Soft vs. Hard launch: What’s best for your MVP?

If you are a startup founder and you are currently working on launching your MVP to the market, you have probably already started thinking about how you will launch it. There are startups that benefit from doing a soft launch while others prefer to opt for a hard launch. If you don’t know the difference between these two launch strategies, we invite you to continue reading this article to find out which one best suits your needs.

What is a soft launch?

This type of launch, also known as pilot launch or gradual launch, consists of launching a website, app or product gradually with the smallest components.

The purpose of this type of launch is to collect data on the use and acceptance of the product in order to make the necessary changes and eliminate errors before launching a definitive MVP. With a soft launch you can identify which pages need more advertising and which areas of your application need general optimization.

A soft launch can be ideal for the launch of your MVP if:

  • You need to test the viability of your product or service
  • You want to test some of the features with a limited audience
  • You want to do an A/B test of different functionalities
  • You need to check price acceptance
  • You don’t have enough resources to invest in marketing

It should be noted that there is no specific time limit for a soft launch. The time can vary from weeks to months depending on several factors such as the size of your market, the geographic area of your audience, the lifespan of the offering, the budget you have as a startup for the launch, etc. 

What is a hard launch?

A hard launch consists of launching a service or product to the market with great fanfare, i.e., in a big way! Investing in advertising and marketing to publicize all its features, advantages and functionalities.

This type of launch requires more time because you will need to have all the features of your product or website ready in order to fine tune all the details. If there are any problems in your launch, either technical or operational, the reception of your product can be greatly affected.

Of course, in a hard launch you can also make changes to your MVP based on customer feedback. But in this type of launch, the main goal is not to collect feedback but to get sales.

A hard launch can be ideal for the launch of your MVP if:

  • You are sure of the quality and efficiency of your final product
  • You have the resources to invest in a solid marketing strategy
  • There is a chance that a competitor will beat you to the punch with the same business idea

Now that you know the difference between these two launch strategies, you can think about which one best suits your MVP. Everything will depend on the type of product you are creating, and the resources you have available. In our blog you can find more useful tips to develop your MVP, we have new content every week!

VYou for startups

If you need to integrate basic functionalities to launch your MVP but don’t have the time or resources to invest in hours of development, you can count on VYou. VYou is a user and access management solution created by developers for developers that allows you to turn weeks of development into a single day of integration. If you are curious and want to learn more about VYou, you can check the documentation here or request a free 90-day demo.

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