App development pivots that prove the MVP works
You have an idea for an app and are determined to develop it? Congratulations! But what if your idea had to be modified and your solution would need to pivot? Check out why many popular apps and web solutions had to change to make a success.
When you take first steps on the road of app development, you have to make a very important choice. You can develop every feature that you have imagined for your web or mobile app or you can just develop the necessary features to know the user’s feedback and decide what’s next.
At Bright Inventions we often recommend the second option called MVP (Minimum Viable Product). MVPs are low-cost products that you can show to early adopters and receive first feedback. Thanks to that investors don’t risk too much and can quickly check if the MVP has a business potential. Why is that important? Because sometimes MVP shows that your product should pivot. Although app pivoting feels scary, it isn’t such a unique thing. It was done by the greatest ones.
What are the top reasons to pivot?
Too strong competition
The perfect example is Twitter ‘s origin story. Before the Twitter team started to develop a popular microblogging they had been working on Odeo. That was a place where people could listen to podcasts and share music. At that time Odeo struggled to compete with iTunes. So the team pivoted and started to develop a new solution. They also decided about rebranding and that’s how Twitter was born.
Different users needs
The best feedback always comes from users. Every idea may be verified by users that could use your solution in totally different ways. Sometimes it is very difficult to follow users’ feedback because it can lead to changing the whole idea for the product. However, the story of YouTube shows that listening to your users is the key to success.
At the beginning of its existence YouTube was nothing like the platform we know today. It was a video dating-ish website. Surprisingly (or not) people didn’t want to upload videos on dating websites but they were more than happy to upload other videos related to their passions, holidays, family or friends. In YouTube’s case users practically did the whole pivoting for the owners.
Long for simplicity
Developing all the features that you have imagined for your app may not only be costly but also confusing for your users. That is something that Instagram learned at the very beginning when it was known as Burbnb. It was supposed to be a photo¬e sharing solution and loyalty app. The number of features made the prototype too complex so the owners decided to focus on photo-sharing. This is the 1.01 MVP approach — focusing on the key feature first. Creating Instagram as MVP was a cornerstone of its success.
Adapting to market trends
Netflix is the best example of the perfect response to the market changes. Netflix started as an online rental platform for DVD movies that were mailed to American households. Eventually, Netflix transformed into a digital content service. As you know, they don’t just gather content, they create their own movies and TV series. They pivoted their product following or even starting marketing trends.
Idea for a software solution is only the beginning. It needs to be verified and sometimes modified to succeed. That is why building MVPs takes a major role in creating the final and successful product.
Do you want to build a MVP?
Originally published at https://brightinventions.pl on May 11, 2021.
By Izabela Pawlik, Digital Marketing Specialist @ Bright Inventions
