Can you come up with a good business idea? Your app will revolutionize the internet? Congratulations! But in business, it's good to minimize risk and test an idea before you risk more money and time. That's what an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is for. In this article we will show you why this approach works best.
You have an idea, a group of experienced developers and an investor. You may be putting your own money into the project. After all, it has to work! You feel that your digital product will find customers and start making a profit quickly. But are you sure about this?
There are many start–ups in the world every day. Most of them do not even survive a year. Behind every failure are bad decisions, lost time and money spent. Fortunately, there is a way to mitigate the risks. To start, you need to ask yourself: who are you creating the product for? The answer is simple - for customers. So why not listen to their voices and give them a way to suggest what they need to you themselves? This is exactly the approach that the MVP strategy implies!
What is a Minimum Viable Product?
An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is a version of a new product that has a minimum number of features, but is “ready enough” for you to show to customers. You should spend as little time and money as possible creating it. This way, you can gain priceless knowledge without risking much.
The first users of your app are a veritable mine of knowledge. They will use it, giving you feedback in return. You will use it in further product development. You'll be able to test what works and what doesn't, and decide which features need to be improved and which are not worth developing at all.
The MVP concept was popularized in the early 2000s by Steve Blank and Eric Ries. Both are the creators of the broader 'Lean Startup' business approach of shortening and optimizing the vision process and growing the business by aligning it with market realities.
With an MVP, you will know what your customers need and what they are willing to pay for. After all, that's what you create your digital product for – to make money from it!
Why does your project need an MVP?
If we haven't yet convinced you that an MVP should be one of the key stages in the development of your app, here are some arguments:
You will get to know your customer
By deciding to build the final product straight away, you risk a lot. Imagine that you and your colleagues have come up with a great plan and after months of work you can finally show off a perfectly polished app. You have implemented it and... nothing happens.
Despite your marketing efforts, customers don't want to pay for the product. Following an analysis, it turns out that the product does not solve their problems. Specific features are missing, and adding them at this stage would involve a major redesign of the app. At this point, most startups fail. Failure could have been avoided by launching an MVP version and exploring the expectations of future users.
You will build a better product
It is much easier to make changes to your app at the build stage. Your users themselves will indicate what is functional for them and what is not worth further development.
Save time
You will get to a final version of your product that will be profitable faster. It is often time that determines success. The race for the customer is usually won by those who get their product to market first.
Save money
Knowing your customer is the key to success and investment certainty. By building an MVP, you don't run the risk of spending money on developing an app that nobody needs.
Get investors more easily
Instead of convincing potential investors with stories about your idea, try showing how it works in practice. Creating a product with minimal functionality will also help you reassure them that you are serious about the business and won't be spending their funds blindly.
You will use the knowledge
The user feedback gathered at the MVP stage will help you not only in developing your product, but also if only in marketing. Knowing your customer's needs will help you adapt the right strategies and tools.
And with the experience you have gained, you may come up with the next best idea. After all, your users have many needs and one application will not take care of them all. This is how many of the giants of the IT world came about, such as Amazon, Google and Facebook. They all started with a single MVP.
Summary
Now you know how important it is that you decide to build a Minimum Viable Product for your app. With this approach you will identify the needs and expectations of your customers. You will also find out if there is a demand for a particular service in the market. Such knowledge can protect you from failure and give you a significant advantage over your competitors.
When deciding on an MVP strategy, it's a good idea to bet on proven partners. If you have an idea for a new digital project, contact us. At Direktpoint, we have been specializing in building ambitious projects and helping start–ups grow for years.
Let's create something together!
