MVP Guide 2022 - What is a Minimum Viable Product?
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What is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and how do I create it? (2022)

Short answer: 

A minimum viable product (MVP) is a product with the bare minimum of features that is still able to be used by customers. This is often used in the early stages of product development when companies are trying to gauge customer interest and feedback.

super-useful-things.com

Examples of an MVP: 

  1. A basic web page that allows users to input their postal code and receive information about their representatives 
  2. A website that allows users to input their location and receive a list of nearby restaurants 
  3. A mobile app that allows users to take a photo of their food and receive a list of recipes that include that ingredient

A strong characteristic here, speaking of an MVP, it has the basic functions that it needs to get the job done.
MVPs are a snippet of a product, the core idea without comfort features.

Steps how to get to an MVP

  1. Define the problem that your product or service will solve. 
    – MVP software can help with a variety of problem solving tasks, from simple things like finding a lost file to more complex tasks like managing a project.more on that in this article (how to get to your mvp idea)
  2. Identify your target market or audience. 
    – A company that wants to identify its target market or audience would first need to define what it is selling and to whom it wants to sell its products or services. It would then need to gather data on its potential customers, such as their demographics, interests, and needs. Based on this information, the company would then need to create a marketing strategy that appeals to its target market or audience.
  3. Create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) strategy.
    – Define the scope of your minimum viable product, considering the budget for testing your idea on the market without incurring significant costs. Additionally, a MVP can help businesses to assess customer demand and to gather feedback to improve the product. 
  4. Develop and test your MVP. 
    – The development and test of an MVP could be – brainstorm a list of potential features for your product. Then, prioritize these features by testing which ones are most important to your target market. After that, build a prototype of your product with only the essential features. Finally, test your MVP with potential customers to get feedback and further refine your product.
  5. Launch your MVP and get feedback from users.
    Depending on your desired business model, you will roll out the mvp to the public, a small audience, or a broader group of people. Some of them might get access testing for free, in exchange for valuable feedback.

It is super important to collect feedback from the first moment.
Always remember, you create this for your users, and you are not your user.

What kind of MVPs can you create?

There are a few different types of minimum viable products, or MVPs.
The most common type is a (mostly digital) product with limited features that is released to a small group of users in order to get feedback and gauge interest. Other MVP types include prototypes, which are used to test a concept or specific feature, and landing pages, which are used to drive conversions without a fully functioning product.

Paper Prototype

How do you know your MVP will succeed?

When creating an MVP you usually have done some kind of market validation before. If not, then your minimum viable product will give you the clear answer if this is going to be a demanded product or not.

Note: Not only does the MVP to be what a customer wants, also do you need to address your target audience. Pre-Marketing is key here.

Tips on Pre-Marketing your MVP:

  1. Define your target market.
    – Before you can start building an audience for your product, you need to first define your target market. This will help you focus your efforts on the right people, and make it easier to create marketing messages that resonates with them. 
  2. Use social media. 
    – Social media is a great way to reach out to potential customers and build an audience for your product. Create a strong social media presence for your product, and make sure to regularly post engaging content that will interest your target market. 
  3. Use content marketing. 
    – Content marketing is another effective way to reach out to potential customers and build an audience for your product. Produce high-quality, informative content that will be of interest to your target market, and make sure to distribute it through channels that your target market is likely to use. 
  4. Hold events and webinars.
    – Events and webinars can be great ways to promote your product and build an audience. Host events that are relevant to your target market, and make sure to promote them heavily through your social media channels and other marketing channels. 
  5. Make it easy to buy your product. 
    – Make sure it is easy for potential customers to purchase your product. Have a clear and user-friendly website, and make sure your product is available through multiple channels (e.g. online, in stores, etc.).

Do you need a team to develop an MVP?

  • You might not need a whole team to develop an mvp, depending on what kind of product you are building.
  • If you develop software you might wanna have developers, a designer, and a project manager. As you are the person with the idea, you might be in the role of a requirements engineer. 

What technologies should I know when creating an mvp?

For a first test, it can be enough to have a paper prototype, an interactive powerpoint presentation, or a landing page.

If you have your idea already outlined in a technical scope but you don’t have any programming knowledge, you can use tools like Bubble.io or Airtable to create a version of your idea quickly.

Thats it so far about MVPs. If you want to know more, keep your eyes open, we will create articles on how to generate the ideas for your product, and methods how to bring them to life.

Images: Unsplash

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