B2B App Marketplaces present a terrific opportunity for app developers to distribute their software (typically SaaS) to well-qualified users who are ready to try and buy. This presentation will teach you how to pick the best APIs and marketplaces for your app.

1. Power Your Business &
Your App with APIs and
Marketplaces
Cooper Marcus
Business Development - Platform, New Relic
Formerly: Co-founder, Wishery
cooper@newrelic.com
@coopermarcus

2. What was Wishery?

3. What was Wishery?
• Wishery = Gmail Gadget for CRM
• 5 business app integrations
• #1-ranked or Featured in 5 B2B app marketplaces
• 100+ companies sign-up weekly
• 20%+ upgrade to paid

4. Orientation
• Less:
• Consumer
• Mobile
• Downloaded
• Distinctions are
disappearing - eg.
Win8 App Store
• More:
• B2B
• Web apps
• SaaS

5. Terminology
• Publisher = produces an app THAT HAS an API
and marketplace
• Developer = produces an app LISTED ON a
marketplace

10. Why?
• Discovery - Be where buyers are shopping
• SEO
• Enhanced conversions to paid
• Co-marketing with marketplace hosts
• Free $ (depending on marketplace)
• The future is now

13. 1.5x to 5x conversion to paid
(compared to non-Google Apps
Marketplace installs)
http://googleappsdeveloper.blogspot.com/2011/09/finding-success-on-google-apps.html
http://www.google.com/events/io/2011/sessions.html

15. 1 tweet = 10x traffic to
Wishery website

20. How?
1. Scan
7. Launch
2. Deep Dive
8. Reviews and Ranking
3. Engage
9. Invest
4. Prioritize
10. Profit!
5. Build
11. More Profit! (aka Learn
- and Repeat)
6. Test and Tune

21. 1. Scan
• Build list of all applicable marketplaces
• See resources link at end
• Seek:
• Minimum initial effort
• Audience appeal
• Addressable market size

22. 2. Deep Dive
• Publisher customer perspective
• Marketplace accessible?
• Promoted by publisher?
• Developer perspective
• Marketing support?
• Developer support?
• API capabilities and quality?
• Terms and conditions

27. 3. Engage
• Contact Publisher
• Seek Publisher feedback on app and/or integration
plans
• Publisher’s Product Manager may have valuable insights
• Solicit commitments
• Co-marketing
• Free $?

28. 4. Prioritize
• Rank Publishers - and re-rank
• Start at the top
• Parallel tracks?

29. 5. Build
• Minimum Viable Product (that isn’t lame)
• New to APIs and integrations?
• First time is tougher
• OAuth and SSO
• Runscope.com
• Runnable.com

30. 6. Test and Tune
• Closed or Open beta?
• “Reset button” for new user experience testing
• Minimize publisher effort to support you (for now)

31. 7. Launch
• (First: pass Publisher review)
• Quietly
• Provide incredible support
• Communicate personally with all new signups
• Fix issues quickly
• #1 most critical step - maximize your focus
• Bad launch = bad reviews = unhappy Publisher

32. 8. Reviews and Ranking
• Ask for great reviews - Apptentive at 2:15pm!
• Ask for no bad reviews
• Measure and monitor - ChangeDetection.com
• Most marketplaces have no analytics
• Experiment to improve ranking
• Reviews
• Installs (maybe net installs)
• AMO (App Marketplace Optimization)

38. Keyword stuffing...

39. or market research?

40. 9. Invest
• Spend social capital to get “featured”
• Spend $ to get promoted
• Advertise
• Content Marketing: Blog posts, videos, case studies
• Co-market and promote with Publisher
• Outsource production?
• More features?
• Careful! Feature work may be easy, but non-productive

41. 10. Profit!

42. 11. More Profit!
• Do it all again
• Faster, smarter, better next time

43. Resources
• https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?
key=0As25v1LSfTQodDNCamd6UjJralJtMDR1eVF
PSU1YYWc#gid=3
• cooper@newrelic.com
• @coopermarcus
• http://meetme.so/cooper
• Share what you learn - let’s get better together