Although it made us laugh for a while, \u201cThere\u2019s an app for that\u201d is now an old joke for consumers. We\u2019ve moved past the funny notion of apps multiplying like breeding rabbits and into apps as a necessary part of everyday life. The same will become true for marketing professionals. <\/p>\n
<\/span>What is a marketing software marketplace?<\/span><\/h2>\nMany apps (if not all) can be found and downloaded via an \u201capps marketplace.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.emailvendorselection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/theres-an-app-for-that.jpg\" "\\"theres-an-app-for-that\\"")
A marketplace is a central location where third-party vendors can offer downloads of plugins and software they\u2019ve developed to enhance an existing technology or platform. <\/p>\n
Salesforce.com led the way in 2005 when they launched the Salesforce Appexchange. Although Salesforce.com was already a force to be reckoned with, the apps marketplace made their marketing platform even more powerful than it was.<\/p>\n
<\/span>Apps are growing in numbers\u2026and so are marketplaces<\/span><\/h2>\nThink about apps and you probably think B2C and picture the ones offered on your phone in that \u201cmarketplace.\u201d Now think about that same kind of marketplace but for a B2B world, offered not on a smart phone but a website. This is the scenario that\u2019s becoming more common, as leading companies jump on the \u201cthere\u2019s an app for that\u201d bandwagon.<\/p>\n
One in five top companies in the U.S. now operates an apps marketplace. Of these, studies show third-party Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) apps are outpacing their mobile counterparts (the former being B2B oriented and the latter typically being geared toward the consumer market). And of all the apps marketplaces now out there for your perusing pleasure, 43% belong to technology companies. Clearly, the \u201capp for that\u201d mentality is becoming the norm in the business world too. <\/p>\n
<\/span>Should ESPs offer an apps marketplace?<\/span><\/h2>\nDespite the fact that 43% of the companies offering an apps marketplace are technology-based, not every email service provider offers such a marketplace for third party plug-in software\u2026 yet. It could be that more will because there are hundreds of Email Service Providers<\/a>. And in my opinion, more should.<\/p>\nHere\u2019s why ESPs should offer an apps marketplace:<\/b><\/p>\n\n- It\u2019s really not the ESP\u2019s place to build integrations, but customers quite often have unique needs a generic platform can\u2019t meet.<\/li>\n
- Offering a place to sell to targeted customers encourages third-party integration by others.<\/li>\n
- A big plus is making the integration with an ESP<\/a> quick and easy.<\/li>\n
- It\u2019s a value-add for the ESP, because they can offer much more to their customer base.<\/li>\n
- It gives the ESP platform a lot of extra development power and insight.<\/li>\n
- The ESP\u2019s platform becomes richer, more powerful, maybe even easier to use, and more appealing to potential customers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Offering an apps marketplace is going to be a game changer for email service providers<\/a>, providing a competitive edge by offering their customers integrated applications that build on the platform for ever more powerful marketing. <\/p>\nNot every company can offer a marketplace, because you need a big enough user base to justify the cost. However, many smaller companies can benefit because they can build solutions to be offered elsewhere, via the marketplace, and that\u2019s what leads to the win-win: The big company (in this case, the ESP) can offer ways to enhance their product offerings, while the smaller company can reach a broader base of potential customers by building and offering a useful application that integrates with the ESP\u2019s platform. <\/p>\n
<\/span>Typical marketing apps offerings<\/span><\/h2>\nIf you\u2019ve ever wished for a special kind of functionality from or integration with your ESP\u2019s platform, it might exist already\u2026or perhaps it soon will. Just what can you find at an apps marketplace? Consider the 75+ apps to choose from the SalesForce Marketing cloud (ExactTarget)<\/a>\u2019s HubExchange marketplace as an example. <\/p>\nIn their marketplace, users can find software to help with: <\/strong>
\n\u2022\tSophisticated A\/B testing
\n\u2022\tContent marketing
\n\u2022\tEmail list growth
\n\u2022\tEmail analysis
\n\u2022\tSocial media integration
\n\u2022\tMobile marketing
\n\u2022\tValidation
\n\u2022\tCart abandonment remarketing
\n\u2022\t\u2026and more. <\/p>\nThe variety can be both deep and broad. Innovation often comes from these apps, as they form the application layer of the marketing software<\/a>. All applications are built to work with the ESP platform, eliminating the need to call in the IT department to build an API integration<\/a>. It can drastically reducing the time to implement your marketing software. <\/p>\n<\/span>ClickMail builds an app<\/span><\/h2>\nAt ClickMail we have some experience with apps on the developers side. We had already decided to develop an email analytics tooling<\/a> called eMVision. It is an application that enables deeper insight into email analytics, build upon the power of Tableau Software\u2019s visual reporting software. <\/p>\nWhen ExactTarget (now called SalesForce Marketing Cloud) announced they were launching their HubExchange, it validated our decision to create eMVision and gave us a targeted marketplace for promoting it to their users.<\/p>\n
With hundreds of ESPs in existence, probably not every single email service provider needs to offer an apps marketplace, or at least not on the scale that SalesForce Marketing Cloud does. But there\u2019s no denying the benefits of doing so, for the ESP, the customer and the third-party vendor. <\/p>\n
Having an apps marketplace will be a game changer in the marketing software ecosystem in the very near future. <\/p>\n
A marketplace is a central location where third-party vendors can offer downloads of plugins and software they\u2019ve developed to enhance an existing technology or platform. <\/p>\nThink about apps and you probably think B2C and picture the ones offered on your phone in that \u201cmarketplace.\u201d Now think about that same kind of marketplace but for a B2B world, offered not on a smart phone but a website. This is the scenario that\u2019s becoming more common, as leading companies jump on the \u201cthere\u2019s an app for that\u201d bandwagon.<\/p>\n
One in five top companies in the U.S. now operates an apps marketplace. Of these, studies show third-party Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) apps are outpacing their mobile counterparts (the former being B2B oriented and the latter typically being geared toward the consumer market). And of all the apps marketplaces now out there for your perusing pleasure, 43% belong to technology companies. Clearly, the \u201capp for that\u201d mentality is becoming the norm in the business world too. <\/p>\n
<\/span>Should ESPs offer an apps marketplace?<\/span><\/h2>\nDespite the fact that 43% of the companies offering an apps marketplace are technology-based, not every email service provider offers such a marketplace for third party plug-in software\u2026 yet. It could be that more will because there are hundreds of Email Service Providers<\/a>. And in my opinion, more should.<\/p>\nHere\u2019s why ESPs should offer an apps marketplace:<\/b><\/p>\n\n- It\u2019s really not the ESP\u2019s place to build integrations, but customers quite often have unique needs a generic platform can\u2019t meet.<\/li>\n
- Offering a place to sell to targeted customers encourages third-party integration by others.<\/li>\n
- A big plus is making the integration with an ESP<\/a> quick and easy.<\/li>\n
- It\u2019s a value-add for the ESP, because they can offer much more to their customer base.<\/li>\n
- It gives the ESP platform a lot of extra development power and insight.<\/li>\n
- The ESP\u2019s platform becomes richer, more powerful, maybe even easier to use, and more appealing to potential customers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Offering an apps marketplace is going to be a game changer for email service providers<\/a>, providing a competitive edge by offering their customers integrated applications that build on the platform for ever more powerful marketing. <\/p>\nNot every company can offer a marketplace, because you need a big enough user base to justify the cost. However, many smaller companies can benefit because they can build solutions to be offered elsewhere, via the marketplace, and that\u2019s what leads to the win-win: The big company (in this case, the ESP) can offer ways to enhance their product offerings, while the smaller company can reach a broader base of potential customers by building and offering a useful application that integrates with the ESP\u2019s platform. <\/p>\n
<\/span>Typical marketing apps offerings<\/span><\/h2>\nIf you\u2019ve ever wished for a special kind of functionality from or integration with your ESP\u2019s platform, it might exist already\u2026or perhaps it soon will. Just what can you find at an apps marketplace? Consider the 75+ apps to choose from the SalesForce Marketing cloud (ExactTarget)<\/a>\u2019s HubExchange marketplace as an example. <\/p>\nIn their marketplace, users can find software to help with: <\/strong>
\n\u2022\tSophisticated A\/B testing
\n\u2022\tContent marketing
\n\u2022\tEmail list growth
\n\u2022\tEmail analysis
\n\u2022\tSocial media integration
\n\u2022\tMobile marketing
\n\u2022\tValidation
\n\u2022\tCart abandonment remarketing
\n\u2022\t\u2026and more. <\/p>\nThe variety can be both deep and broad. Innovation often comes from these apps, as they form the application layer of the marketing software<\/a>. All applications are built to work with the ESP platform, eliminating the need to call in the IT department to build an API integration<\/a>. It can drastically reducing the time to implement your marketing software. <\/p>\n<\/span>ClickMail builds an app<\/span><\/h2>\nAt ClickMail we have some experience with apps on the developers side. We had already decided to develop an email analytics tooling<\/a> called eMVision. It is an application that enables deeper insight into email analytics, build upon the power of Tableau Software\u2019s visual reporting software. <\/p>\nWhen ExactTarget (now called SalesForce Marketing Cloud) announced they were launching their HubExchange, it validated our decision to create eMVision and gave us a targeted marketplace for promoting it to their users.<\/p>\n
With hundreds of ESPs in existence, probably not every single email service provider needs to offer an apps marketplace, or at least not on the scale that SalesForce Marketing Cloud does. But there\u2019s no denying the benefits of doing so, for the ESP, the customer and the third-party vendor. <\/p>\n
Having an apps marketplace will be a game changer in the marketing software ecosystem in the very near future. <\/p>\n
Here\u2019s why ESPs should offer an apps marketplace:<\/b><\/p>\n Offering an apps marketplace is going to be a game changer for email service providers<\/a>, providing a competitive edge by offering their customers integrated applications that build on the platform for ever more powerful marketing. <\/p>\n Not every company can offer a marketplace, because you need a big enough user base to justify the cost. However, many smaller companies can benefit because they can build solutions to be offered elsewhere, via the marketplace, and that\u2019s what leads to the win-win: The big company (in this case, the ESP) can offer ways to enhance their product offerings, while the smaller company can reach a broader base of potential customers by building and offering a useful application that integrates with the ESP\u2019s platform. <\/p>\n If you\u2019ve ever wished for a special kind of functionality from or integration with your ESP\u2019s platform, it might exist already\u2026or perhaps it soon will. Just what can you find at an apps marketplace? Consider the 75+ apps to choose from the SalesForce Marketing cloud (ExactTarget)<\/a>\u2019s HubExchange marketplace as an example. <\/p>\n In their marketplace, users can find software to help with: <\/strong> The variety can be both deep and broad. Innovation often comes from these apps, as they form the application layer of the marketing software<\/a>. All applications are built to work with the ESP platform, eliminating the need to call in the IT department to build an API integration<\/a>. It can drastically reducing the time to implement your marketing software. <\/p>\n At ClickMail we have some experience with apps on the developers side. We had already decided to develop an email analytics tooling<\/a> called eMVision. It is an application that enables deeper insight into email analytics, build upon the power of Tableau Software\u2019s visual reporting software. <\/p>\n When ExactTarget (now called SalesForce Marketing Cloud) announced they were launching their HubExchange, it validated our decision to create eMVision and gave us a targeted marketplace for promoting it to their users.<\/p>\n With hundreds of ESPs in existence, probably not every single email service provider needs to offer an apps marketplace, or at least not on the scale that SalesForce Marketing Cloud does. But there\u2019s no denying the benefits of doing so, for the ESP, the customer and the third-party vendor. <\/p>\n Having an apps marketplace will be a game changer in the marketing software ecosystem in the very near future. <\/p>\n\n
<\/span>Typical marketing apps offerings<\/span><\/h2>\n
\n\u2022\tSophisticated A\/B testing
\n\u2022\tContent marketing
\n\u2022\tEmail list growth
\n\u2022\tEmail analysis
\n\u2022\tSocial media integration
\n\u2022\tMobile marketing
\n\u2022\tValidation
\n\u2022\tCart abandonment remarketing
\n\u2022\t\u2026and more. <\/p>\n<\/span>ClickMail builds an app<\/span><\/h2>\n