing values, to understand and be understood, to easily add, adjust, amend or substitute the aspects. These aspects include key activities, key resources, key partners, value propositions, customer relationships, distribution channels, customer segments, cost structure and revenue streams. The information is functional, commercial, technical and financial. It is the basis for the development of a strategy for a business or project and the implementation with (organizational) structures and (operational) systems.

The elements of Qatar Business Model Development

Key activities

The key activities are the most relevant products and services delivered to the clients and customers.

Key resources

The key resources comprise the most important assets of a business or project. They are required to create a value proposition, to reach the clients and customers, to maintain the relationships with the key partners and to earn the income. The key resources are financial and non-financial. The non-financial key resources are categorized in physical resources (e.g. land, buildings, facilities, equipment and tools, vehicles, etc.), human resources (e.g. associates and employees, talent, etc.) and intellectual resources (e.g. brand, copyrights, patents, properties, etc.).

Key partnerships

The key partnerships outline or summarize the most relevant stakeholders of a business or project and their (inter-)relations. They are required to deliver a product or service to the client and customer, to utilize the synergies, to increase the efficiency and effectiveness, to decrease the risk and to acquire more resources. The most relevant stakeholders are distributed on the value chain of a business or project and include without limitation or restriction the clients and customers, competitors, suppliers, contractors and sub-contractors, regulators as well as clubs, bodies and associations. The key partnerships are segmented in strategic alliances between non-competitors, strategic partnerships with competitors, joint ventures to develop new businesses or projects, buyer – supplier relationships and others.

Value propositions

The value propositions are the most important factors for clients and customers to decide for products and services. They describe the solutions to the problems of clients and customers as well as the satisfaction of their requirements or in other words the advantages and benefits, unique selling points and key differentiators. They are quantitative (e.g. price, etc.) and qualitative (e.g. design, etc.).

Customer segments

The customer segments are the parts of the population to be reached by the business or project. They are at the heart of a business model. They are segregated in groups with common needs, behaviors or patterns and attributes. In other words, the customer segments depend on the needs, distribution channels, relationships and profitabilities of/with the clients and customers (as well as the dem0graphics, geographies and physchographics). The most common examples are mass and niche market, segmented and diversified. The main types of personas are (1) the persons who will pay for the products and services, (2) the persons who will use the products and services and (3) the persons who will influence the buyers on their choices.

Customer relationships

The customer relationships specify the relationships between the business or project and the clients and customers. They may be driven by client and customer attraction, acquisition, retention and interaction as well as recognition and reputation, community. The customer relationships are typically categorized in terms of service (from personal assistance and dedicated personal assistance as well as automated service to self-service).

Distribution channels

The distribution channels outline or summarize the ways of delivery of the products and services to the clients and customers (from pre-sales and sales to post-sales).

They are a chain of intermediaries from the seller to the buyer or the producer to the consumer. The distribution channels are split in direct and indirect which include without limitation or restriction distributors, wholesalers, retailers and the internet.

The functions of the distribution channels include without limitation or restriction to raise the awareness for the products and services, to support the evaluation of the value propositions, to allow the purchase of the products and services, to deliver the value propositions and to provide the after-sales support.

The selection of the distribution channels known as placement is part of the marketing strategy which includes product, promotion and price as well.

Revenue streams

The revenue streams are the sources of revenue of an organization.

If clients and customers are the heart of a business model, revenue streams are the arteries.

The most relevant questions are: For what value are the clients and customer willing to pay?, For what do they currently pay?, How are they currently paying?, How would they prefer to pay?, How much does each stream contribute to the revenue? and others.

There are many different opportunities and possibilities for revenue streams such as the sale of a physical and non-physical products and services or asset sales, usage fees, subscription fees, brokerage fees, lending, renting and/or leasing, licensing, advertising, volume selling and others.

The revenue streams may be subject to different principles and mechanisms such as fixed prices or in other words pre-defined prices based on static variables or dynamic prices or in other words different prices based on market conditions as well as bargaining, auctioning, volume and value or yield.

Cost structure

The cost structure is an overview of the most relevant costs under a business model (while delivering the value propositions, maintaining the customer relationships and generating the revenues). They depend on the key activities, key resources and key partnerships. In general, the business model is cost-driven or value-driven.