Lean MVP Launch: Affordable Tools & Techniques for Startups

Launching a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is as tough as converting a brilliant startup idea into a product that hits the pain points of customers and is ready to hit the market. However, many founders choose to skip this crucial research and end up exceeding their budget and wasting their resources and time. This is the reason why 35% of startups don’t succeed, as there is no need for their product in the market (CB insights). Our blog will shed light on why MVP development is extremely important for early-stage startups, how to build MVP, where to look for?MVP software development services, and how to successfully launch MVP into the competitive market. But before we explore how to launch a lean MVP, let’s begin right from the basics and learn about product launch and its various approaches.

What is a Product launch?

Product launch refers to bringing your latest innovation or revamped product to the market and making it available to the end users. It needs a lot of time, step-by-step processes,? and smooth management to ensure that the MVP development for startups is successfully launched. Whether your product is successful or not depends solely on the consumer demand and the overall sales figure that builds your brand value.

3 Diverse Product launch Approaches

1) Soft Launch

Soft launching a product implies showing your product to relatives and friends instead of putting it out there for the common users. In this way, you can get feedback about your product on how it can be improved from people close to you who could potentially be your first customers. It's a good way of trying our product out in front of a small group of known people before presenting it to the general public.?

2) Hard Launch

The hard launch is a relatively bold approach where you can present your product in front of a wider group of audience to gather as much feedback as you can for improvements. It also requires you to spend heavily on product marketing. This idea can backfire if a wider group of people can’t resonate with your product which can result in a loss in the form of startup funding and damage the reputation of your product.

3) Silent Launch

As the name suggests, you don't announce showing your product publicly in this approach. Unlike the hard approach, the product is rolled out in small proportions. The potential users are not made aware of its launch. This is also called a stealth method as you don't market or promote your product directly but the users may find out about it if they happen to research it.

MVP and its Main Purpose

The term MVP ( Minimum Viable Product ) was first coined by Lean Startup expert Eric Ries. It is the simplest or the most basic version of your product which is built up to the point where it can be presented to users to collect their reviews and valuable feedback. Through continuous iterations, enhancements are made to the product so that it can suit user requirements and solve their problems. The purpose of opting for MVP development services for startups is to build a beta version of the product, test it in front of the users, and then conclude if it is in demand or not.

4 Major Types of MVPs You Must Know About

1) Concierge MVP

It's a manual method by which you can test the idea of your product before actually creating it. For testing, you can give a walkthrough of your project idea to a group of people to collect their responses. After the survey, you will gain a better understanding of what the product lacks and how it can be developed effectively.

2) Wizard of Oz MVP

With this approach, you can present your product to users that seem to be automated but are in fact, controlled manually behind the scenes. If consumers are satisfied with the?automation demo of your product, you can proceed to actually invest in its automation costs. The purpose is to test the viability of the experience it provides the users and help you gain more clarity on how to build MVP that’s fully functional and ready to hit the market.?

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3) Landing Page MVP

Before launching your full-fledged development process, you can get user feedback in a short span of time by describing your anticipated product on a single webpage. The goal is to attract visitors, get their attention, and convert them into customers. You can make this happen by enticing users to take certain actions like signing up for a newsletter or filling up a form.?

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4) Email MVP

With this strategy. Startups can launch an email campaign that covers their product overview, its features, and user benefits to monitor the responses of people who receive and reply to the emails. This quick approach is adopted by various startups that have set their consumer base and it is proven to be a very impactful digital marketing strategy.?

Importance of MVP development for industries

For any kind of business, MVP development is the smartest way to get a high return on their investment. It basically lays down the foundation of a risk testing field where you can examine what works for your product and what doesn’t. This can be tricky as consumer pain points and market demand vary for all industries. Let’s go through the needs of some industries in brief where MVP development can be influential.

• Fintech:- Improving product assessment, building a security-centric prototype, and maintaining regulatory compliance.
• Real estate:- Minimizing risk, refining product, competitive advantage for entrepreneurs, and planning a structured product roadmap.
• E-learning:- Gaining student interest, learning resource optimization, monitoring usage patterns, and refining visual concepts.

6 Steps to Build and Launch a Lean MVP

1) Ideation and definition of your problem statement

For starters, you will have to define your goals and identify which problems need to be addressed. To identify these problems, you can research the issues with the existing methods and opportunities for improvement. You can also approach MVP development companies that can help you come up with strategies and planning to solve that problem. If the problem you are trying to solve aligns with the demand of customers, then only should you move forward with the validated idea.?

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2) Carrying out thorough market research

After carefully deciding your problem statement, you need to conduct comprehensive market research to know it inside out and make a clear estimation of what is your product’s unique selling point (USP). It is the initial?discovery phase of your project where you define user needs, core functionality, and expected outcome of your project. You can make a note of how your competitors are strategizing and also map out the section of the audience that will benefit from your product and is most likely to buy and use it. User expectations need to be considered in stages right from the beginning till the final phases.

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3) Finalizing features and creating a prototype?

In this phase, you create a prototype with minimalistic features for better visualization of your final product. This will be an unfinished product consisting of features that can’t be neglected and services that are beneficial to the users. To make it simple, you can divide your list of necessary features as per their priority ( low, medium, and high ) and finalize the features that solve the problem. Low and medium-priority features are time-consuming, costly, and not required in some scenarios. So these features shouldn't be considered while building such a prototype.?

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4) Begin the MVP Product development?

MVP development for startups can be quite challenging if not planned carefully. After thoughtful planning, finalizing the important features, and developing a prototype that can meet consumer expectations, you need to strike the right balance between the developed product’s features and user needs. It will be like a simple sketch or a mockup that can mimic your product. For that, you can use wireframing software to design suitable wireframes. Your MVP web development structure must be simple, interactive, and valuable to the users to create a positive impact on the advanced version it can potentially become.??

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5) Testing and Review from the end-users?

Testing a product increases its chances of gaining success after a product launch. For testing out the MVP, you can let your development team utilize it and give their suggestions on how it can be enhanced, what features should be included or discarded, its user-friendliness, and what the final product might look like. With an agile approach,? the team can make necessary iterations on the product’s functionality and test it rigorously to align it with the market demand. Even if traditional methods aren’t effective, you can always take help from feedback software that takes consumer responses into account while churning out our suggestions on refining your MVP.

6) Launching the MVP and bringing it to life???

After continuous feedback and improvement, your final MVP is ready to be launched. After its launch, it's important to monitor its success and verify if your desired goals were accomplished or not. You can calculate the engagement rate of users, their frequency, and duration to assess the product’s attractiveness. You can measure the responsiveness by tracking the bugs and technical issues. Revenue growth rate and sales can also be carried out through monitoring software.? With social media, you can judge the impact it has on the users by sentimental analysis and brand outreach.?

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Essential MVP tools for startups

1) User research tools:- Miro, CoNote, Ethnio

2) Landing page MVP tools:- Strikingly, Leadpages, Instapage.

3) Feedback monitoring tools:- Hotjar, Optimal Workshop.

4) Prototype designing tools:- Figma, Marvel, Uizard, Moqups.

5) Customer interview tools:- Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, Visme.???

6) Wireframing tools:- Lucidchart, Balsamiq.?

7) MVP planning tools:- FigJam, Roadmunk.?

8) MVP launching tools:- Product Hunt, Mailchimp.

9) Performance analysis tools:- Ahrefs, Google Analytics.

10) User persona tools:- Make My Persona, Venngage.

11) MVP development tools:- Bubble, Thunkable.

All of these advanced tools categorized for the various stages of startups can accelerate the MVP development process and make a difference in your venture's success. Our development team at Webelight Solutions Pvt. Ltd. also believes in working with an in-demand technology stack to keep up with the times and stay at the top of the cutthroat market. We have experts who have proficiency and knowledge in working with these modern technologies and adaptability to learn and get familiar with new technologies for MVP development.?

Secret Tips for an impactful MVP launch

1) Rigorous Testing

Make sure that even the limited features of your MVP work flawlessly. A comprehensive test can eliminate glitches and improve the overall?user experience.?

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2) Prepare for Challenges

Be ready for potential issues during your MVP release. Have a plan to address infrastructure issues or browser inconsistencies to manage and mitigate risks.

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3) Manage Your Backlog

Gather user feedback to make further improvements. Maintain an organized backlog of tasks and utilize data visualization tools to track progress efficiently.

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4) Speed Over Perfection

While ensuring that a bug-free MVP? is necessary, launching quickly allows you to start gathering feedback and making iterative improvements as needed.

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Secure investor funding for your startup idea with Webelight Solutions as your sidekick

So if your startup is within its early stages and requires direction on how to build MVP and launch it, then your quest has finally come to an end. Now is the perfect opportunity to begin testing and improving your big ideas with targeted users in the market. Being in this business for more than 10 years,?Webelight Solutions Pvt. Ltd. is one of the leading MVP development companies out there that has developed many bug-free, valuable, and fully functional MVP development services for startups within their expected deadline.? After validation, we have also served these startups with our end-to-end?software development solutions. Our proficient team can refine, scale, and breathe life into your vision. Not only that, but we also specialize in offering all-around MVP development for startups, such as Single Feature MVP, Pilot MVP Development, MVP Web Development, Clickable Prototypes, Full MVP Development, and MVP consulting. Together, we can build something that solves the existing problems of your customers.

Roll out your MVP, stir up interest, and win the investor’s trust in your product.?Reach out?to our experienced team for the best MVP software development services!