There is a broad range of MVP examples to test your product with. In this blog, we are featuring a new set that can help you decide better. In the first part, we talked about utilizingexplainer videos, sketches, crowdfunding MVP and a landing page MVP. If you want to know more about these you can click HERE to read it.
If you have decided to have an MVP, it’s important to ask yourself and your team some questions to see if the MVP serves your customer, is aligned with your business objective and if the solution you are presenting is feasible. We have an article that digs deeper into these concepts and you can read all about them HERE
When creating an MVP, launching is just the first part. It’s all about tracking performance and doing analytics to make sure that you are heading in the right direction for your MVP. After all, it’s really about knowing if there is a product-market fit so you can invest more. You can try to measure with purchase, switch and retention rate and customer feedback. To know more about it click HERE.
What MVP examples are we featuring for this article? Here they are and we will dive deeper into it
Piecemeal is described as an unsystematic way of partial measures over a period of time. A piecemeal minimum viable product example utilizes the current tools and services in your own project. In a nutshell, it consists of elements from different sources which are “pieced” together to create the base product.
Groupon is a digital marketplace that offers activities travel, goods and services from a local merchant at discounted prices. Groupon’s co-founder Andrew Mason originally launched Point ‒ a platform where people could exchange services. Due to the 2008 global economic crisis, it had to close down. The shutdown resulted in a disruption in credit markets and caused a sales decline for several businesses. With this. Groupon co-founders Andrew Mason and Eric Lefkofsky saw an opportunity to bounce back. They came up with the idea to create a platform that would promote local merchants only and have a promo for a limited time. Groupon’s system was very manual and laborious but they utilized the existing businesses around them to complete the process. What they did though was validated that the idea was possible and there is a market for it. With their MVP, they were able to enhance and refine processes already which they took into account when they built their actual internal system.
Concierge MVP is almost exactly as its name. Instead of just creating your product and start drag and dropping with no-code, you start with the manual service. The physical service will be the blueprint of what can be the potential customers’ buying journey. It boils down to finding someone from your target demographic and who is willing to test your service. From there you can start analyzing data and curating samples based on the analytics. Once you’ve validated your idea, you can then build an application that collects people’s responses, analyzes the data, and selects matching products automatically.
A famous example is Food on the Table, an app that provides easy-to-cook recipes, sale items and a grocery list which is now owned by Scripps Network Int. Back in 2009, Food on the Table’s founder, Manuel Rosso, had no mobile application or website for his service. It was viable in his head but he wanted to make sure that his idea was something customers wanted. He looked for people willing to be interviewed on their food preferences, grocery habits, and their budgets. From this, he crafted the app and provided an exclusive concierge service which later transformed into a successful business.
This MVP example takes inspiration from the movie that made Dorothy and ruby shoes a household name. Wizard of Oz MVP is when you create an impression that the software is already ready and completed. This is sometimes called “Manual-first MVP” and at times called “Flintstoning MVP”. This lets you have an interaction with your customers already and the data you will gather is actual already.
An example of this is shoe online seller, Zappos. Its founder, Nick Swinmurn took pictures of shoes at physical stores back in 1999 and posted them on the internet to see if people are willing to buy shoes online. It was a success and eventually was acquired by Amazon for $880 million in 2009.
Software prototyping is the process of crafting a draft software that will eventually be developed. You can think of it as the software’s first working version of a product that has the core features and basic components. It is the base foundation of your product that can be iterated eventually.
It is once of the boldest MVPs since you are already developing it for improvement and have invested time to build it. However, you can minimize the risk by opting for technology andpractices that are not as expensive. Take into consideration no-code development since it is a growing movement that empowers small businesses and startup.
We have presented 8 examples that you can review with your team. The risk level is something you also need to consider on how much time and money can you shell out. Most importantly, MVPs can be your product infancy stage and just like babies, you need to pay attention and read up on it.
But you have to have the motivation to push for it and also the humility to accept when its’s notworking. Startups take a while to simmer and if you think you have a winner in your hands, work on it and understand it.
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