Appboy Customer Engagement Platform For APP Developers

Here’s an interview with Appboy, a mobile app customer engagement platform company we met at the APP Nation Conference held in San Francisco in mid December They have raised 2.5MM in funding from Blumberg Capital, T5 Capital, Metamorphic Ventures, Accelerator Ventures and Bullpen Capital.

How can the Appboy service help an app developer grow their user base and revenue?

Appboy helps app developers grow their business by giving them the context and tools to better engage their customers. First, we collect rich profile data that helps them understand who their customers are and what they’re doing in the app. We then let them segment their audience according to these criteria so they can choose the most appropriate interaction. Our dashboard allows app developers to run automated marketing campaigns using a variety of engagement tools, including push notifications and in-app notifications, email marketing, social messaging, customer support and cross-promotion. We also provide analytics to track results and optimize performance.

How do you collect the data from the app’s users?

We collect data in a few different ways. First, we capture the information that people submit during the app’s registration process, either manually or via social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Second, we track static data like device version, number of sessions and money spent in-app. Lastly, we allow app developers to define custom events to track important functionality and workflows that are unique to their product.

How does segmenting an app developer’s user base help them grow their business?

We sometimes forget that people are very different, and that a message that works for one person may not be appropriate for someone else. On mobile, context is everything, so segmentation is a prerequisite of an effective engagement strategy. Appboy goes very deep on this metric, allowing developers to track customers via demographics and social influence as well as in-app behaviors and purchases. They can then tailor their marketing outreach across various channels to add value to the user experience and incentivize them to keep coming back. We’ve seen some great results so far with both engagement and monetization.

Can you share some examples of clients who use Appboy to build their business?

We have a lot of great stories emerging from the Appboy platform. Frametastic, a really popular photo-editing app, used Appboy to cross-promote the launch of a new collage-centric photo app to broaden its portfolio. PATHway, an app that helps NY/NJ commuters manage their train schedules, used Appboy’s in-app messaging feature to avoid an onslaught of negative App Store reviews when a daylight savings time bug rendered it useless. Others like SnipSnap, Guess That Song and West Edmonton Mall (largest mall in North America) use our platform to create regular engagement, upsell their customers, build social followings and manage customer support.

How much does the service cost?

Appboy is free for first 10,000 monthly active customers tracked. After that, we have tiered pricing.

How would it interact with the app developers analytics, ad network and other monetize tools the app developer may employ?

We make it easy for developers to attach existing analytics data to Appboy’s rich user profiles, which makes it much more actionable. We also support customer support tools like ZenDesk and Desk. Tie-ins with ad networks are in our pipeline.

Which app developers currently use your service? It would be great if we could interview via text some of your app developer clients.

We’re already tracking millions of users across a variety of app categories like photo sharing, music, productivity and transportation. Some existing clients include Frametastic, CollegeHumor, SnipSnap and PATHway. We’re also launching some big app partnerships in the next few weeks.

Is it platform agnostic? All flavors of Android? iOS

We currently support iOS (4.3+) and will be launching on Android (2.2+) in early 2013.

How long does it take for a developer to implement?

Our SDK only takes 10 minutes to install. Easy peasy.

What product enhancements are on the horizon in 2013 and beyond?

We’re launching on Android and potentially other mobile platforms, adding support to HTML5/mobile web and integrating our tool with a large number of marketing platforms.

SCREENSHOT 1: Appboy Customer Profiles

Appboy Customer Profiles

Appboy Customer Profiles

Screenshot 2: Appboy Customer Segmentation

Appboy Customer Segmentation

Appboy Customer Segmentation

Screenshot 3: Appboy Feedback & Support

Appboy Feedback & Support

Appboy Feedback & Support

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