Why do the simplest products win? According to the Global Brand Simplicity Index, consumer voices across 9 countries and 15,000 respondents reveal that simplicity is key. The research, conducted by Siegel+Gale, has been tracking this trend since 2009, showing a staggering 1,600% better performance for the simplest products.

The numbers are even more striking when it comes to companies that don't prioritize simplicity – $780 billion in lost revenues. So, what's behind this phenomenon? It turns out that as complexity grows, consumers increasingly opt for simpler solutions. One of the driving forces behind this shift is COVID-19, which forced people to move from offline to online environments.

In this article, we'll dive into why simplicity matters and how you can apply it to your app startup ideas during MVP development. We'll explore customer touchpoints, feature selection, and more to help you build a product that wins.

Simplicity Touchpoints across Your Solution during MVP Development

Simplicity is not just about reducing features; it's about understanding what matters most to your users. Howard Belk of Siegel & Gale notes that "brands that offer simpler customer experiences are rewarded with passionate customer loyalty, more innovative employees, and greater revenue." To achieve this level of simplicity, you need to map out user journeys and identify areas where complexity can be reduced.

Touchpoints for Social Media Networks: Why the Simplest Product Wins

Existing social media solutions often include users going through the following touchpoints:

  • Becoming aware of a new social network
  • Landing on an app, registration, and creating a profile
  • Seeing content from other users
  • Creating and editing your content/posts
  • Engaging with likes/views/comments under your posts
  • App notifications and recommendations to explore new content
  • Scrolling through content
  • Shopping on the social network
  • Solving a problem via interaction with online help or support
  • Deleting your profile

These touchpoints can be categorized into pre-touchpoints, touchpoints, and post-touchpoints. By evaluating each touchpoint's level of complexity/simplicity (as evaluated by customers), you can identify areas for improvement.

MVP Development Features: A Guide to Building the Simplest Product That Wins

Here are some key takeaways from our research:

| Touchpoint | What Feature Users Interact With | Simplicity Score |

| --- | --- | --- |

| 1 | ads, word of mouth, social media mentions, app store listing | 47% |

| 2 | Sign up, social sign up, onboarding, profile set up wizard | 85% |

| 3 | News feed, content interaction interface | 70% |

| 4 | Create a post, edit a post | 80% |

| 5 | Post analytics | 50% |

| 6 | Notifications, pop-ups, pings, in-app recommendations | 73% |

| 7 | Search bar, explore feed, saved collections, watch lists, tag systems | 100% |

| 8 | In-app store, embedded product pages, and other shopping capabilities | 90% |

| 9 | Help center, F.A.Q., community support, chatbot, tickets | 0% |

| 10 | Profile deactivation | 40% |

Now that you have a better understanding of the touchpoints involved in building a social media app, it's time to explore the main barriers to simplicity for each touchpoint. By identifying these barriers, you can select features that provide much-needed simplicity for your users.

In our next article, we'll dive deeper into the world of user journeys and how they can help you build a product that wins. Stay tuned!