If you are reading this right now, then let me make a happy guess and assume that you are a budding entrepreneur. Also if you are here to check on why to build MVP in 2022, then I will assume that you are probably in the ideation phase, okay?
Now truth be told, there are several ways to launch a product in the market. But you can’t forget the obstacles in the way. You agree with me, don’t you? Well, you must be wondering what obstacles I am talking about! To start with, you need to think about expenses, idea validation, and market demand. That’s just logical, right?
Nevertheless, what if I tell you that there’s an easier way out? An approach that will help you assess the probabilities of success before you jump into the full product development cycle! Well, I am obviously talking about the Minimum Viable Product approach.
It is all about tapping into the market and checking if your product is actually needed or even if it solves any problems. This lean approach will further help you avoid unwanted features and save you time and money as well. What a shining star it is!
Guess what? The significance of (Minimum Viable Product) has grown rapidly these days with the booming startup culture. With the constricted budget and struggling ideas, this is a proven method to launch a product in the market for the first time.
Sounds cool, right? Let’s explore this a bit more then!
This is an approach that is really popular now, and still, so many entrepreneurs are unaware of its existence. I mean, that is sad. I feel that entrepreneurs of all the people should know about this because it is a lifesaver, honestly!
Anyway, till now, we have talked a lot about what MVP is. So let’s try and talk about what it is NOT. Here we go!
It is neither a pre-launch form of a product nor is it a prototype. That is all! Stop confusing it with a beta version of any product, guys!
This lean approach of product development is an innovative technique, popularized by Eric Ries, (an American entrepreneur and writer). Basically,
You shortlist the core features of your product and build an initial version around it.
Get feedback from the market.
Iterate.
And, release the final product.
Such an approach is useful for the target market and has room for improvement as well. Who doesn’t like it!
Now, addressing the elephant in the room: Why should you not build the best version of your product idea and test it in the market?
You can keep reading the blog for this and also reach out to us for a quick call to understand the prospects with this approach. We are here for you!
Let’s cut to the chase and check out the major benefits of the whole process. Do follow up.
You don’t want to miss this!
Cost-Efficient
See, full product development needs a lot more effort, time, and money. Simple, right? So the prime objective here is to save resources while getting the idea to the market. How smart is that?
Building a product around the basic core features requires much less time and effort. It also gets the work done! So, can you evaluate the cost-efficiency right here? With these businesses gaining more users and validation, effectively turn this product into the full development cycle and launch in the market with a big bang!
Test UX and Usability
Creating a digital product that encourages profound user engagement is a complicated goal to achieve. Do you know, only around 30 percent of people may continue to use a digital product after three months and almost 21 percent abandon a product after using it once.
Sad, I know! Hence, it’s important to look beyond the number of downloads and work on the usability of the product first. Don’t you agree?
Yes, so as I was saying, user retention by delivering value is an integral part of UX design. Correspondingly, this adds to that by testing the potential of the product for user engagement, lifetime value, and longevity.
This further helps you gather insights and collect data on user interaction with the product to evaluate if your product is user-friendly at all!
Are you getting my point?
Develop a basic Monetization Strategy
You obviously need to make money out of the product at the end of the day, don’t you? And with mobile applications, creating a sustainable flow of revenue involves a decent app monetization strategy.
Now it’s difficult to zero into a definite monetization strategy that may work the best for your app.
And this is exactly where the lean approach can help you out!
For example, you can test specific monetization strategies with the core features of your product and see if people are willing to pay for it. If users are not ready to pay for it then you know for sure that iteration is needed. See? So simple!
Understanding the Market Demand
As we discussed right now, the lean approach of business helps you understand the market in a better way. You get to know what the target users want and also do not want.
If you look into this deeply, you will see that a minimum viable product is not just about selling a product. This is also about breaking down the market demands for the better functionality of your business. That’s the exclusive part of the lean-approach.
If you are trying to sell a product and have no idea about the market, then it just doesn’t make any sense, right? So the agile method of product development has got you covered there!
Test your Business Concept
The most significant utility of this agile approach is the opportunity to test business concepts and ideas in the target market. Building a product with the core features easily gets user feedbacks as it lacks complexity.
Bad or good feedback isn’t the point here. The point is, you can utilize any form of feedback for better product development and iteration that suits the market and needs.
Now imagine something.
If you had built a full-blown product and launched it in the market, then would you be able to work on the user feedback this fluently? Even if you tried, the loss of resources would be immense.
Hence, the step-by-step procedure from ideation to product release is a much more viable thing to do in this competitive market.
If your target audience accepts and embraces the product right through this stage, then you can build a community around it and keep adding to the development loop. It’s a journey to success already!
Hey, wait for a second! Are you slightly confused between MVP and a prototype? Please don’t be! Let us help you out instead!
I agree that both are similar but definitely not the same. To be precise, a minimum viable product is more like a functional prototype. It is created to test the possibilities of its success with a tap on the user feedback.
On the other hand, a prototype is more of a non-interactive representation of how the audience MAY react to a specific product.
If the prototype is the plan, then a minimum viable product is the function product with respect to the context here.
Let’s see how a minimum viable product is used to tap on the user feedback. You have to see this part!
For example,
Consider a Problem statement: To sell books online.
Minimum feature: You want to find an audience that wants to read and can find a faster way to buy books, avoiding the hassle of commuting.
Viable solution: You build a fast and user-friendly web application or website built with a scalable language like Python. The website can have just a landing page where the user may search for a book and be able to order that. Also, as a matter of fact, selling books online is not a very innovative idea. So your USP needs to be showcased on the landing page itself.
Minimum feature + Viable solution:
> Option 1: The target audience finds the website and orders books. Your idea is validated.
> Option 2: The target audience finds the website and bounces off. Your idea needs iteration and you have saved a whole lot of time and money from being wasted for a product that the market does not want.
I know you loved this example! If you want to know more, just go ahead and book a free consultation call with us!
If you want to start off with the lean approach, you have to have the following information:
A precise idea about your target market and audience.
The demographics of your market.
How your product will solve a particular problem?
To build MVP in 2022 demands a lot of market research and analysis. I am sure you have understood that by now! There may not be any shortcut to success as they say. But the lean approach is the closest to that path.
The best way to build MVP in 2022, for your business idea is to jot down the core features of your product. If you are unable to do that, feel free to reach out to us. We are here for you!
To sum it up, if you are stuck in the ideation stage, let’s help you out!
Simply, make a note of your business objectives, plan out diverse strategies and jump in for the lean approach. Talking from personal experience, nothing can beat the power of a step-by-step approach when you are just starting out.
With this approach, product designers can safely trim the extras and stick to the product essentials. Isn’t that something you would like in the initial stages? Quality over quantity!
A minimum viable product is a guarantee of a more significant and better future for your product and business idea. So let’s not stress over that idea anymore and start with the listing of core features already!
Also, do reach out to us at TheCodeWork if you want to build MVP in 2022. we are a bunch of startup enthusiasts and you HAVE to explore ourexclusive program.
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