Let’s Talk About Your MVP

So you have a great idea and you think you’re ready to release it to the market, but you aren’t sure what’s next. Maybe you aren’t ready because you’re stuck in a design nightmare, trying to prefect your product (or service) for what the market wants. Both of these scenarios are far too common and if you are going through one of them, you aren’t alone. Starting a business is difficult, and your official launch can face numerous delays when trying to finalize your product. The best approach is often to go back to the basics and deploy your MVP, shortening your time to market.

At this point I’m sure you are a little confused. Most of us think of MVPs as the “most valuable player” or “most valuable person,” but with product development, it’s what we call the “minimum viable product.” A minimum viable product (MVP) is the most basic version of your product that functions well enough to gather feedback from early customers. You may design a product that has all the features that you think your customers will want, only to find out they don’t, or even that they want other features you hadn’t yet thought of. For example, let’s say you are designing a small car for lower income markets, such as those you may find in developing countries. With advancements in technology, you can easily integrate a touchscreen entertainment system, similar to that of Tesla, impact resistant body panels, and a high efficiency engine. With these features, you can still hit the estimated price point in those markets and are offering what will essentially be a luxury car to this market. You produce and deliver these, with initial praise, only to find out many have issues and sales have been declining. Gathering feedback might show that the dry and dusty conditions in this market have caused many of the “smart” features to quit working properly and most people rarely used them anyway. The habits of these consumers may result in using these cars less often, and the high-efficiency engines means fuel sits in the tanks longer, often going bad and causing them not to run properly, or at all. Your perfect car is a failure.

If you had used the MVP approach, things would have been different. Producing a vehicle that works, functions as needed, and isn’t over-complicated with features will reveal far more about your market than the previous example. It won’t be perfect, but it will be enough to gather relevant feedback while keeping costs lower. In this example, there may not be enough infrastructure to support Tesla-esque features, and they are simply not wanted. A high-efficiency engine is great for many reasons, but this market really wants a vehicle that will run and drive, and see it as the cheaper the better. They may uncover other features over time that they desire, and these can be addressed in future models or updates. By not including those added features in your MVP, you keep costs lower (keeping the sales price lower), decrease your time-to-market, and gain feedback on what the market really wants.

Odds are if you’re reading this, your product is much smaller and simpler. Maybe it’s a smartphone app, a new woodworking tool, a children’s toy, or something else entirely. Regardless, an MVP is the easiest way to bring your product to market while reducing costs and time. If you are struggling to finalize your product for release, it’s time to strip down the features to make it as basic as possible. Look at your product and see what is absolutely necessary and what options would be nice, but aren’t entirely needed. This isn’t going to give you your final product, only a minimally viable one that will provide you valuable feedback to create the ideal product for your target market.

There is no right or wrong MVP as long as it does the job it’s intended for. Nothing can replace good market research as an early part of development, but product development is a cyclical process with many iterations along the way. The key is getting a product released to the market and not getting hung up on creating the best version of that product. If you would like more information or need help determining what your MVP should be, White Rain Consulting can help! We can work with you on market research, product development, and go-to-market strategies to help improve your chances of a successful product launch. No business or idea is too small as we specialize in small businesses and startups. Reach out HERE to get started!