On Building an Ecosystem
you can build an app or you can build a company.
below are a few announcements that bolster our focus on the latter.
data
our stats server has more than 5 billion notifications.
with 25 stored attributes per impression or click, this totals over 130 billion data points in the Fomo ecosystem.
using machine learning models we create intelligent settings recommendations for increasing conversions and engagements.
these insights are published and summarized for anyone interested in ecommerce buying behaviors.
learning
from UX research to private betas, we're always seeking knowledge.
these key learnings impact our product roadmap, team member recruiting, and budget.
in addition to our public knowledge base, we have a Fomo-only portal with advanced workflow how-to's.
service
we care more about existing customers than potential customers.
for that reason, when we achieved profitability 2 months ago, we didn't hire a sales person.
we hired a 2nd support engineer.
by targeting the West Coast, we now proudly offer live chat support 11 hours per day, w/ part-time availability on the weekends.
prefer to chat on the phone? great.
call my cell: 646.586.9408
development
beyond building dozens of features, we rebuilt our entire platform from scratch and migrated thousands of customers overnight.
when something feels slow, we refactor.
if hosting expenses 10x, #yoho (you only http once).
success
soon after our public launch, we collaborated with Yotpo to write a book about social proof.
then, during our first ever in-person team meeting, we hosted a 36 hour hackathon and built Fomo Toolbox, a free suite of plugins that add personalization to any website.
after observing common patterns in website usability, we launched Free CRO Reports.
leveraging the UserBob API, we invited 6 beta testers to receive complimentary qualitative analysis of their website, by a total stranger.
results were positive, and our next step is to whitelabel a self-service version of CRO reports for any customer (or non customer) to improve their website, free.
but conversion rate optimization isn't all we do.
Fomo is interested in the quality of service you provide to customers, by extension of our own commitment to service.
for this reason we launched Shlack, a 100% free tool that helps Shopify entrepreneurs perform customer service from a Slack channel.
<a href="https://apps.shopify.com/shlack>
speaking of Shopify - it makes sense to mention our first investment.
last month we acquired Built with Shopify, a free resource dedicated to Shopify success stories, including revenue metrics and challenges faced.
<a href="https://www.builtwithshopify.com>
over the next few months we're rebuilding Built with Shopify, unlocking more opportunities to help ecommerce entrepreneurs grow.
what does this mean?
investments in service, product, and customer success demand significant resources.
while we're lucky to have achieved profitability, we're more excited about investing those profits back into our users.
beginning today, we're increasing our base monthly price from $19 to $29.
this $10 difference -- if it isn't cannibalized -- will be invested in:
- more advanced reporting and analytics
- sending engineers to developer conferences
- increasing plan limits
- premium CRO content
- new integrations
- expanding our global presence
we've learned a lot since launching the world's first social proof marketing platform, and feel comfortable charging $1 /day for more conversions.
i look forward to another year of growth alongside our partners, and i encourage all businesses to be bold and thoughtful in their pricing, too.