Minimal Viable Product (A Concept from book "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries)

Vishal Tarole
Nov 8, 2022
5 min read

What is a Minimum Viable Product?

A minimum viable product, or MVP is a product with enough features to attract early adopter customer and validate a product idea early in the product development cycle. An MVP is the result of product development and customer development executed in parallel. A minimum viable product (MVP) is an early product version with limited features, which is targeted at collecting customer feedback for further product development. This feedback is essential.

Aim Of Minimal Viable Product

The aim is to learn:

What needs customers have?
How these needs can be satisfied with the product?
Which functions the audience wants?
How the market reacts?

What is the Purpose of a Minimum Viable Product?

Release a product to the market as quickly as possible
To test fundamental hypotheses for your business model.
It is the version of a new product that allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least amount of effort
Test an idea with real users before committing a large budget to the product’s full development
No business wants to spend money on a product only to discover that it has no market. An MVP is the answer to innovative product development
Learn what resonates with the company’s target market and what doesn’t
Creating an initial model that provides a starting point for discussions and offers clear visual points of reference
This helps in understanding the issue that may become apparent with the product

Steps of building MVP

Step 1- Start with Market Research

Before a business initiates an idea and embarks upon an MVP development process, it should ensure that it fulfills the target user needs. The more information a business has, the higher chances of success. Keep an eye on what the competitors offer and how the product idea can stand out

Step 2- Ideate on Value Addition

The product has to introduce value to the people in its most basic state. Begin by outlining the users and build the MVP based on their needs

You may questions like

What value does the new product offer its user?
How can it benefit them?
Why would they buy the product?

Step 3- Map Out User Flow

Design in the way as it would be convenient to user. Defining the user flow is necessary to determine the process stages

Step 4- Prioritize MVP features

Prioritize all the features that the MVP will support. Then categorize all the remaining MVP features based on high priority, medium priority and low priority. Then it is time to build MVP

Step 5- Launch MVP

Remember that an MVP is not lower quality than a final product but still needs to fulfill the customer’s need. Once a business has decided upon the main features and learned about the market needs, it can create the MVP

Step 6- Exercise ‘Build Measure Learn’

Define the scope of the work, then move the product to the development stage, then the product must be tested. After launching the MVP, go over everything again. The company must get feedback from its clients on the release

MVP should have 3 distinct features

It should have enough features for consumers to purchase the product
It should have some sort of feedback mechanism wherein users would be able to send their feedback about the product
It should have enough future benefits for consumers who to adopt the product first

Benefits of MVP

The primary benefit of an MVP is you can gain understanding about your customer’s interest in your product without fully developing the product. The sooner you can find out whether your product will appeal to customers, the less effort and expense you spend on a product that will not succeed in the market. Observing users as they utilize the product is much more reliable than trying to validate marketing hypotheses with questionnaires or forecast

5 development mistakes to avoid while building an MVP

1. Choosing the Wrong Problem To Solve-

Initial step is to determine whether the product is worth creating or not

Ask question like
- Who is this for?
- What problem will this product solve

2. Targeting the Wrong Segment of Persona

It is essential to remember that everyone is not the targeted user. Do not ask friends or relatives to be involved in this stage unless they are potential customers.

3. Inappropriate Development Method

Confusion Between Qualitative & Quantitative Feedback. Both are important. Do not depend on only one. The ideal approach would be the amalgamation of qualitative feedback with quantitative feedback. If both feedback methods come to a common conclusion, the developer will be more confident in the product’s success

Tips to Target the Right Market While Building an MVP

1. Analyze the Competition

Research the competitors
Evaluate their strong points and weaknesses
Figure out their target audience and what they are offering to them
A new startup can concentrate on a group that their competitors might have overlooked

2. Geographically Segment the Customer Base

Location based attributes that comprise a specific target market
Questions can be helpful like
- What is the impact of the climate?
- What are the most common languages used?
- How do cultural factors impact life?
- What is the local retailers role in your MVP?
- How can you encourage engagement?

3. Find Motivation Behind a Purchase

Understand their motivation behind the purchase

Measuring Success After Building an MVP

Engagement
Sign Up
Better Client Appraisals Based on the Feedback
- The number of downloads and launch rate shows user interest in the app
- The lighter the app is, the more downloads it will get
Percentage of Active User
Client Acquisition Cost
Number Of Paying User
- Know the average revenue per user and keep track of products that bring revenue
Client Lifetime Value
- It demonstrates how much time a user spends on the app before uninstalling their app use

Alternative to MVP

1. Minimal Lovable Product

While many companies create MVPs to get a product up and running quickly with basic functionality, few consider it can leave customers frustrated and cause them to look for alternative solutions. The MLP is about creating enough functionality so that customers will adore the product immediately after launch, not just tolerate it.

2. Minimum Marketable Product

An MMP approach is about creating a minimum set of features to test a feasible business model for marketing. Starting with an MMP implies that you’ve already established your target users and market and you have a solid understanding of the problem you’re trying to solve with a product.

3. Minimum Catchy Offer

A minimum catchy offer can be one sentence. Remember Travis Kalanick's phrase about Uber: "You push a button, and in five minutes, a Mercedes S-Class or Town Car comes and picks you up and takes you where you want to go."

Minimal Viable Product Types

Type 1. Pre-order MVP:

Use better financing options

Type 2. Audience Building MVP:

Actively build the target group and learn from them. The focus is instead on the interaction with potential customers.

Type 3. Landing Page MVP:

In the beginning, there was only a website, advertising campaigns on Facebook or Google Adwords direct visitors to the website. Afterward, operators can evaluate how many people have seen the product (site visitors) and how many have bought it. From there on, collected feedback will show at a very early stage what the chances of success are for this product

Type 4. MVP as an explanatory video

Videos let you explain basic functional principles and customer benefits quickly and convincingly, as well as sum up the perceived added value of a business idea or a product in a compact and sometimes funny way.