Viva’s Blog: Act now. Tweak later.

Start-ups are teaching larger organizations some lessons, but are they listening? By the time some organizations finally schedule a meeting to decide who should study an upstart’s new product, the small company has already released its next version.

Act now. Tweak later.
These are the days of “minimum viable product” or MVP. MVP is a strategy used for fast and quantitative testing of a product. The idea is to get a “good enough” product in customers’ hands to get feedback from real consumers, not co-workers and family. Too often start-ups and well-established companies alike spend months or even years perfecting a product without ever sharing it with a prospective customer. The most reliable way to get real market feedback is to see if allegedly interested buyers will actually buy a product.

It’s all about answering the right question, “Should this product be built?” rather than “Can this product be built?”

Act now. Tweak later.
Think smart phone apps. How many times have you received an update on one of the dozens of apps on your phone? Developers launch a new app knowing that it’s not perfect. Early adopters are fine with experiencing a new product even with its flaws. Apps are a great example of the fast cycle of innovation when product weaknesses are quickly identified and fixed after getting real customer feedback.

Act now. Tweak later.
At Facebook there’s a saying that adorns conference room walls, “Move Fast & Break Things.” Savvy business leaders know that the benefits of moving fast far outweigh the benefits of attempting to achieve perfection.

Have a product or service your organization’s been developing? Act now. Push it out there and get real feedback from real customers, then tweak it.