Some companies use a variety of tactics to test an idea. These include launching landing pages or creating working prototypes. However, these do not qualify as an MVP.
The MVP approach can save time and money for product managers and CEOs by testing business hypotheses with real customer insight. This is one of the Lean Startup principles.
Define Your Target Audience
When you create an MVP, it’s important to test it against your target audience. Using a user journey map can help you understand what your users expect and want from your product.
This allows you to focus on building the features that your audience will find most valuable. It can also help you determine whether your product is ready for market or not.
The Dollar Shave Club launched a video in which the founder spoke into the camera and offered to send high-quality razors to customers for $1 a month. This was a risky move, but it paid off and became the foundation for a billion-dollar company. Its success taught entrepreneurs that focusing on a target audience is essential. It is the best way to gain valuable feedback and market insight.
Build a User Journey Map
We all have a product idea that we think is going to be the next big thing. But what happens if it isn’t? Investing time, money and energy into developing a product that no one uses can be an incredibly frustrating experience.
To ensure that your product has the right functionality from the start, it is important to create a user journey map. This will help you understand what features your customers want and how to design a software prototype that is compatible with their needs.
For example, when Groupon first launched, they used a WordPress blog to show users the latest local deals and offers and found out that people were willing to sign up. This helped them to refine their service and develop a successful MVP.
Create a Landing Page
A landing page MVP is a low-cost way to validate a product idea. Using cold traffic and setting a predetermined conversion goal (for example, signing up with an email address or making a fake purchase), it’s easy to measure whether the target audience is interested in the product.
A successful startup requires lots of experimentation to find the right solutions for users. The Lean Startup movement and the Minimum Viable Product process are powerful tools that can help you save time and money.
Many startups waste time building full-featured products that users may not even want. Fortunately, famous companies like Dropbox and Uber started as MVPs and went on to become big successes. They learned early on what their customers really needed by conducting simple experiments and releasing their MVPs to market.
Create a Prototype
A prototype is a physical or virtual representation of your product idea. It can be as simple as a sketch or as complex as a CAD (computer-aided design) model.
A prototyping process allows you to test your product’s functionality with real users and identify areas for improvement. This iterative approach helps ensure your final product is more polished and aligned with user needs and expectations.
You may need to hire a professional prototype designer or engineer, depending on your budget and the complexity of the prototype. However, even if you have a small budget, there are ways to create a working prototype that will give you the feedback you need. One example involves stitching together different products to create a minimum viable product. For instance, if you were building a digital weight loss clinic, you might start with a simple website that includes live video software and scheduling tools to offer 1:1 wellness coaching sessions.
Test It Out
When you start building your MVP, it’s important to conduct tests and validations. These will help you understand whether your product meets user needs and is technically sound.
For example, if you are developing a digital clinic for weight care and wellness, consider running a manual test before creating the actual product. This will give you an idea of the demand for your product and if it is worth investing in further development.
Another way to validate your Minimum Viable Product is to conduct a competitor analysis. This will allow you to see what your competitors are doing and identify any opportunities for differentiation. Conducting interviews with prospective users is another great way to get feedback and validation on your product. It can also be very cost-effective.
