Digital Business Models: Variants and Examples

00:07 What are the many types of digital businesses? We'll look at some prototypes shortly, but before we do, I should point out that hybrid forms do exist.

00:21 I'd like to begin with the platform.

00:23 It is a digital business model solution that is always praised.

00:27 We need a platform, and everything must become a platform.

00:30 And everything is moving to the platform - we can book trips and hotels online, find our apartments, our houses there, for example, via Immobilienscout, booking.com, Expedia, and so on. Those are simply platforms.

00:46 They do not provide their own items, but rather a reach, an infrastructure, for other companies to upload, market, and sell their products, services, and so on.

00:56 A platform solution is exactly that.

00:59 However, the entire package is also available for the B2B sector, rather than the traditional B2C as we've always known it on the Internet.

01:09 Instead, things are heating up; we can clearly buy office furniture in the B2B sector. So we have these fundamental platforms, but there are additional platforms run by medium-sized businesses and major organizations.

01:21 They claim, "We need a platform for our niche." Klöckner, a historic steel trade, is one good example, and they once said, "Business isn't easy.

01:30 It's becoming increasingly difficult.

01:32 We will create a platform.

01:34 We will open ourselves up; we will offer our existing clients the choice of purchasing things from our competitors in India, China, or wherever they are located, and we will receive a charge, a commission.

01:46 The rest is all up to them.

01:49 Klöckner reinvented themselves, incorporated a digital business model into their current operations, and now offers a platform solution on the market.

02:05 "Sharing is caring," at least when it comes to the ecology and safeguarding the world.

02:12 The word of the day is "sharing economy." We share instead of owning things; we want to conserve the earth and must consider how we use resources.

02:24 We no longer buy a car with the intention of permanently owning it and having access to it whenever we want. Instead, we pay the time it takes to travel around, perhaps 25 minutes to get from point A to point B; that has changed.

02:39 Mobility is a popular term in the vehicle-sharing, bike-sharing, and ride-sharing sectors - but we may think about it further, for example, I need a tuxedo suit for a night.

02:49 Why should I spend 1,000 Euro for it? I can borrow it as well.

02:55 Why does every American require a power drill in their basement if they only use it once every seven years? This is another area where we can collaborate; these are some examples of digital business models based on the sharing economy.

03:14 Trade has evolved dramatically in recent years.

03:17 E-commerce is the buzzword of the moment.

03:20 We used to have a store, and if we wanted to, we could also run an internet shop on the side. Today, it's possible that it's the other way around.

03:28 We need this online store because customers want to shop online and then come to my store. Maybe it's not even possible to separate the whole thing; maybe some consumers come to the store and want to feel, experience something, then order it in our online shop or somewhere else online and come back to the store to pick it up to feel it again. That means we may not need to make this distinction at all.

03:50 E-commerce, in my opinion, will become vital.

03:53 This is evident everywhere; there are an increasing number of specialty markets and niche providers that say, "You can order the diving goggles here, the surfboard there, and the fishing equipment in this shop." That means there will be an increasing number of niches. It's extremely simple for the customer, and it's also very simple for us as a firm. It is really simple to set up an online store.

04:18 If you still don't believe you can do it, you can use any of the available platforms to quickly reach out to your customers.

04:31 A common digital business model is licensing fees.

04:35 Every month, quarter, or year, you get a fee deposited into your bank account.

04:39 You can, for example, purchase software-as-a-service.

04:42 That is, you do not pay once and receive 100 CD ROMs; you must install everything yourself. Instead, the program is hosted on the cloud, and you pay per employee, per access code, per code group, or however you've specified in advance, and in the end, you pay for the service, for everything to function well, and for the software to perform as promised.

05:07 As previously stated, licensing fees are quite common.

05:11 You don't always have to limit yourself to software.

05:14 It might also be a platform, an architecture, or something else entirely, therefore my question to you is, what is your XYZ-as-a-service? Our users' data can be used to create a digital business model.

05:33 I can study it, process it, and even sell it.

05:38 We don't necessarily have to look to San Francisco for data-driven examples.

05:42 No, we simply observe our daily lives.

05:47 I want to leave the city and return to the village, and I'm looking for a tiny house on a prominent real estate platform.

05:57 The platform immediately recognizes, Aha, Franks wants to move, so I'll give him a moving business.

06:04 I'll present him with several options from which he can select.

06:07 If I hire one of the companies, the platform will receive a commission.

06:12 At the same time, I obtain a 20% discount from a furniture business in a nearby city because I am relocating and may want new furniture.

06:21 This is yet another instance in which a small commission will be paid and digital money will flow because they offered it to me.

06:31 Simultaneously, the mobile platform may query, "Frank, why do you even want to move?" and I could respond, "Yes, we will have a baby." At the same time, they promote a daycare center or offer me a discount on a baby buggy or anything.

06:46 That means there is an infinite number of ideas and potential business models.

06:51 Our data is valuable, and it may be leveraged to develop business models.

06:57 Many businesses are doing this, and I'd like to ask you directly: what data can you utilize now to establish a digital business model for tomorrow? Have you considered a subscription strategy for your organization, such as traditional newspaper delivery into mailboxes? This is becoming increasingly evident today.

07:26 It's growing increasingly common in retail, as well as with streaming services, which give access for 9,95 Euro per month and allow you to cancel on a monthly basis.

07:38 We obviously see niche products in retail, such as coffee, where you say a private person requires 500 grams, half a kilogram of coffee per month, therefore we offer a subscription to bring half a kilogram of coffee to their house every month.

07:53 There are numerous opportunities here; the main thing is that you become closer to the consumer, collaborate with them on an ongoing, sustainable basis, and then establish a completely new customer connection.

08:05 So I'd ask myself, "What types of products, what types of services can I offer as a subscription for the sole purpose of getting closer to the customer?" Can we sell add-ons to a base product? This means that you add capabilities, services, and so on to the fundamental product. We'll play the board game.

08:37 We all have a favorite board game, and if the board game was very successful, there was an extension, an add-on, that allowed us to choose new worlds, new moves, and so on, and we can see the same thing in the classic PC and gamer scene, where they've always made extensions for successful games, new characters, new racing tracks, new football players, and so on.

09:06 This, I believe, has been perfected by the software industry.

09:10 You start with a base product and then add custom solutions for the consumer.

09:15 The customer is willing to pay for the optional features.

09:20 We don't necessarily have to conceive in terms of analog and digital; we can also combine the two.

09:26 This is what Thermomix, for example, is doing: an analog device, a food processor with digital capabilities.

09:34 I can easily download the most recent recipe books and apply these add-ons to make the Thermomix even more suitable for my needs.

09:48 You can also make money by using your own knowledge.

09:51 Productive services are one example of this.

09:54 You may, for example, have a seminar provider who prepares offers for managers, i.e., for yourself, and who hosts these seminars live on-site.

10:04 You have a meeting with this seminar provider, who has a major problem.

10:08 They may only work 200 days each year due to the tremendous demand.

10:12 That means they have to come up with a solution, and it is quite simple.

10:18 You record the seminar and sell it as many times as you like through a digital channel.

10:23 You may now scale it. More than two hundred times a year is difficult if you do it live.

10:29 If you have enough consumers, selling it 200 times a day is not an issue; we should add that. This applies to all fields of knowledge.

10:38 We see more and more productive services in the consulting, creative, and coaching industries, and I would advise you to do the same.

10:49 Consider which knowledge can be turned into products, digital products, and hence a scalable digital business strategy.