Following is my business model canvas for Austin360.
Customer Segment
Young professionals in their late 20s to early 30s that live and work in the Austin area and have professional degrees are an ideal segment for Austin360. I chose this segment because its members are making money, but do not have the responsibilities (children, mortgages, etc.) of older professionals. Therefore, they can spend more time being out and about Austin. Since Austin360 serves as a guide to what there is to do in Austin, this customer segment can definitely take advantage of what the website has to offer. For the most part, people in their late 20s and early 30s are heavy users of the internet, which is why it makes sense that Austin360 may be a suitable place for this segment to get their information.
Value Proposition
Austin360 offers a convenient, free, localized, and easy-to-use experience for young professionals.
The website is a one stop place for information on entertainment available in Austin. Someone can go on the website to see what movies are playing and end up deciding on a movie based on the movie blogs as well as choosing a restaurant to try before the movie. The information on Austin360 can also be accessed through smart phones (something that most people in this segment own). The website is very convenient for this on-the-go, tech savvy, and active segment.
The fact that this website is open to everyone free of charge is of great value to this segment. All the information on the website can be accessed with the click of a mouse (or finger if you’re using a smart phone) for free! Since our segment is made up of YOUNG professionals, it is safe to say that they are just starting off at work. This means that they may not be making that much money. No one in this segment would want to pay for information, especially when they can get this information for free from other websites. Of course, it may be hard to find such localized information compiled on one site like Austin360.
This brings us to another aspect of Austin360’s value proposition for this segment—localized content. Sure with the internet, there are tons of websites that can offer similar information. All you have to do is search in Google. However, with Austin360, the entertainment information is geared specifically for Austin residents, and all the information is in one place. One can do a basic search of music events on Google and pick through the results to see which events are in Austin. Or one can go to Austin360, click the Music drop down list and go from there.
Austin360 is also very easy to use. You can explore the website based on topic (Events, Music, Movies, Food/Drink, etc.) or you can use the search box (type in what you’re looking for, where, and when). Though the website opens to the Entertainment page, you can click on the News tab to access local news. News can be narrowed down by tabs (Sports, Business, Life, etc.).
Customer Relationship
Austin360 provides self-service and community relationships to its customers. Since Austin360 is a website, it provides a self-service experience. There is no one there to guide you through the website. You go where you want to go. For the young professional segment, that is perfectly okay because many of them are independent, have an idea of what they’re looking for, and can get around the website without much frustration. The website builds community relations because it serves the Austin community by providing information relevant to Austin residents.
Channels
Austin360 uses the Internet as its primary medium. However, there is a print version available inside Thursday editions of Austin American Statesman. The young professional segment is more likely to take advantage of Austin360 on the Internet than in print. People can also sign up for Austin360’s newsletter to get regular updates on what’s going on around Austin.
Revenue Streams
Since Austin360 is a free, non-subscription based service, it relies heavily on advertising for its revenue. Ads are placed throughout the site. Young professionals have grown up with ads on free services. Even free games on smart phones have ads. Therefore, ads on Austin360 are not a bother to this segment. Most of the time, this segment will just tune out the ads unless the ads are extremely relevant. Of course, this tuning out of the ads may have a negative effect on Austin360′s revenue if revenue is received on a pay-per-click basis. If everyone tunes out the ads, no one will be clicking on the ads, which means that Austin360 will not be earning any revenue. In order to do well on the revenue side, Austin360 will have to ensure that the ads are targeted and relevant to the viewers.
