Business Models Inc.

Are you still profitable (tomorrow)?

April 11, 2010 | Patrick van der Pijl

An interview with Patrick van der Pijl by John van Schagen, Management Team Magazine, The Netherlands.

As a company you would like to make money. However, the revenue model that works today is obsolete tomorrow. Important to keep up to speed.

An economic crisis, the increasing speedy development of Internet and a more and more critical customer. It is not easy to run a company in 2010. Products and services that were cash cows in the past are hardly appreciated in today.

Different rules of the game

Internet definitely changed the rules of the game of how to make money in the business world, according to Patrick van der Pijl. He is founder and CEO of Business Models Inc, a boutique that stimulates business model innovation. “Business developments are changing at a much higher rate than the past. My grandfather had a milk shop in the seventies and earned a living for many years in the same way. But then the supermarket was introduced in The Netherlands and grandfather had to close his doors. Now Internet is increasing the speed and is making business models obsolete. The shelf life of business models is decreasing. Information is also traveling at an enormous speed. In minutes your company reputation can be ruined globally. ”

Information is outdated

Many companies ave difficulties in keeping up the speed of change. Consequences? Less clients, decreasing revenue and the worst case scenario – closing down the company. Research from ao McKinsey shows the life expectancy of companies is decreasing. According to Van der Pijl 80 percent of the companues has an issue with their revenue model. “Know your customer. Know your customer needs. That is one of the most important ingredients of your future business model. 

“I see that many companies stick to their management information system but the information is mostly outdated. You need not to know the past orders of your clients but you need to know his current needs. Then you can do business.”