Global corporation AppsFlyer thinks India is a big opportunity. Here is why

Fake advertising on mobile apps can bring a loss of $2.6 billion and advertising companies have to battle it out with these malicious trends apart from focusing on RoI for clients.

Did you know the best apps in the world like Facebook, Twitter, Google and other popular ones on your smartphones feature the technology of AppsFlyer, a mobile attribution and marketing analytics company?

How does it work? Businesses use data provided by AppsFlyer to understand their mobile marketing mix. Simply put, AppsFlyer captures actions and processes them for marketers, which enables them to make better decisions on spending. Its analytics is also used by Chinese companies like Tencent and Alibaba.

Apart from mobile attribution and action, the company is also able to inform marketers about fraudulent mobile app advertising which is impacting the advertising industry by a staggering $2.6 billion. Its data is considered most valuable by several corporations and has saved marketers a lot of money.

This Israeli company founded in 2011 raised over $83.1 million (in funding?) and has captured 60 percent of the Indian market in just two years of being in the country. Its competition includes Apsalar, Adjust, Localytics, Singular, Tune, and Applift.

Sanjay Trisal, Country Head, India - AppsFlyer spoke to YourStory on the Indian mobile market and how AppsFlyer views this mobile-first country since people are consuming internet on their phones and not on a desktop:

YS: Can you tell us about your first six months in the country. How did you establish your business here and capture a 60 percent share of the market?

ST: We came to India in September 2015 with a clear goal of scaling our market share to 50 percent by the end of the first year, which was a very aggressive target. We started by investing in tech support and customer success functions. We made customer success and our relationships with them top priority. We spent most of the time meeting clients face-to-face to understand their objectives and expectations. This helped us to align our product strategy in India and cater to the local market. Since its launch, AppsFlyer has become the number one mobile attribution and marketing analytics measurement platform in India with more than 50 percent market share in less than a year of operations.

YS: How did you win key corporates, talk about the challenges and what was the pitch that won them over?

ST: Being available when our clients needed us most, understanding their pain-points and being able to deliver solutions that solve our customers issues are what won our pitches. We ensured that we stuck to these basics in India, prioritising listening to our customers and responding quickly. We saw every challenge as an opportunity to serve. We were able to educate our prospective customers based on world class material on mobile attribution prepared by our global team. Our customers are not only positioned to win in India but across the globe.

As the leading unbiased mobile measurement platform we built great trust with Indian customers, giving them the data they need to invest in sser acquisition, campaign optimisation, and to drive Return on Investment (ROI) based on the right strategies.

YS: How did the data generated from the company help corporate entities and other major startups?

 ST: We leverage our mobile measurement and attribution solutions to help marketers optimise their advertising campaigns. These solutions provide marketers with the insight they need to streamline their campaigns and generate a higher ROI. Some of our revolutionary product features like Protect360, the strongest mobile ad fraud protection in the industry has also helped marketers to proactively deal with the huge cases of fraud that are prevalent in India and globally. India is one of the fastest growing markets for mobile marketing.. At AppsFlyer we have designated India as one of our key strategic markets. In India we have seen a hugely receptive market and have answered their loud call for an unbiased third party tool.

We have been successful in what we have been doing so far. At AppsFlyer we always believe our job is only one percent done. Our objective is to take on the complete measurement and analytics market in India and maintain that position. While 2020 is not too far away, we are focused on our short to mid-term objectives. I believe if we do everything right for today and tomorrow, the rest will fall in line. Our immediate objective is to ensure that we stay available and aware of customer needs.

We are constantly innovating and are keeping our ears on the ground for any new issues in the mobile landscape that might affect our clients. That is the reason why AppsFlyer launched more products and features in last six to eight months than the entire industry combined. These are clear signs of a leader and it is what will keep us ahead of the innovation curve.

YS: Talk about your global strategy and R&D?

ST: We are a global provider of mobile marketing analytics and attribution, but being global means catering to local markets. We have partnership managers in each local market to make sure our R&D team is solving the local needs of our customers. In India, to assure that the needs of the Indian market are met, we have a dedicated partnership success manager who works directly with media channels in India. We also have in-country technical support so we can respond quickly and directly to our Indian customers.

YS:What is your opinion on the startup ecosystem in India and where is it heading in terms of business and opportunity?

ST: As I mentioned before, India is one of the few regions which is at a very high double digit growth. All the factors are pointing in the right direction. The headroom available in smartphone penetration, socio-economic factors, the phone being the defacto first internet device, improved infrastructure availability and the dipping tariffs are clear cut indicators of high growth that we will continue to see in India.

In the past we have seen many ‘me too’ kind of startups who didn’t really take off. We now are seeing both legacy businesses and new startups trying to disrupt various legacy fields and redefining how a service can be offered. We have already seen a great adoption of FinTech, Video OTT, and utilities businesses. The future is very bright in India.