What is a successful minimum marketable product?
If you’re involved in digital product development, you probably know what a minimum viable product is. But what about a minimum marketable product? What’s the difference? When is a minimum marketable product necessary, and where does it fit in your product development process? Read on to find out.
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What is a minimum marketable product?
First of all, we need to agree an answer to the question, what is a good definition of minimum marketable product? A minimum marketable product, or MMP, is a release-ready version of the product with the minimum features required to meet the identified user needs. In the words of Roman Pichler, inventor of the product canvas tool, an MMP is,
…based on the idea that less is more: The MMP describes the product with the smallest possible feature set that addresses the needs of the initial users (innovators and early adopters), and can hence be marketed and/or sold. The MMP is a tool to reduce time-to-market: It can be launched more quickly than a fat, feature-rich one.
What makes a good MMP?
A minimum marketable product is focused on launching and marketing the product to users. As such, a good MMP should have:
- A solid UX – Whatever the must-have features, the user experience is a critical success factor.
- Intuitive interface – Unlike a minimum viable product, an MMP must have a market-ready level of usability and that means an intuitive user interface that offers seamless navigation. (There’s more on the differences between MVPs and MMPs below.)
- Value to the user – The goal of an MMP is to be used. For that to happen, the product must have a clear value proposition; users need to perceive a benefit to doing so.
- Feedback mechanism – The MMP is definitely not the final version of the product and while it’s primary aim is to deliver value to users, it should also generate feedback and fresh information which can be used to guide the product’s further development.
An MMP has the key features and functionalities to address users’ needs and pain points. It is a working product with the must-have features. Later, more features may be added as the product is scaled to meet expanded needs and/or different target markets. The goal of an MMP is to reduce the product’s time to market.
Minimum viable product vs. minimum marketable product
The name, minimum marketable product sounds very like another class of product version, the minimum viable product (MVP). So, what is the difference between an MVP and an MMP? Which should you focus on? Can you do both?
Despite their similar acronyms, there are differences. At the simplest level, you can say that an MVP is about testing out the product idea to see if it is fit for market; and an MMP is about getting a user-ready version of the product to market as quickly as possible.
The two product versions have different goals. An MVP is about validated learning, gathering information from user representatives and stakeholders that will influence the product design. The goal of an MMP is the public launch of a version of the product. There will still be feedback and learning that will influence future versions or iterations, but an MMP is a working product in the hands of users and not primarily intended as a source of information.
MMP is often the next step after an MVP. In terms of the software development life cycle, a minimum marketable product is the earliest possible outcome of the product-market fit stage. The MMP is the first version of the product that delivers value to the user and (potentially) generates direct value for the business. The key differences can be seen in the following comparison:
These are ‘pure’ definitions of MVPs and MMPs. It’s important to note that MVPs may be marketed and released without significant changes, making them practically an MMP as well. There is a blurring of the lines between the product versions – and that’s good, that flexibility allows you to do what is right for your product and your business goals.
A minimum marketable product is a version with the features that are closest to the product’s overall goal and make a real difference to users. A minimum viable product is an excellent way of discovering and confirming which features those are.
When should you develop a minimum marketable product?
With many successful digital products, development jumps from prototyping or an MVP to creating a feature-rich market-ready version ready to launch. So, when is a minimum marketable product a good option and when is it an unnecessary stage in the process?
- You have clarity on what the product’s must-have features are about user needs and pain points.
- A stripped-down version of the product is capable of meeting those needs.
- You need to get a version of the product to market quickly.
The benefits of a minimum marketable product
The idea of a minimum marketable product fits neatly into the software development life cycle, especially if you work with an Agile approach and are focused on user needs. But, many products do just fine without this stage in the development process. What are the benefits of investing in an MMP?
- Not ‘over-engineering’ the product with multiple features is just good design sense.
- Simpler products are easier to use, reducing the likelihood of complaints about usability.
- Your product is on the market more quickly, allowing your developers to focus on product-market fit and scaling.
- The development process to get to a point of marketability is both quicker and less resource-intensive.
How to make a minimum marketable product
Entrepreneur Steve Blank is often quoted as saying, “develop the product for the few, not the many,” and that’s certainly the approach to creating an MMP. The idea is to stick to the core features, appealing to your target audience of users, and not to add on ‘extras’ in an effort to broaden the product’s appeal.
- Understand your product’s value proposition – what is the essence of what you aim to deliver to users?
- Identify the must-have features that address target users’ pain points and prioritize them in the product backlog.
- Focus on the UI/UX – the look and feel of the product must be solid to compete in the market.
- Emphasize usability testing – remember, this is your first marketable product version and the user response will be make or break; ensuring the MMP is user-friendly is essential if users are to get the full value from the product.
Minimum marketable product – a solid option for your product’s development
The MMP is a fully usable version of the product, ready for release, and with the minimum number of features (perhaps even just a single feature). Building on your prototype and/or minimum viable product, the MMP is the first iteration for general release, providing value to both users and the business.
As a part of the product-market fit stage of the product life cycle (or even the last step in the MVP stage) your minimum marketable product also needs to generate feedback for use in future iterations; especially when you look to scale the product to be more feature-heavy or appeal to fresh markets. Ultimately, an MMP allows you to ‘get out there’ while the full and final version of the product is still being developed.
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