Most startups fail because there is no market demand. Entrepreneurs invest heavily in building a product, properly marketing it, and hiring a team. What if there is no interest? It is common for expenses to develop and maintain a business to be higher than the product’s potential. It is, unfortunately, wholly normal. However, there is an easy way to avoid unnecessary costs and spot the lack of interest in your product. It is called a minimum viable product (MVP).
What is an MVP?
An MVP is an acronym for Minimal Viable Product. It refers to a simplified version. Its interface and functionality are sufficient to satisfy the primary need and attract audience interest. MVP does not include customization, personalization, or other benefits.
MVP is a stripped-down version of a product that has enough functionality and interface to test the idea. Even in the worst-case scenario, the company will still have sufficient funds to explore pivoting options.
A minimal viable product should allow users to explore and understand the product’s primary purpose. An MVP must appeal to its audience. It should have a well-tested design and feel. The interface and functionality are simple.
Why should an MVP be used?
Minimal Viable Product (MVP) is the fastest way to go from idea to business. Instead of spending years creating the perfect product, you can run MVP. It is what Airbnb, Dropbox, and Instagram did.
MVP allows you to test your ideas on the actual market. As a result, you can save money and time by launching a minimum viable product. You’ll be able to tell if the product is needed and what you can do to improve it from the very beginning.
Let’s find out what you can do with an MVP:
- You can identify risks early and at a low cost.
- Avoid future functional problems.
- Instead of making assumptions, analyze actual user behavior and preferences.
- Customer loyalty can be increased
- Predict demand.
- Optimize the product development and marketing processes
- Learn how to monetize your product based upon actual user needs.
An MVP can show you whether your idea is viable. It is a great way to demonstrate market demand and get investment or partner support.
Remember that before you can create a product, it is essential to understand who it will benefit, how it will make you money, and the challenges it must face. An MVP can answer these questions.
A step-by-step guide to the four secrets of MVP creation
Successful companies such as Uber, Twitter, Facebook, and Twitter needed an MVP to validate their concepts. In addition, it was an opportunity to test the validity of their idea and identify what functionality is essential for users’ interests.
The MVP technology was straightforward. However, it was essential to do thorough research and have a clear idea of the target audience.
Market research
Market research is necessary to determine the potential users, geographic locations, and niches for an MVP. Then, the business owner should choose the MVP’s value.
1. SWOT-analysis
A business owner can analyze the market and its location.
2. Direct surveys
Reach out to your friends and survey their opinions on the idea. For example, ask questions such as “Did the following problems occur?” and “How much would it cost to fix the problem?”
3. Market viability
It analyzes market trends, growth, prediction, and financial dynamics. Business owners should check the viability of the market. It is essential to know the market share and position of key players and all laws and regulations.
Market research is an excellent way for business owners to gain context for their business development and growth.
Get a clear picture
An MVP should clearly show the product’s essential value. This software version reflects the main functionality as well as the interface. Before you move on to MVP development, it is necessary to assess the core value of the tool.
- Precise positioning is essential: The main idea of the software should be contained in 1-2 sentences.
- Define your primary audience. MVPs are often targeted at specific segments, even if your product is designed for multiple user segments. For example, Amazon and Uber restricted their reach by geographic locations and industries. You can do the same for your business.
- Set goals. It is essential to identify the KPIs MVP should demonstrate and deliver. You should already be very familiar with the data required for analysis.
You must have a clear vision before you begin MVP development. It would help if you had a clear, concise, and feasible idea within the constraints of time, budget, and location.
Define a user flow
Before beginning the development phase, it is essential to know exactly how users interact with the platform. Thus, UX design is the key artifact of UX design.
- User personas describe your users: their demographics, career, financial status, and challenges.
- Prototypes: A simple illustration of the interface and screens for essential pages in an app or web page;
- Flowcharts: A step-by-step explanation of the user’s journey through the platform.
These visuals will allow you to understand your interaction’s interface and share it with your visitors. In addition, these visuals will help you determine the direction you will take to build functionality for an MVP.
Create a list of both functional and non-functional requirements
After you have created a vision of your product’s interface and style, you must consider users’ actions. These are the functional and non-functional requirements.
- Functional requirements are a list of features and technical characteristics. You can break down the functionality into groups and rank them according to user needs.
- Non-functional requirements are a list of criteria used to evaluate MVPs. These include security, load handling, performance (numbers of requests processed per minute and other metrics), and security and security.
Business owners can understand the purpose of the product by defining the features and requirements. It will allow you to know what value your customers receive.
Why not look into an MLP instead?
The journey to a minimum viable product is not over. There are many other stages in product development and improvements, including an MLP.
MLP stands for minimum loveable products. It is a higher level than MVP. The product must be not only viable but also loved by the users. The functionality must solve problems and offer a great user experience and appeal to an emotional level.
What are the differences between MVP and MLP?
A minimum-lovable product is, in short, the stage that follows a viable one. It is the most critical difference, but it’s just one. These are just a few of the essential differences that will help you distinguish between them.
- MVP’s primary focus is functionality. MLP should, therefore, be enjoyable to use.
- MVP focuses on features. MLP focuses on user experience.
- MVP offers practical and rational benefits while MLP engages the user emotionally.
- MVP does not have to offer multiple benefits. However, an MLP must stand out from the rest of the market.
The key benefits of building an MLP
After the team has completed the minimum viable product, they will focus their efforts on improving user experience, personalization, and customer loyalty.
An MLP can increase engagement and provide other benefits:
- Client-oriented approach: A minimum of loveable products is designed to meet specific customer needs. It will allow you to offer more benefits and offers, which in turn can convert more customers.
- Enjoyable UX allows users to spend more time with the product.
- Consistent improvement: Your team will shift the emphasis step-by-step to interface functionality while keeping both as priorities.
An MLP can be a transition point between a functional MVP and a highly usable product. While you are not obligated to deliver the “ultimate” product, standards have been set.
Bottom line
MLP and MVP are crucial for the development of a product. MVP ensures that the essential functionality is performed smoothly, while MLP helps customers to distinguish the solution. As a result, your customers will be able to access the product as soon as possible, and it will continue to improve. The team follows a consistent plan of action throughout the project.
Disclaimer. The opinions and views expressed in this article are the authors Judge Napolitano.
