Without a market, a product is worthless.
You have the idea of the century, great, everybody talks about MVC, IPR, MVP, MVR, MVT? But you don't know where to start?
The go-to-market phase begins with a startup’s first product release, and ends with market validation and a foundation to scale. Within this phase are four value inflection points: Initial Product Release (IPR), Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Minimum Viable Repeatability (MVR) and Minimum Viable Traction (MVT).
However, before you can enter the go-to-market phase, your startup must reach an earlier milestone: Minimum Viable Category (MVC). A category is just a different name for a problem: what problem does your solution solve?
1. Market study
The first step in the creation process following your research is undoubtedly the realization of a market study which should allow you to answer the following questions:
- Who is your target audience?
- Who are the existing players on the market?
- Is there a need for the application you plan to create? If so, what are your target users looking for?
2. Proof of Concept
Based on your market research and analysis, you need to focus on developing your idea and exploring different options. This is the time to get out the good old whiteboard, identify the outline of your product and create your proof of concept. With this proof of concept, you should be able to clearly explain the value proposition of your idea in a few seconds. Don't hesitate to test your idea with a paper prototype or a power point to see if there is interest. This is an essential step in bringing your idea to life and presenting it to potential investors/partners.
At the same time, you also need to make important decisions about:
- The business model
- Service offering and development strategy
- Product design based on your business model
For an application or product to be successful in a particular field, it must address the specific problems of the users who need to use it. In design, this approach is called "User-Centered Design". Do an exercise to identify the profile of the people who use the solution (in the industry, the term used is "Persona"). The definition of a persona allows you to put yourself in the place of the customer in order to better understand his needs. Such a reflection allows you to define how you will help them solve their problems.
Once this is completed, you should have a good idea of your users' needs and the basic functionalities to be developed. This is when we can start talking about the famous MVP! Minimum Viable Product or minimalist product.
3. Development Plan
MVP (minimum viable product) is a product that is developed with maximum economy of money and resources, usually for the sole purpose of testing a hypothesis. The hypothesis, as a rule, is the need and/or utility of the product.
Be careful, the goal is not to make a product that will be thrown away after a few months. The goal is to create a minimalist tool capable of bringing added value to the customer so that the latter pays for the service.
What are the core features of the product? Features should be more than "just cool"-they should solve real problems-the more quantitative (e.g., time saved, money saved), the better. I encourage you to use a minimalist approach and limit the feature set as much as possible (you need to provide just enough value for some customers to buy).
Budgeting
Once you have completed the critical steps above, you will have a basic idea of the financial resources you will need to create your MVP. It is important that you establish a budget for your MVP development process, as it will determine your long-term return on investment. Note that every product is unique and has its own set of contingencies.
Recruiting
Once you're done thinking about your budget, you'll need to decide whether to hire internal resources (which can be quite expensive for early-stage startups) or hire a team of professionals on a contract basis.
It is imperative to have a good team (product owner, UX/UI designer, developers, testers) and a good project manager with a deep knowledge in product development. Because they are the ones who are responsible for developing the project within the budget, the timeframe and the company's vision.
4. Design phase
Design and development of a minimal version.
This stage is a crucial one, as it is usually where 90% of the budget is spent. During this stage, you should focus on the following:
- UI/UX design and creation of a prototype
- Development of core functionality
- Deployment
- Gathering user feedback
- Making changes based on feedback
5. Test phase
An efficient launch cannot go without prior testing. At the risk of offending some people... a perfect application without bugs does not exist. So to help you, beta testers are a must. They will allow you to collect the first reactions to your product, but also to identify areas of improvement or precision that could be followed to optimize your launch.
In addition to testing your products, you can also organize a test of your media in general to be sure that your communication, your website and your brand image are easily understood and assimilated by your targets.
Testing your products is a process that must be continuous, even during or after your launch. If it is indeed difficult to reach perfection the first time, testing will allow you to improve the different variables and to identify the keys of success to gain in ROI.
6. Launch phase
A launch is a real gamble: no one can really predict what will happen on the day or after. Of course, you can anticipate difficulties and potential problems as far in advance as possible, but there are bound to be surprises. That's why the flexibility and ability of your business to bounce back is really at the heart of your future launch success.
Think of your launch as a process, not as a specific, fixed event in time. You may well have specific dates for attending certain events and planning your messaging, but it's important to understand that under no circumstances will your launch end on the day the product or service is released. You will have to continue your communication efforts beyond that, if only to encourage the press and the important players in your market to talk about your products as much as possible.
On the other hand, the success of your launch will also be linked to a certain extent to your capacity for analysis and your reactivity. And that is why the monitoring of KPIs is so important, because if you judge along the way that an advertising campaign is not producing the expected effects with respect to the objectives you have set, you will then have the possibility of readjusting your efforts and your budgets in the direction of more favorable strategies.
In conclusion
If after reading this article, you're a little lost, we can help. Holio Studio guides startups through the process of designing, building, and accelerating technology products to market with our expertise in MVP development - helping them take their business to the next level. If you're a startup with an idea that rocks, we can help you develop your MVP. If you would like to know our pricing or if you would like to engage us in a free consultation, please contact us!
We'd love to hear more about your idea.
