The fact that Forbes says that 9 out of 10 start-ups fail, is a worrying sign for aspiring start-up owners of today. The business environment is certainly difficult, and every organisation needs to find the right strategy to introduce their products and services to their target customers.
As a start-up owner if you want to succeed, listening to what other business owners have to say is always a good idea. On Statista, if you search for it, you will find out that 41% of start-up owners cite time to market as a critical factor behind the success. This is where the MVP comes in. The MVP truly allows us to indulge in a little pun here, the most valuable player for your organisation.
As we just mentioned, in a business environment that is so fast-paced, bringing a new product to the market swiftly and efficiently can mark the difference between success and failure. This is where the concept of Minimum Viable Product or MVP comes into play.
The MVP approach allows businesses to test they are product ideas quickly with minimal resources while gathering valuable user feedback. Welcome to Yamoto, and let us help you strategize your MVP for reaching the mark of success in 2024.
What is MVP Development?
The Minimum Viable Product or MVP is the most basic version of a product that still delivers sustainable value to attract early adopters and validate a product idea with real-world data. The concept of MVP development originates from the lean start-up methodology, popularised by Eric Ries. The primary goal of an MVP is to launch a product quickly with essential features and then iterate based on feedback and learning.
Types of MVP
- Wizards of Oz MVP
In this approach, users interact with what appears to be a fully functional product, but behind the scenes, much of the functionality is manually controlled and operated. This allows businesses to test the concept without building a fully functional product. The only downside is that this approach is a labour-extensive one, and requires skilled people to carry out the functions manually and to coordinate.
- Concierge MVP
This approach is similar to the Wizard of Oz MVP, except that start-ups interact with the users directly instead of automating the processes. This approach allows the start-ups to gain feedback from the users in real-time and in a quick way.
- Piecemeal MVP
In the piecemeal approach, start-ups create the initial product not from scratch, but by using existing tools and services to create a functional product. As you possibly guessed already, this helps start-ups reduce the time to market and release an initial product quickly. It also helps them to reduce the costs of full-fledged product development, which can be a blessing for companies on a strict budget.
- Landing Page MVP
A simple yet effective approach involves creating a landing page with the product description, which includes a call to action. This helps businesses to gauge interest and collect user information before actually developing the product.
- Single Feature MVP
In this approach, start-ups develop a product that only includes the key functionality, that targets to solve a problem for the users. Only after getting feedback from the users regarding this early product, they add other functionalities, UI designs, and the rest of the elements, and then release a full-fledged product.
- Software Prototype MVP
This is a more advanced approach to developing an MVP. In this approach, the tech start-ups build a software prototype with limited functionalities that users can interact with. While this sounds a lot like the Single Feature MVP, software prototypes are limited to technology companies. This approach helps them to collect user feedback on the usability of the software and the experience it offers.
- Crowdfunding MVP
Start-ups can take the help of platforms like Kickstarter or Indiegogo to validate a product idea by gauging user interest. These platforms also allow the start-ups to collect the necessary funds through crowdfunding before the actual development begins.
Key Features of an MVP: What Can You Consider?
Core Functionality
No matter what your product is, if you’re developing an MVP, it must cover the core functionalities that you want to offer. It’s alright if you only add the core features in your MVP because that’s what you want to test. This allows your target clientele to understand how you want to solve the problem and the experience that you’re offering through your product. Releasing an MVP with only the core features allows the users to test how viable and efficient your product is without being bombarded with additional features.
User-Centric Design
An MVP should always focus on the user experience. For the initial product, your target isn’t making it feature-extensive. You just want to get to the users real quick and test the product, even if it comes with limited functionality. Your MVP should be intuitive and easy to use. If you can offer a great user experience, it can ensure that when you release the final product, your chances of success will improve.
Scalability
At all times, the MVP should be a minimal product, but it must be designed with scalability in mind. Of course, initially, you only want to deliver the basic features to your users and test how your product fairs in the market. But if you can generate a good response, then your product must have the capacity to accommodate additional features and functionalities. It’s important that your MVP can grow and evolve when you need it to. This, and only this, will ensure that your clients will be hooked up with your product as the demands continue to change and grow.
Rapid Development
The MVP usually can accommodate rapid developments. So, for example, let’s say you have released the initial product into the market and you have received certain feedback for a change. It’s essential for you that you can add these changes rapidly and release the product as quickly as possible into the market. Reducing your time to market, as we discussed earlier, can be the reason that makes or breaks your company.
Data Collection
An MVP should always include some mechanism to collect and track user data and user feedback. This is because the purpose of the MVP is not to generate the maximum profit, but to understand your customers and to analyze the KPIs of your product.
What are the Key Objectives behind the MVP Development?
Validate the Business Hypothesis
Every start-up has a certain idea that they need to validate in the market before they launch their product. In other words, market research is a crucial step before you enter the market. The main objective of creating an MVP is to test your product idea in real-time and the actual market environment. As you release a basic product in the market and observe how the users interact with it, you can get an idea about what kind of demand you can expect for the actual product when you release it. This will help you adapt and improvise based on what your users need.
Accelerate Time to Market
Creating a full-fledged product is time-consuming. Businesses can reduce the time to market by opting for an MVP initially where they can only add the basic functionalities. The idea is to test the core features of the product. This means that developing an MVP takes a significantly lower amount of time compared to releasing the final product. The reduced time to market can help you establish your market presence sooner.
Minimize Development Costs
Since we already discussed that an MVP only covers the core functionalities of your product, it ensures that the development cost initially is much lower. The low initial cost shows that you don’t overspend before you have judged the demand for the product and the possible risks that may come with it. This makes MVP development a very sustainable and popular approach for present-day start-ups.
How Does MVP Development Benefit Businesses?
Defining the Product
Since you have to think extensively about what your core features and functionalities are when you develop your MVP, it helps you clearly define what your product is and what it isn’t. This helps you develop a business plan better and even allows you to analyze what your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are.
Another benefit of developing your MVP is that it helps you better in quality assurance since the app or product is a basic one and has limited features and functionalities. You can take a little longer on quality assurance and bug fixes which allows you to bring forth a product or an app that impresses your target audience.
Market Analysis and Risk Mitigation
Yes, we understand that MVP development is different from market research, but it helps start-ups analyze the market nonetheless. By launching a product in the market with minimum investments, businesses can test the waters without committing extensive resources. This also means that in case your product does not impress your target users, you will not suffer a significant loss, and you can then invest in changing and improvising your product.
Early Relationships with Reduced Time to Market
The reason why start-ups succeed by reducing their time to market is because it helps them establish a strong connection with their target client base as early as possible. By entering the market early, and, of course, by delivering an MVP that focuses on user experience, start-ups can start building strong relationships with their customers, which can go a long way in improving their sales figures and bringing in better revenue.
Enhanced Customer Insight and Better Success Rates
Studies show that 80% of product managers agree that direct user feedback significantly impacts the success of a product. MVPs facilitate faster user interaction, providing crucial insights into user interests, needs, and preferences. This ensures that start-ups can tap into the market with a better strategy, which improves their chances of success.
A study by Startup Genome Report found that start-ups that pivot once or twice (Kamal in MVP development), are more likely to succeed. Specifically, start-ups that pivoted once or twice, raised 2.5 times more money, had 3.6 times better user growth, and were 52% less likely to scale prematurely.
In short, businesses that invest in MVP development have significantly better chances of surviving and even succeeding in the present market environment, which makes MVP development such a popular approach today.
Strategize Your MVP Development Better: How to Hit the Success Button with MVP?
Now we understand why MVP development is an efficient approach for your product launch. But that doesn’t mean that you can simply release a basic product and expect it to succeed. You have to put in extensive efforts in planning MVP development so that when you do hit the market, you have a better chance of attracting potential customers. Strategizing MVP development manifests in two main parts. First, you have to plan your product or the MVP, and second, you have to plan the development and release of the product.
Planning the Product
- Identify Core Features
As we already mentioned, the MVP approach is beneficial in defining your product. This process starts with product planning when you have to think and analyze what your product attempts to achieve. For this, you have to identify the key problem that you want to solve through your product. Based on this idea, you have to identify the core features that will define not only the initial MVP but even the final product.
Of course, this does not mean that your core features cannot change or evolve. What we simply mean is that planning the product allows you to have a better idea of how to solve the problem that you intend to solve. It also allows you to focus on the main pain points and needs of your target customers and set the core value proposition of the product.
- Identify Your Core Objectives
There can be several reasons why start-ups decide to develop a Minimum Viable Product and release it in the market. Perhaps you want to test your business hypothesis through the MVP. Or maybe your key target is to gather user feedback and analyze the needs of your target audience. It can also be a simple strategy to attract early users and build a scalable user base for your product.
Depending on the core objective of the MVP, you can adjust your strategy. For example, if you simply want to test a hypothesis, you can achieve so by only adding the core features and functionalities and testing them in the market. However, if you want to attract an early user base, you may need to make the MVP a little more feature-heavy.
- Define the Scope of the MVP
Before you start the development, you have to define the scope of the product. This includes understanding what features to include and what to exclude, as well as planning how to go about the release. If you clearly define the scope of your product, it will also help you when you track and analyze the user feedback and data from the market.
- Build a Prototype
Before you jump into product development, we suggest that you build a prototype first. A prototype can help you create a visual representation of the product, which can be a low-fidelity version such as wireframes or mock-ups. This can also help you communicate with the development in better when they start their work.
Planning MVP Development and Launch
- Search for the Best IT Vendor
Once you have a clear vision regarding your MVP, it’s time for you to move on to the development stage. And this begins with thorough research on the best IT vendor for delivering your software or application. It can, in fact, also include web development teams for developing your landing page MVP.
The first choice that you have to make is, of course, whether to employ an in-house team for the MVP development or to outsource the work. If you do choose to outsource the work, in that case, you have to remember that the cost of hiring an IT vendor can vary from region to region. Search for the different companies that can do the job for you. Ask them about their rates, and even look for testimonials that can speak for the quality of work they provide.
- Develop Incrementally
When you are developing your MVP, the best choice is to use an agile development approach. This allows you to continuously improve and troubleshoot your product based on feedback. With better scopes for enhancements and refinements, you can deliver the perfect product when it’s time to launch. Each iteration should bring the product closer to user needs and preferences. This allows start-ups to reach market fit quickly and efficiently with their MVPs.
Your business can also benefit from the agile development approach as it can show you where you can encounter potential errors in your product. Thus, when it’s time to launch the final product, you can take extra care to make it error-free. Additionally, by launching a product that can cater to the customer’s needs properly, you can win their trust and establish yourself as a reputed brand in your target market.
- Test and Launch
So, you’ve planned your product, hired an IT team for the development process, and now, the MVP is ready. Before you release it to the market, you have to test the product for any errors and bugs and fix them as quickly as possible. Remember that your MVP is the first impression that you will create among your customers. For this, you have to ensure that the product is in the best condition for your users.
Once you have tested the product and fixed the bugs or errors, now it’s time to launch it. You have to pick the early adopters or beta testers accordingly. You need to find early adopters who will provide you with accurate feedback. These are the clients who are more forgiving of imperfection and can help you with valuable insights that can help you refine the product in turn.
- Collect Feedback and Analyse
Businesses need to secure at least a certain amount of positive feedback that can help set them on the path to success. You can use various devices to gather user feedback, including surveys, user interviews, analytics tools, and more. This can help you identify patterns in user behaviour and improvise based on actual data.
This initial user feedback can help you validate your business idea, as well as help you strategize better during final product development. This also allows you to adopt a more user-centric approach, which can give your company a good name in the market, and draw loyal customers even during the initial days.
- Use the Collected Data for Next Steps
The early response that you get from your MVP plays a crucial role in determining what will be the next step for your company. First, you have to use the collected data to inform the next development cycle. This time you have to prioritise changes and new features based on user needs and preferences.
Next, you also have to keep the plans ready for expanding to the next stage if you get positive feedback from the early adopters. You have to expand the user base, generate more user interaction and engagement, think of monetization strategies and approaches, and more as part of the expansion.
With this being said, you also have to have the flexibility to pivot to new avenues if your early assumptions prove to be inaccurate. MVP development is all about learning and adapting, so be prepared to make significant changes if and when necessary.
Common Mistakes During MVP Development: Pitfalls That You Have to Avoid
Overloading Features
You have to remember that the MVP is not the final product for the market. You need a basic version that contains the core features and functionalities for the early adopters to test. Making it feature-heavy, can result in diluting the core value principle and lead to unnecessary delays in development.
When you’re developing the MVP, you want to give the users a taste of your solution to a certain problem that they might have. You want to give them an understanding of the main features that you have to offer. Adding unnecessary features and functionalities can undermine this objective of MVP development and you should try to avoid this.
Making the MVP feature heavy will also require you to use more resources and will take a significantly higher amount of time for the development process. Since what you want is a faster time to market and cost efficiency, adding multiple features to the MVP will only be an obstacle to your main goals.
Inadequate Testing
Many start-ups make the mistake of not testing the MVP properly because they think it’s only the basic and initial product, and improvisation can follow later on. This is a suicidal strategy because even though the idea is to get the initial minimal product to your customers quickly, this will still be the first impression that you make. If the first interaction that you have with your customers leads to dissatisfaction and frustration, it undermines your chances of success. Remember that you are trying to deliver a minimal product, not a faulty or inadequate one. Always go through robust testing to ensure that the MVP is functional user-friendly and reliable.
Lack of Clear Vision and Fear of Failure
A clear vision is extremely important when you are trying to deliver the MVP to your customers. You need to understand clearly what your start-up is, which problem you want to address, and what the solution that you have to offer is. We say this because if you don’t have a clear idea of your organisation, then it will be extremely difficult for you to communicate with your target customers, be it through your product or actual communication channels.
Having a clear vision will also help you understand the code features that you want to add to your product. It’ll also help you find the proper target audience. All of these factors will help you improve your chances of success in the market.
Finally, you also have to remember that this is just an initial stage. Even if the MVP does not generate the kind of response that you were hoping for, or even if your hypothesis fails, you still have the chance to reorganize, rethink, and re-work your product. Fear of failure will only prevent you from noticing the constructive elements of the feedback. Plan for success but also learn to embrace the possibilities of failure as an opportunity to learn and evolve, not as a setback.
Conclusion
The MVP development is only the initial stage and your work does not end there. If the MVP is successful, you need to monitor your KPIs and identify areas that need improvement. You may also require to scale up your development team, and add new features to the basic product to improvise its functionalities. In all this, MVP development acts as the foundation on which you can then expand.
Businesses take the MVP road as it helps them mitigate the potential risks, make the product cost-efficient, and accelerate the time to market. This allows businesses, especially new start-ups to utilize their resources and funds in a sustainable and well-planned fashion. To sum it up in simpler terms, MVP development has proven to be the magic approach that start-ups can adopt with confidence if they want to improve their chances of success.