When entrepreneurs have an idea for a product, they do not go all in immediately to develop the product. Every entrepreneur HAS to decide what features to include in their initial launch to validate their product’s functionality and assumptions. 

When the initial launch is successful, they put in more investment and develop the product fully for their target audience. For the lack of better words, the initial launch is Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and the one after its success is Minimum Marketable Product (MMP). 

MVP and MMP do sound similar but they represent distinct stages in the product lifecycle, each with a different focus, goal, and value proposition for customers.

What is a Minimum Viable Product?

A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is an early version of a product that includes only the essential features needed to test the hypothesis for early adopters. 

The MVP's primary objective is to validate the product idea. Releasing an MVP allows businesses to introduce the product to the market quickly, collect user feedback, and validate assumptions with minimal investment in time and resources.

The MVP is typically designed to be simple, focusing on core functionalities. It serves as a tool for gathering insights, iterating on features, and ensuring that there is a demand for the product before committing to large-scale development.

What is a Minimum Marketable Product?

The Minimum Marketable Product (MMP) is a more refined version of MVP. Once the MVP has been tested and validated, the next step is to develop an MMP which is a functional version of the product ready for the broader market. 

The MMP includes enough features and value to make the product marketable and attractive to paying customers.

MVP might have been released only to a select group of users for testing. However, MMP is geared toward providing value to a wider audience. 

While it still may not be the fully featured product, it is stable, user-friendly, and offers a good experience that can lead to customer satisfaction and retention.

The problem is there are no set criteria for what qualifies as MVP and MMP. You have to decide as a founder or CTO where to draw the line.

MVP Vs. MMP: Key Differences

Below are the key distinctions between the two:

Stage in development

• As mentioned before, the MVP represents the initial stage of the product lifecycle, focusing on validating the core idea with the minimum set of features.

• The MMP follows the MVP and is a more complete version, with added functionalities and a focus on market readiness.

Purpose

• The purpose of an MVP is to test a product's viability. It's not designed for scalability or to provide a perfect user experience. Instead, it’s meant to gather feedback, understand the market demand, and uncover potential improvements.

• On the other hand, the MMP is designed for actual market penetration. It aims to be a usable and marketable product that solves the problem for the target audience and can generate revenue.

User experience

• An MVP may have a bare-bones user experience. It might have bugs, incomplete features, or a lack of polish, as the goal is only to demonstrate the product's core functionality and test its appeal.

• The MMP, however, has a more polished user experience. It’s stable, and it addresses the key pain points of the user more effectively, making it suitable for the general public.

Market readiness

• MVPs are often released to a small group of early adopters who are comfortable with imperfections in exchange for early access to an innovative idea. They’re willing to provide feedback that helps in shaping the final product.

• The MMP is launched to the broader market. This product should be ready for more extensive use and capable of attracting a larger customer base, as it incorporates lessons learned from the MVP phase.

Feature set

• The MVP includes only the most basic features that are necessary to prove the product's concept and address the problem. Any additional features or “nice-to-haves” are left out during this phase.

• The MMP contains the core features that work seamlessly and satisfy users' needs. It also includes additional features that enhance the product’s value proposition, making it more competitive in the market.

Target audience

• MVPs are for innovators and early adopters who are more forgiving and understand that the product is still in development. Sometimes, you can also release it to a controlled audience where you can choose to give or not give certain information about your product to keep the feedback natural. 

• MMPs target early mainstream customers who expect a functional and polished product. Here, UI/UX matters. These customers are less forgiving and expect an efficient, effective solution that meets their needs.

When to Shift from MVP to MMP?

Feedback is invaluable in shaping the direction of the product. In the MVP stage, the feedback you receive will help validate whether the product concept resonates with users, if there is demand, and what features need to be prioritized. 

Key indicators that signal the transition to an MMP include:

• Positive feedback from users that confirms the product addresses their pain points.

• Clear demand for the product beyond the early adopters.

• A product that can function well for a larger audience, with a focus on usability and customer experience.

Set a clear success criteria. For example, a Likert Scale, and the score should be 7 in a sample size of 100 users. Once you’ve validated that there is genuine demand for your product and you’ve received enough insights to refine the features, it’s time to start working towards an MMP.

Staying too long in the MVP phase can lead to missed opportunities. And just like that your competitors will take the lead and capture the market. That’s why in start-ups, speed is everything.

Successful product development requires careful attention to both stages. Start with the MVP to test and learn, then refine your product into an MMP to scale and attract paying customers.

Build analytics in your MMP stage easily with Iterate AI

Analytics is the core for startups to make decisions about anything related to their product. As much as product managers and tech leaders want to set this up, there’s a lot of resistance because of lack of resources and time.

That’s what Iterate AI will fix for you. You can just click on user actions in your product and Iterate AI will create events. It will also give you the code you need to instrument the events. You can use any top analytics software such as Amplitude or Mixpanel and Iterate AI will work on top of it to set it up (including reports and dashboards). Schedule a demo with our experts to learn more.