One of the tools that deserve the attention of producers, whether for physical or digital products, is the MVP, an acronym for a minimum viable product. Understanding how to build an MVP becomes fundamental to guaranteeing a good experience for your customers.
In this article, we offer you a complete guide to better understand everything about the MVP. This way, you will be able to test your hypotheses and improve your product even before launch, saving time, money, and effort. Let us see:
- What can we say about an MVP?
- Why is it so important to build your MVP?
- What should you consider before starting to build an MVP?
- How should you start building an MVP?
- Why should you reserve a budget before the construction of the MVP?
- Why is market response and data analysis important?
- Who do you have to send the MVP to?
- How much can you charge for the MVP?
- What advantages does an MVP give us?
- What would be the origin of the end of the MVP?
- Why should you create an MVP as a small company?
1. What can we say about an MVP?
The abbreviation MVP, as already mentioned, stands for a minimum viable product. When it comes to MVP we are not talking about a final product, but a product that has all the basic characteristics. Furthermore, it serves the minimum requirements established by the entrepreneur.
In the startup scenario, building an MVP allows companies to launch their products with minimal effort and development. In this way, they can test hypotheses, and evaluate the market and the feasibility of launching for a given target audience.
There appear to exist three main characteristics of a minimum viable product:
- It has value to be used immediately by people.
- Attracts users, even in its initial phase.
- It allows the Producer to follow the feedbacks that help in the finalization of the final product.
2. Why is it so important to build your MVP?
The great advantage of creating an MVP consists in the possibility of testing hypotheses without the need to spend a lot of money and effort. The feedback received by customers who come into contact with the MVP serves as a parameter for making adjustments. Knowing this allows offering a product or service more aligned to market expectations.
Consequently, this will have an impact on increasing your chances of financial return. Feedback regarding the product will not always be positive. In any case, the entrepreneur wins, since he will have time to make adjustments or even rethink the product launch date.
Although typically used by companies in the technology sector, the MVP concept can benefit any entrepreneur and can be applied to both digital and physical products. One more reason to build an MVP for your company.
3. What should you consider before starting to build an MVP?
Before starting to build your MVP, you must define the value proposition. The value proposition refers to the product, more precisely to its ability to attract the consumers’ attention. It becomes important to think of an MVP that looks useful, attractive, and, at the same time, viable, and that can get the public’s attention.
Second, consider setting deadlines. One of the main characteristics of an MVP takes less time to create. The explanation lies in the fact that in an increasingly competitive market, with innovative ideas emerging all the time, entrepreneurs cannot afford to miss opportunities.
With this in mind, we suggest you create a calendar of actions, from planning to launching your product. Therefore, establish possible deadlines for the completion of each one.
4. How should you start building an MVP?
First, define the basic functions of the MVP. The moment of emergence of the minimum viable product represents the product idealization phase. If the entrepreneur has a potentially profitable business idea, it is time to start developing its test version.
It becomes important to emphasize that the MVP was thought to be cheap, practical, and built in the shortest possible time. Therefore, it requires that you work to deliver to the public a minimally functional product, with its most basic features.
It is no good, for example, to give the customer a wheel, indicating that the company’s next step consists of producing an automobile. The wheel, by itself, does not correspond to any of the basic characteristics of an automobile.
5. Why should you reserve a budget before the construction of the MVP?
Since it is not the final version, the development cost of the MVP tends to be exponentially lower. The result, however, must meet a minimum of standards, since the public must be pleased with it. In other words, it becomes important to build an MVP with the lowest possible cost, but without giving up the minimum to make it commercially viable.
Create an inventory of all the required investments for the creation of your MVP, such as material, labor, and distribution costs. Then project how many products you will need to sell to recoup the value invested.
In addition, reserve some costs for a customer support channel. When developing the minimum viable product, it comes to thinking about strategies to understand its impact. An MVP that cannot capture feedback completely misses its purpose.
6. Why is market response and data analysis important?
In a second step, the minimum viable product must become available in the market. The market response, means, the degree of people’s interest in the product must take very much into account by the producer.
It will decide whether or not it is worth investing in your idea. If we talk about how to build an MVP, we cannot leave aside the analysis of the data obtained. These must be analyzed through tests in a careful and systematized way.
This implies the interpretation of the feedback, the follow-up of the accesses, and the time spent on the page. Among other factors that will serve to build an MVP and serve as a basis for making adjustments to the product before its launch.
7. Who do you have to send the MVP to?
A common doubt among entrepreneurs concerns the audience of the minimum viable product. Because it involves not the final version of your product, it can get challenging to know exactly who to send the MVP to. The answer is simple: anyone who shows interest in the idea.
There exist several consumers in the marketplace who demonstrate engagement with products in their final stages of creation. Others prefer to join an exclusive group and have access to new products before they go live. These are the so-called beta testers, who contribute the most to the verification of the hypotheses put forward by the producer.
They not only use the product but also analyze its features and peculiarities, providing useful information about the product. For that reason, look for users who interact with you constantly and show real interest in your products. You already know that they can get on your follower base and email lists.
Another suggestion is to share the MVP with friends, family, and customers who already know the brand. These people tend to want to try the minimum viable product and will usually be very open to honest feedback.
8. How much can you charge for the MVP?
When you build an MVP, in many situations, it can make it advantageous for the entrepreneur to have the MVP used by a limited group of people. At no cost. This strategy relies on the premise that the product, having been built inexpensively and with low development, does not yet possess all the features of the final product.
The objective of the MVP consists purely and simply in testing the hypotheses put forward by the producer. Otherwise, it becomes possible to charge for its use. The great idea consists in establishing a value well below the one that will be charged for the final product.
In this way, you motivate consumers to purchase the trial version of the product, for the savings and the exclusivity of being the first to test it. Remember that the MVP allows the adjustment of details and the verification of its feasibility and acceptance by the market.
9. What advantages does an MVP give us?
You save time. Focusing on one or more key features allows you to develop a product much faster and reduce what is known as “time to market”. Imagine that while your competition is hesitating between launching a product or not, your target audience is already testing yours. Their feedback will give you valuable information about their main and underlying needs.
You avoid the tunnel effect. By working on a product for months (or years) and releasing it only when it is finished, you run the risk of the product not meeting, or failing to meet, users’ expectations. By revealing the product in advance, you ensure that your product is in line with expectations. Market research, however well conducted, will always be based on assumptions, whereas user feedback is much more concrete.
You make better use of resources. Instead of spending a lot of money on developing the perfect product, you focus your budget on the core functionality. If you like the product, you will know exactly what to invest in thanks to its benefits. If you do not like the product, you will have wasted less money and will be able to offer something more tailored to the need.
10. What would be the origin of the end of the MVP?
The first one, minimum. Although the MVP is not a finished product and may only have one or two features. One of these must satisfy the primary need of your target audience. Because of this, you need to be able to determine the minimum feature(s) that your solution must offer. The underlying objective is to develop the product quickly, save time and bring it to market as soon as possible.
The second one is viable. Unlike a simple prototype, when you build an MVP for the market, it also tests its ability to generate value, whether in terms of revenue, brand image, or cost reduction. Indeed, it is necessary to ensure that the resources allocated to the development of the future product or service generate a return on investment (ROI).
Generating revenue with an MVP can be an interesting development strategy for a young company with limited resources. By reinvesting the revenue generated, you can continue to develop the other features of your future product. This allows you to gauge the interest of the target audience and make sure they are willing to pay for it or use it.
Product. Although the MVP is only a simplified version of the finished product, it must be real and usable. Good technical stability and a well-thought-out user experience are therefore essential. This first version, however imperfect it may be, must seduce your users and not disappoint them with technical bugs, for example. Moreover, by allowing your users to use your product in real conditions.
11. Why should you create an MVP as a small company?
The success of any startup often depends on building a good MVP. MVP software development plays a safe strategy to test your idea in the marketplace instead of complicated development, which reduces the risk of investing money in a product that does not interest your target audience.
On Connect Tech, we believe that if you are a small business you should consider creating an MVP. Therefore, before moving forward with your idea follow the steps in this article to get started with the creation of your MVP. It is the only way to know if it is a product worth launching in the market.
Do you stil have questions about how to build an MVP? Then contact us, we are one of the most competent MVP development companies you will find. You can call us at +971 43 316 688 or you can also leave us a message at contact@connectech.dev.
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