Technology places the world at our fingertips! New, creative tools that add convenience to our everyday lives hit the market each day. However, it’s not always easy to bring the niggle of a brilliant idea to fruition in a full-fledged business model. That’s where creation of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) comes into play. What is MVP, you ask? And what does MVP mean for your business?
What is MVP?
An MVP approach includes the most basic version of a product – usually a software product – required to meet the needs of target users. It focuses only on the features that make the product functional. In this sense, an MVP is the structure upon which everything else is built.
Why is an MVP important?
An MVP project is a stepping stone. A viable idea doesn’t necessarily equate to a viable product. The idea can be solid, but there are often several ways to execute it. An MVP allows you to be a bit more methodical about development and launch.
– An Easy Way to Collect Data
It’s easy to make decisions – such as choosing a native vs. hybrid app or which audience to target – without testing. But nothing provides data about the product itself quite like testing on your ideal user with an MVP. Meaning, MVP is the test. By collecting significant data about customer behavior, you’ll be able to validate your hypothesis regarding the viability of your product. Plus, you’ll learn which direction to head when it comes to creating and modifying additional features.
– Helps Gain Understanding of Users’ Needs
You only need to open your app store to see the plethora of products promising to make our lives easier. This is why today’s customers have the ability to be super picky. New products only have a few seconds to capture our attention, lest we move on.
Before going all-in, it’s important to learn what your customers need and how they expect your product to enhance their lives. The feedback users provide about MVP software will help you learn both what resonates with them as well as what is needed to capture their attention.
– Saves Time and Money
Because MVP programming isn’t as intricate as developing a full product, there are fewer barriers to adding new features or even going back to the drawing board, if need be. This results in shorter development cycles and lower cost than launching a full-fledged product.
Developing a final product takes an average of seven months and can cost up to $250K. Imagine spending all of that time and money to fully develop your product only to learn it doesn’t hit the mark with your target audience. At that point you’d begin brainstorming ways to make improvements and paying someone to develop them for you. With MVP development, you can speed up the launch to about six weeks because the developed features are minimal. And as an added bonus, the cost of an MVP startup product is significantly lower – about $15K.
– Provides Information for Investors
Whether you’re going the traditional route, utilizing crowdfunding investment, or anything in between, an investor is more likely to back your product if they know it’s received some positive feedback. Plus, having an MVP gives investors something tangible to experience themselves, before making the decision to support your idea. In short, positive results at the MVP level can help make fundraising for your business a success.
Design an MVP Business Model with Hungry Media
So, what is a minimal viable product for your business, specifically? MVP software development can be challenging, which is why Hungry Media is here to help! Our unique approach allows us to home in on exactly what you’re looking to accomplish, determine your MVP approach, and flesh out the steps required to achieve your ultimate goal.
Have an idea for a new app or product? We can’t wait to hear about it. Contact us today to get started!
contributed by Melissa Lucas, senior staff writer
