Launching a product without checking whether people need it or not, is like going on a trip without a map. Good chance that you might end up losing the track.
Without confirming that your product fulfills the needs/wants of your target audience, it would be suicidal to go all in on the product development.
That is when, the concept of an MVP or a Minimum viable product, becomes significant.
Consider it as an initial draft of your product. Gist of the MVP is that it allows you to test your product or service idea before committing significant resources to it.
In this article, we will learn more about MVP in detail & also clarify how it can help in testing the product market fit (PMF).
What is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?
A minimum viable product (or an MVP) is a grossly simplified version of your product/service idea to see if it works.
A minimum viable product has just the basic features solving the core problem to attract early users and find out if the solution resonates with them.
Think of it as something just a little above a prototype, equivalent to a trial run that lets you gather feedback quickly without burning through the budget.
An MVP allows you to test your product/service idea with a (relatively) smaller audience and seek their feedback to invest more in turning it into a full-fledged product.
Our beginner’s guide to product market fit (PMF) explains why this lean approach matters.
The role of MVP in achieving PMF
A minimum viable product is essential because it acts as a “testing ground” to determine the appropriate market for your product and assess its performance.
Early validation is crucial because statistics indicate that 42% of firms fail because there is not enough market demand.
Iteration is at the heart of minimum viable products or MVPs. Start with the most basic version that solves the core problem and then iterate frequently inching towards the full version.
This MVP approach reduces significant risks that otherwise can hurt your business in the long term. By allowing you to test your product and adjust based on actual user feedback, this method saves you resources.
But the minimum viable product does not stop at saving the resources, it goes a step further & increases your chances of success by facilitating a customer feedback loop.
How to build a minimum viable product (MVP)?
Building an MVP is easier said than done. There’s no objective way of identifying your ‘minimum’. You might question, “How basic should my minimum viable product be?”
Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, once said, “If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you launched too late.”
Taking this advice as a guidance, your minimum viable product should be straightforward but also practical and beneficial.
Some founders focus so much on creating an MVP that they end up with a feature-rich product that does not cater to any real-world need. At this stage, majority of your efforts should be geared towards speaking with those early users.
Designing a minimum viable product involves considering the maturity of the market, looking at the competitors as well as the urgency of the problem being solved.
Typically, failure of a minimum viable product is often blamed on the concept itself. But usually, the problem is that the right steps were not followed while designing the first iteration of the product.
To avoid such a situation, follow these key steps:
Step 1: Do market research & nail down the problem statement
Before you build your MVP, be sure your idea addresses a real need for your target audience. It’s possible that your solution won’t always meet consumer demand.
By conducting surveys and market research, you can nail down the problem statement even before starting to solve for it. This gives you clarity to begin with.
Step 2: Focus on the value you are offering for the target audience
Consider the benefits your new product will provide to the target customers. In what ways will it help them? Why would the users pick your offering?
Finding answers to these questions helps you craft a compelling value proposition of your minimum viable product.
Even in its most basic version, your product ought to benefit your customer segments.
Step 3: Design the user flow for optimum user experience
When building a minimum viable product, think about the user’s journey from the first touch point to completing a goal, like making a purchase.
Create the product to offer user-friendly experience while designing this flow.
Keep in mind that MVP is not a license to build a product with poor user experience.
Each step should be precisely defined to guarantee that the most crucial components are included.
Step 4: Prioritize the MVP features & create quick prototypes
Identify the key features for your MVP by focusing on users’ real needs and how each feature benefits them.
Sort these attributes into three significance categories: high, medium, and low. Focus on the most important elements first.
Use these decisions to build high fidelity prototypes. A prototype might also assist you in seeing the finished result in your mind.
Step 5: Launch Your minimum viable product & seek feedback
Once the prototype is tested with your target audience, the next step is to develop and launch your MVP.
Despite being a “minimum” product, it should still satisfy customer needs and be valuable, interesting, and easy to use.
Step 6: Iterate with frequent releases to learn & improve
Developing an MVP is a journey. Establish your goals before moving on to the product’s development.
After each iteration, test the product thoroughly to ensure it’s ready for users, even if it’s not the final version.
After the MVP has been released, get user feedback to assess its performance.
This feedback is key to improving your product and pursuing the product market fit.
Strategies to identify the ideal market when creating an MVP
A great product launched in the wrong market is guaranteed to fail.
For example, selling an air conditioner in Antarctica makes no sense.
Similarly, if your MVP isn’t targeted at the proper market, it won’t succeed even if your product solves a real problem.
It’s a typical mistake made by many companies to believe that their product would appeal to everyone.
95% of 30,000 new product launches failed, according to an HBR analysis, since the correct market segments were not appropriately targeted.
Here are some strategies to identify the ideal market for your minimum viable product:
1. Analyze the competition & their positioning, messaging
Examine your competitors to learn about their positioning and messaging. This helps in identifying your specialty or focus.
2. Geographically segment the customer base & start with a small niche
Make your MVP unique to meet the demands of a given (preferably) geographic area.
“The right product in the wrong place is still the wrong product.” For example, selling a cold garment in a warm region is unlikely to be successful.
Consider other aspects to classify the target group, here are some customer segmentation examples.
3. Understand buyer motivation & journey
Learn more about what drives your customers to buy your offering. Analyze data to validate your assumptions.
Knowing your customers better than they know themselves will guarantee that your product solves their actual requirements.
Measuring success of MVP
Measuring the success of a minimum viable product is essential for determining whether you’re headed in the right direction.
In the early stages, don’t focus too much on revenue.
Your goal should be to quickly iterate & build a product that can solve the same core problem at scale.
Depending on your product & market, there could be different measures to gauge success of the MVP. Here are a few –
- Customer satisfaction
- User engagement
- Cohort retention
Common mistakes while designing a Minimum viable product (MVP)
Biggest hurdle at this stage is designing the MVP that lets you test the riskiest assumptions & mitigate downstream risks in advance. Here are some of the common mistakes teams can avoid while working on their MVP –
Don’t skip prototyping
It is a crucial way for you to visualize & refine the concept even before investing development hours.
Be open to revising the problem statement
Your initial assumption about the problem your product is solving may turn out to be a miscalculation. That’s ok. Accept it & move on to identify what the target group finds useful in your offering.
Be flexible with the target audience
Test with the right users, not just friends or family. Your product/service may be more useful to a group different from your initial assumptions.
Avoiding these pitfalls increases the chances of your MVP being well-received.
Examples of successful minimum viable products (MVPs)
These MVP examples demonstrate how starting small, and refining based on feedback can lead to big success.
They show that testing a basic version of your idea helps you improve and grow.
AdWords Express
What appeared to be an automated ad service was actually managed by a team of students manually creating ads.
As more people started using the service, Google realized they were onto something big.
They automated the whole process, turning it into the AdWords Express platform that businesses now depend on to reach their customers.
Groupon
Groupon’s story began with a basic WordPress site offering limited-time deals from local businesses.
If you subscribed, you’d get coupons delivered straight to your inbox in PDF form. It was simple, but it worked.
The overwhelming response helped them grow into the global deal-finding powerhouse that connects millions of people to great savings.
Zappos
Zappos also had an equally creative start. They tested their idea by setting up a simple website & listing photos from local stores. When someone placed an order, Zappos team would buy the shoes from local store & ship those to the customer.
These examples illustrate how beginning with a basic MVP allows you to test your concept, improve it, and eventually develop a product that can make a significant impact.
Conclusion
An MVP is your key to testing PMF, gathering feedback, and refining your product to meet market needs, all while minimizing risk.
Starting this journey might feel challenging, but it’s the best way to ensure your product’s success.
So, why wait? Begin your MVP journey today. Start small, test often, and watch your idea grow into something remarkable.
Whether you’re introducing a new product or enhancing an existing one, the MVP strategy serves as your guide to achieve success.
Get started now and turn your vision into reality!
