What’s It Like Launching on the Xero Marketplace? Just Ask Lianne Gatti.

As a founder, you’re probably knee-deep in your product. Maybe you’re still in beta or ready for a public launch. Now you’re hearing rumblings about connecting with accounting marketplaces like Xero, Sage, and Netsuite. 

So why would you want to do that? What’s the benefit?

According to Lianne Gatti, Country Manager at Konsolidator, it’s all about getting your hands dirty.

“I could chuck loads of sales resources at people, telling a great value story. But there's nothing like having your hands on your own data, pressing a button, and getting your consolidated results. That's the proof of where you need to be.”

Konsolidator’s software helps finance professionals simplify the consolidation process. As the company expanded from the Nordics to the UK, they learned that UK customers had different expectations. 

For example, integration to an ERP or bookkeeping system wasn’t a high priority in the Nordics. In the UK, on the other hand, where cloud adaptation is more advanced, such integration is essential. 

The company also needed to hone their value proposition and communicate it to the new market. So they decided to launch a free trial on the Xero marketplace.

The result? Konsolidator saw a 25% conversion rate on ads driving traffic to the free trial and a 50% conversion rate from the free trial to the paid product. They’ve also been able to gather feedback via reviews from people who didn’t convert, giving them a better grasp of their target audience.

So what was it really like launching on the Xero marketplace? Here’s what Lianne learned.

There are thousands of apps in the Xero marketplace.

Before you even consider launching on Xero or other app stores, take a step back and assess the product-market fit. With so much competition, what makes your app stand out? 

“You can look at these products and think, ‘Yes, we definitely work really well with them,’ but do you?” Lianne pointed out. “How much competition have you got in these app stores? Are you actually solving a problem?”

Start by determining which customers your product serves, what problem it solves, and how people will find it in the app store you’ve chosen. 

If it’s a good product-market fit, great. If not, don’t be tempted by seemingly low-hanging fruit. The process will cost you time, money, and resources that could all go to waste if that marketplace isn’t actually the best place for your product. 

The process takes longer than you think.

Getting set up on the Xero marketplace is a complex, multi-step process. In other words, it’s not going to be done in a day. 

Lianne and her team learned the hard way that they needed to have three customers trialing the product for 30 days before launch. As a result, the launch stalled until they could meet the requirement. So if she could go back and change anything, she’d want to be better prepared for potential delays and to get customers involved earlier. 

To deal with delays and challenges, having a team with varied skill sets is essential. Since you don’t have access to live people for integrations — only videos and written content — you’ll need a team of people from multiple disciplines to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. 

The good news is that once you get through launching your product on a marketplace, you have a repeatable model to make your next launch much quicker and more efficient.

Content is a critical part of nurturing users through the trial.

Launching a successful trial is not as simple as turning on a switch and running a few ads. You also have to educate users on how to get the full benefit of the trial. 

Place video tutorials within the product itself to build up a knowledge base that keeps people in the app. This keeps users in the app and gives you useful analytics about which content people are most interested in. 

You can also send direct messages pointing out specific benefits and encouraging users to try out different functions. 

“When customers were going through that trial, they were actually getting that education piece,” Lianne said, “as well as us softly selling as part of that trial process.”

Finally, very targeted advertising helps drive traffic to the free trial without casting too wide of a net — or investing too many resources into marketing before all the kinks have been ironed out. 

Want to learn more? Listen to Lianne’s full podcast episode, Launching on the Xero marketplace with Lianne Gatti, on Scrappy Fintech Marketing.