Step 1: Research
One of the key elements of any successful MVP development is to research first to understand customer requirements and your specific market. At this stage, the key is to start direct communication with potential customers to learn about customer behavior, set patterns, and create a customer profile. This will help the development team set the right direction when working on the MVP and later announce the finished MVP.
During extensive research, startup members should endeavor to gather information on:
- Serviceable Available Market (SAM),
- Total Available Market (TAM),
- Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM).
This information will help your company verify the business model and build a competitive advantage strategy.
Step 2: Competitor Analysis
The next step in working on the MVP is to conduct a competitor analysis. It will help you find the right direction of development, an approach that will distinguish you from the competition on the market. You may find a gap that has not yet been filled.
When conducting deep competitive analysis, the best approach is to consider as many variables as possible. Start by identifying your close competitors. What is their positioning, customer segments, niches, types of the market?
Then start working on the perceptual map. It should contain all the necessary aspects, such as price-performance ratio, etc.
Now that you've established what aspects are essential, you continue to thoroughly analyze your main competitors. Check their pricing and see if you can offer the same value for a lower price. Look carefully at their opinions from your target audience and evaluate the level of customer satisfaction. Learn from their mistakes.
Finally, analyze the presence of competition on social media and advertising channels. Ensure that your promotion strategy is unique and easily distinguishable from the competition. Decide which distribution channels are appropriate for your product, verify them, and run tests.
Step 3: Make changes
While your team is working on a minimal viable product, there is still room for adaptation. As the rate is still relatively low, you can afford to make changes quickly and release new versions of your product for feedback.
Early adopters will most likely suggest some changes to help you improve your product and ultimately achieve the final MVP that meets the needs of your target audience. Adaptability is your advantage in the marketplace because your competitors cannot make changes so quickly and so often.
Step 4: Evaluate your resources
To get your business going and make sure your MVP is a success, you need to calculate all costs and determine if you can take it long enough for the project to take off.
The main costs include wages, administrative fees, technical architecture, insurance, patent, etc. Make sure your startup has enough money to cover it all until adequate financing can be obtained.
So, once you've learned the most important steps while working on a minimal viable product, check out the list below to understand why it's so crucial to your startup. These are the reasons why you shouldn't have any problems finding investors after launching your MVP!
