You did it, you’re finally here! The process was hard – you conceptualized, coded, built an app, became a Salesforce partner, got approval from Salesforce and finally published it on the AppExchange. Quite a journey, but this isn’t the end, it’s just the beginning. However, there is still one key ingredient missing – marketing.
Content is King
The first step is to create content. It’s quite simple – understand your consumer's problems and provide solutions. In a nutshell, create trending content that captures attention. Once the content is in place, take the following steps to spread the word:
Publish it across all channels.
Create an action plan, and develop a marketing calendar to keep track of activities and events.
Use social media to unleash your creativity, and engage with your audience on a personal level.
Cultivate great PR – public relations – to establish yourself as a brand.
Provide thought leadership through white papers, so you can convince your customers to buy vs. build their own.
An old but gold method is word of mouth, use your second and third-degree connections to generate buzz.
Network, by attending events to connect with customers, prospects, close deals, generate brand awareness and develop leads.
Go digital by driving demand with SEO, retargeting and email campaigns.
Monitor the content’s progress and performance.
Analyse it to evaluate reach and impact.
Revise and repeat.
Working the AppExchange
Okay, now we have an approved application, with content and an action plan in place. Your next step? –understand the inner workings of the AppExahnge.
Popularity is based on customer activity, and everything users do is measured. The AppExchange recalculates popularity on a daily basis, then summarizes and evaluates results over 30 days. Listings are sorted by their relative popularity over the last 30 days. Hence, a popular app is a productive one. Improve your rankings with the following steps:
Information – add a detailed description with multiple screenshots.
Test drives – allow consumers to test drive an app, the number of test drives can influence popularity and allow you to collect more leads.
Pricing – list your price clearly, ambiguity or secrecy can drive customers away.
Keywords – they drive traffic, so ensure content is SEO optimized.
Indexing – search engines index listing pages and return them in search results. So, it is necessary to cross-reference the listing URL on the website, blog, and social media pages.
Of course, you can always leverage relationships – appeal to Salesforce employees. If you share a strong relationship with Salesforce, then speak to internal employees about your app. As a result, they will discuss it with clients and generate returns. Salesforce also provides an AppExchange Marketing Program, where they offer different methods of co-marketing with partners.
There are multiple routes you can take to market your app on the AppExchange, however always keep in mind – content and consumer are key. Implement all the steps to start climbing the ranking ladder!