Imagine building a product for a year.

Then customers don’t buy it when it launches.

Why?

The product doesn’t meet the customer’s needs or solve their problem.

Despite the time, resources, effort spent…

How do product managers avoid this?

By creating a minimum viable product (MVP).

An MVP has just enough features to be usable by customers who provide feedback for future product development.

It helps establish product-market fit quickly.

Here are some benefits of an MVP:

✅️ Maximizes validated learning about the customer’s needs

✅️ Minimizes the time, resources and effort expended

Example: The customer needs a solution to go hiking every weekend.

Start small with a viable solution.

Minimal features, yet it solves the customer’s needs.

Sandals can be an MVP.

Then the next release can be hiking sandals, followed by hiking shoes, then hiking boots.

With each prototype delivered in each stage, product managers learn which features the customer finds valuable.

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How have you used an MVP and what did you learn? Let me know in the comments.

Dasanj Aberdeen

Dasanj Aberdeen is an entrepreneurial spirit who embodies the combination of left-brain logic and right-brain creativity. She is a consultant and proponent of multidisciplinary education, approaches and pursuits. She writes about their benefits in modern times and integrating multiple interests into a sustainable and fulfilling lifestyle. She’s a graduate of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University with a concentration in Technology & Innovation Management, jointly delivered by the Fox School of Business and College of Engineering.

Listening to the voice of the customer isn’t something you turn off.

My own customer journey informs the considerations for users when building products.

Lately, my fitness tracker shuts down repeatedly, including when the battery is over 50% charged. This requires a manual restart by plugging it into the charging cable. Every. Single. Time.

What are my expectations as a customer?

➡️ Use: The product works so I can track my activities.
➡️ Support: The customer support process is clear and the team explains the root cause and promptly resolves the issue.

What were the gaps?

➡️ Use: I can’t track my activities consistently when the device shuts off. I don’t have accurate data to review trends.
➡️ Support: Emails bounced but responses to my direct messages were prompt. The team shared multiple links to troubleshoot manually. However, use of data to determine the health of the device would have caused less friction.

The solution?

The support team didn’t say what the issue was, what caused it or if it could have been resolved. Instead, the suggestion was to use a discount code to buy a new device.

The Takeaway?

Experiences like this one make me consider the entire product lifecycle in building products. The job isn’t done when the customer unboxes the product or uses it for a year. Even after a product reaches its end of life from the company’s perspective, there will be customers who still use the product.

What is the customer experience at each touchpoint in the journey?

💡 Have a plan for each touchpoint
💡 Have a plan for new and existing customers
💡 Have a plan for new and existing products in the portfolio

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What’s your experience across the product lifecycle of your favorite product ? Share in the comments below!

Dasanj Aberdeen

Dasanj Aberdeen is an entrepreneurial spirit who embodies the combination of left-brain logic and right-brain creativity. She is a consultant and proponent of multidisciplinary education, approaches and pursuits. She writes about their benefits in modern times and integrating multiple interests into a sustainable and fulfilling lifestyle. She’s a graduate of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University with a concentration in Technology & Innovation Management, jointly delivered by the Fox School of Business and College of Engineering.