This guide serves as an introduction to using the Darwin Matrix as a business mapping tool. This method is typically introduced to start-ups and young businesses. More advanced methods for business strategy include Future Vision, Creative Team Brainstorming and Activity Focus.
On this page you will be guided through the creation of a digital mind map on the Darwin Matrix platform.
Please note that for the best experience it is recommended to use Google Chrome to access the Darwin Matrix.
1. Go to app.darwinmatrix.com on Google Chrome and sign up with your email address if you haven’t already done so.
2. Once you are logged in you will see the Dashboard page. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Start A New Matrix”. To begin, we will create a map of your business in the form of a Matrix.
3. Click on the circle (or cell) in the centre of this new, blank Matrix and enter the name of your business. This will be the title of your Matrix.
4. Click on the cell directly north of the centre cell and type “What”. Note the white cell highlighting the cell you have clicked on – this indicates that the cell is selected.
5. Do the same for all 6 questions working clockwise around the Matrix. The six cells directly next to the centre cell should have the questions: What, Why, How, Where, When, Who – so that your Matrix looks like the following image.
6. Click a cell above What and type a title for it – for now just use “Represent Company Images”. Your screen should look like this:
Represent Company Images is the kind of title that makes sense to someone who knows what it’s supposed to mean, but to others it may seem vague – “what exactly does this mean?”. In this case we might want to explain Represent Company Images in a little more detail.
To do this, we will flip this cell to reveal the larger reverse side where we can add much more detail – with the Represent Company Images cell selected, click the blue Flip button at the top of the edit bar on the left side of the screen:
Now our Represent Company Images cell has been flipped, click the blue edit button at the top of this flipped cell:
This will reveal a rich text editor allowing you to enter more detail. You can add images, links, videos, bullet points, etc. to describe the title of your cell.
For the purpose of this example, let’s just explain our cell in more detail: “As a direct mail company, we help to represent company images; from design to quality of print – the quality of our service reflects upon our clients, positively and negatively.”
Click the floppy disk button at the top of the cell to save. Now when somebody flips this cell they will see our elaboration.
Click the flip button again to flip the cell back to it’s smaller state.
Note that there is a now a small flip icon at the bottom of this cell – this indicates that there is more information on the reverse side of the cell.
7. Now that you know how to create detailed maps on the Darwin Matrix, use the question guide (below) to map out your business. A finished business map for a direct mail solutions company might look like the Matrix below. Use this to give you an idea of how your business map should look.
Question Guide
What are you offering your clients? Try to think about the end result or benefit you are helping them to gain rather than simply what you are offering; e.g. A company that sells drills ultimately provides it’s customers with “holes in walls”.
Why should they buy from you? What makes you unique? Think about the messages you are sending in your branding that gets your customers excited.
How do you deliver your product/service? What do you rely on to make it work?
Where are you selling? This might be geographic locations, events or marketing channels.
When – is it seasonal? Gift products sell more at Christmas, timing can be the difference between a successful venture and a failed product.
Who are your customers? What communities or types of people exist that would be interested? Customer research and profiling are key to building a product.
You may find some of the questions overlap a little – that’s no problem. Just move the cells to their appropriate places by dragging and dropping. The absolute grouping of the elements of a business can be subjective – try to map things out in a simple way that makes sense to you.