The market around us seems to be growing every day, bombarding us with new and improved products and services of every shape and size. Having so many options is creating havoc for the newcomers in the market.
Since startups already lack funds and the public they are dealing with doesn't trust you, so creating a well-established MVP plan is all that you're looking for.
Let’s first understand what MVP is.
What is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?
A minimum-value product or MVP can be described as a technique that focuses on building a basic version of the product. This technique is adopted due to the reason that the investor can test before investing and also give feedback to further improve the product.
MVP is like a first interpretation of the product having finite functionality.
This MVP approach is based upon the principle of, “build → measure → learn”.
Why is it important to build MVP for startups?
Balancing the financial backup along with the validation of the new product in the market is one big task hence setting up MVP is a necessity for startups. Here are some importance reasons to build MVP to validate your startup idea.
1. Validate business ideas
New ventures are generally excited to share their new ideas hence MVP will help them to understand which idea would work in the real world. Without having to invest a ton in the new ideas, MVP provides a way to get feedback on the limited feature, then develop more features accordingly. Therefore validating your business idea before investing in the product improvement and promotion is necessary.
2. Create a monetization strategy
An idea must bring in some money. Since startups generally experience inconsistent cash flow, deciding which idea would be beneficial is challenging. Therefore, the correct approach is to test out the idea by MVP strategy at the initial phase before you invest a ton.
3. Validate market demand
MVP figures out what works in the market and what doesn't. The main aim behind MVP is actually to test out the idea, not to sell or seek customers. It gives an account of the alignment of customer expectations with the functionality of the product.
4. Cost-efficiency
Launching a product requires a lot of time, money, and effort. You cannot deny the fact that you may incur a huge loss if your idea doesn't turn out the way you expected. Hence, producing a limited feature product, will going to prevent massive loss.
5. Investors buy-in
Most ventures run on the investor's buy-in. Convincing that your idea has potential is a task itself. Therefore, a precious led-down MVP plan can help ease this issue. The clearly planned MVP strategy will go to attract potential customers quickly.
6. Quick product launch
There is constant competition involving who will drop a new product soon. MVP provides a provision for launching the right product for the right people, hence time is not wasted and new products launches quickly in the market.
Such products are launched quickly and it saves a ton of money.
How to plan MVP for your startup
Forming a solid MVP plan decides the future of your company. After gaining confidence in your product, all you need now is to develop a precisely led-down MVP plan. Here is a step-by-step guide to how you can create an MVP plan for your new venture:
1. Market research and setting target audience
Before you jump on designing an MVP for a product, you first must need to do some research on the market you are planning to target. While doing so, you will get insight into a few factors, such as target audience, competition in the field, newcomers in the field, and potential risk of a similar product in the market.
By following this step, you will be able to create a unique MVP plan. To achieve this, you first need to have a list of the competitors you’re dealing with and must know the kind of impact they are having on their loyal customers. This insight will let you to understand the specifications of the software their customers are liking in particular.
After this, another aspect that must come to light is to target the right people at the right time, and this can be done when you have entirely understood the customer’s behavior. Hence, you can narrow it down to our benefit.
2. Development and execution
All the information that you have collected from the previous step now will help you frame out an MVP plan. The plan so formed needs to be played out in a step-by-step timeframe that is mostly called a workflow process. This helps you develop a team spirit and provides a better management style.
Following this step will improve SaaS MVP development since you will be in control of every movement so in case of emergency quick updates can be run down.
3. Testing and quality assurance
The initial development process also requires the testing of the product that is meant to be launched in the market. Testing out bugs, errors, typos, and crashes at the initial stage will help you cut down on the potential risk factor.
Since you're launching software that is rather a small description of your company, you don't necessarily want the customer to be welcomed by disappointment.
Testing must be done in a different set of environments to really make sure it's working properly. First impressions are important in the market, so let’s not miss this train.
4. Release and marketing
Releasing software in the market may not be as intriguing as placing in front of the right people is. The best marketing strategy comes when you know what type of people you're dealing with and how well you're able to present your product in front of them.
Using different marketing platforms like social media, email marketing, cold calling, and so on, will go to strengthen your reach for the targeted audience.
5. Updates and maintenance
Since now social media is the new cool and it has become a huge part of the MVP plan, it allows the users to provide instant feedback. In this way, it has become fairly easy for you to adapt accordingly. Before the launch of the full-fledged software, you need to make sure that the specifications lie within the wants of the user otherwise it is of no use. So make sure you're using social media platforms for good use only the MVP plan will be a road down to success.
Final Words
Any startup can speed up its growth with the help of a well-planned MVP plan because it is going to save a lot of time, and money and save you from potential risks. It provides customers with a trailer of the product or services you are willing to offer to them. With an MVP, you have a greater chance of attracting the right people for your business.
