How going MVP-first can save your startup a lot of money. Market validation for startups
In our work of building digital products for startups around the world, we get to see how a lot of them thrive, while others fail. But what makes all the differences between unicorns and startups that end up failing, and why do some of the startups fail?
What is market validation?
Market validation is a process that helps you determine whether your product is of interest to your market. It starts with writing down your app concept, conducting interviews with potential users, and testing the market with a Minimum Viable Product.
The solution
The business analysis phase of building a digital product should start with writing down the product concept. Find a pen and a piece of paper, and start writing down your answers to these questions:
Who is my customer? — We hope your answer won’t be everyone because if it is, we are in big trouble. When it comes to gathering data about your potential customers, there is no such thing as getting too specific. Make sure you collect all relevant information about your prospective users in one place.
What problem am I solving for my customers? — In our jobs, we often see entrepreneurs fret about the features they are launching and take the decision with a product-first mindset, then spend time thinking about why their product is not getting traction. If you can’t put your finger on your customer’s problem, you won’t succeed in solving it.
How does my product solve the problem? Only after defining the problem, you are addressing, you can move on to discussing the product. You want to translate the solution you provide to your users into functionalities that will be integrated into your app — which brings us to another important thing.
Choosing to build an MVP
A minimum viable product is the first version of your digital product, containing a minimum amount of features to delight users and collect valuable feedback from the market. At appssemble, we like to call it a Minimum Lovable Product because besides validating a need and helping you get valuable feedback from the market, an MVP should also get to the hearts of your users.
Take a quick look at some of the mobile apps built by appssemble that started out as minimum viable products.
Product development does not end after the launch
An important phase in your process of reaching market validation is getting the app you build into the hands of the users, as soon as possible. Once the product is out there, you are standing face to face with the opportunity to improve your product.
Pay attention to their reactions and pain points, make sure that the entire user experience makes sense for them, and be fast when it comes to improving the app.
Read the full article here.
Do you have a mobile project or have general questions on mobile devices? Drop us an email, and let’s discuss more!
