One of the tools that deserves the attention of producers, be it physical or digital products, is the MVP, known in Spanish as the minimum viable product. It is essential that you better understand what MVP is and how to apply it in your area, as it will not only boost your business, but also ensure a good experience for your customers.
Next, we offer you a complete guide to better understand what MVP is and everything related to it. In this way, you will be able to test your hypotheses and improve your product even before launch, saving time, money and effort.
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What is MVP or minimum viable product?
The acronym MVP comes from the English name Minimum Viable Productwhich in Spanish means minimum viable product.
When it comes to the MVP, we are not talking about a final product, but one that has all the basic characteristics, is functional and meets the minimum requirements established by the .
In the startup scenario, it allows companies with minimal effort and development to test hypotheses and assess the market and launch feasibility for a certain larger audience.
There are three main characteristics that must be met to develop a minimum viable product:
- It has value to be used immediately by people.
- It manages to attract users, even in its initial phase.
- It allows the producer to analyze the feedback that helps in the realization of the final product.
Characteristics of an MVP or minimum viable product
A good MVP should have the following qualities:
1. Contains the basic functions of the product idea
A minimum viable product must contain the essence of the idea of the product to be developed. If the MVP is too low, the business will not be able to receive reliable feedback from its customers.
For example, if the end product is a desk cabinet, developing just one of its legs will not be sufficient or useful because customers may not understand the ease of use or feasibility of the cabinet.
On the other hand, if a smaller desk is produced or with less expensive materials, it is more useful because it contains enough features to communicate the .
2. Room for iteration
Ideally, an MVP should serve as a solid starting point for future development, allowing you to start with core features and add new ones or improve bugs to create a truly useful and user-demanded product.
3. Low cost
The best MVP is also one that is inexpensive and requires the least amount of effort to manufacture, which is especially important for startups that typically don’t have a lot of capital to invest.
The ideal is to launch the MVP as quickly as possible and receive valuable customer feedback without spending excessive amounts of time or money.
4. Design
When designing an MVP, it should be prioritized that it has an adequate design and in accordance with its functions, in order to offer an excellent user experience.
5. Valuable
Early adopters need to be given an idea of the value the end product will provide, so it’s critical to consider the MVP’s target market and the pain points they need to address.
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8 kinds of minimum viable product MVP
After knowing what MVP is and what its characteristics are, it is important to know what the main types are. Basically, all MVPs fall into two broad categories, Lo-Fi and Hi-Fi.
The lo-fi mvp they combine quite simple concepts, but of great value, so they are easy to develop and give basic results that help understand the needs of users.
They work because some ideas don’t need sophisticated and expensive approaches to be useful. They can be used to find a main direction and determine if that product or service is worth developing.
On the other hand, those of the second group require more advanced techniques and the investment of more resources, however, the hifi mvp they provide deeper results and help determine whether customers are willing to pay for the product or service.
Let’s look at some categories:
1.Fake Door
the mvp fake dooror back door, also known as “audience building”, is low-fidelity and is a powerful tool for measuring interest in a product, or a specific feature of it, without actually implementing it.
As its name suggests, it is about “pretending” that you have a finished product to test the reaction of users and see if they show interest in the product or not.
For example, a landing page can be created that provides access to a new feature, functionality, premium subscription, or something similar.
The necessary information and a call to action button is placed to see how many people click on it, but the button itself does not lead to any page, but to an “under construction” message.
You can even collect users’ email to let them know when it will be available.
2. Product designs
They’re especially useful for mobile apps, software, and other tech tools, however, there are a few different ways to use a Product Design MVP.
The easiest way to do this is with a sketch, which can be done by hand or with a suitable tool.
A more complex way is to develop a wireframe that allows displaying things like hierarchy, navigation, and user experience.
3. Email campaign
This MVP is also low-fidelity and consists of writing an email with clear text, an attractive title and a striking image.
It is used to reaffirm the value proposition among an existing customer base or to determine if users are interested in a new feature or .
Using specialized software, such as Mailchimp, you can get detailed statistics on how many recipients opened the email, how many read it, clicked the buttons or links it contains.
To use this MVP you need to have a reasonable number of subscribers.
4. Pre-order
Pre-order MVP is high-fidelity and is a solution that describes the future product and commits consumers to pay for it before its actual launch.
With the use of this MVP, pioneer users and funds for further development of the product or service can be obtained.
Using it makes sense if you have an interesting, unique, or exciting enough offer.
Now, although it allows to obtain some money before the real launch, the quality and usability of the final product must be guaranteed to satisfy the expectations of the clients who have invested their money in the project.
Also, unless the business has a good reputation, people may be suspicious of having to pay for a product that doesn’t yet exist.
5. Explanatory videos
On many occasions, a video is the best way to describe a complex product, since it allows you to show how it works, what its differential value is and how it will satisfy the needs of customers.
In this way, by using this MVP, in addition to presenting users with a product or service, you can also track their participation and analyze demand.
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6. Wizard of Oz
This MVP model involves acting as if the product or service already exists when, in fact, it is still in development.
Because of this, it looks like a fully functional product, with all the features it requires, but most of its functions are processed and executed manually.
It is ideal for many types of new service-based businesses that require the development of complex algorithms and process automation, as well as getting clients as quickly as possible.
7. Marketing campaign
With this type of MVP you can research your target audience using all the free and paid promotional methods currently available.
You have the possibility to test a product or service idea on a wide audience using social networks.
It is carried out by publishing to attract interest in an idea or concept and verify if customers are willing to buy it.
This type of MVP helps to discover what aspects are more attractive to users, it is flexible in terms of demographics and other parameters of the target audience. It is also ideal for obtaining integral statistics.
8. MVP piecemeal
The idea is to use existing tools and solutions to promote the features of a product or service.
For example, you can offer other or physical products in your own catalog and use third-party services for the delivery of orders.
With this method, times to market are much faster and with less expense compared to developing a product from scratch. In addition, it allows you to benefit from the use of all the advantages of existing products that are already solving your customers’ problems.
the mvp piecemeal It’s ideal if you’re entering a market dominated by large, veteran competitors or if your resources are limited, but you have a great product idea and are looking to develop it without a logistics plan.
Examples of MVP or Minimum Viable Products
Some of the most successful and well-known companies have used an MVP. Let’s see the most outstanding examples:
1. Zappos
The founder of the clothing and footwear retail chain, Nick Swinmurn, entered the sale of footwear without a single product in his inventory.
To test whether the business model would be successful, he would take photos of the shoes he wanted in random stores, and if his customers wanted to buy them, he would personally go and buy them and then sell them.
In this way he developed a business from an MVP who was successful.
2.Dropbox
Dropbox used a in which he explained the benefits of storing data in one place.
User feedback on this video helped the then-emerging business receive the funding it needed to develop its service.
3.Amazon
You probably already know that Amazon started out as an online bookstore, but you may not be aware that Jeff Bezos started his business by buying books from distributors and shipping them to customers every time his online store received an order. That is, he used the back door MVP.
Since he had great book sales, the business model made sense and he continued to add more products to the store.
It then acquired warehouses and ultimately offered each user a personalized experience on its website.
4.Groupon
Today, Groupon is a huge platform that operates in many countries around the world.
However, in its beginnings it worked as an MVP piecemealpromoting the services of companies…
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