In-Product Messaging may not seem like it changes the game, but adding it to your marketing plan reaches consumers in a new, and memorable, way.
What, exactly, is In-Product Messaging? In-Product Messaging (IPM) is a type of channel that delivers messages directly to end users while they’re using specific products such as apps, websites, portals, software on different surfaces like smartphones, tablets, personal computers.
Why should I care about In-Product Messaging (IPM)?
In-product messaging (IPM), in recent years, rapidly became one of the most effective tools for companies looking to deliver highly targeted messages to their customers. According to Intercom, in-product messages are 1.5 times more likely to be opened as emails, and 6.7 times as likely to receive a response.
As marketers, we’re always trying to find ways to impact engagement metrics positively, and most importantly, enrich the user experience for customers. You don’t have to be an app or software company to benefit from IPM. For example, any company with a website or customer portal can significantly improve their reach and overall customer satisfaction by leveraging IPM.
Don’t get me wrong, email marketing is still an essential part of any marketing strategy. However, it can be difficult to get your emails to stand out in a crowded channel.
With so much competition for attention, it makes sense why companies are turning to IPM solutions as another channel to help support other marketing and customer support initiatives. Think about it, when a customer logs into your product, surface, or website, the only message information they will see, will be yours and yours alone.
Putting IPM Into Practice
Let’s imagine you’re an application company that offers monthly and annual subscriptions. And, the primary goal of your marketing initiative is to convert users to longer subscriptions and improve customer retention.
Using IPM allows you to target those customers uniquely while they’re active on your application. Meaning, you could potentially entice them to migrate from a monthly subscription to an annual subscription, which helps to increase the number of users extending their subscription plans. Alternatively, maybe you want a better way to remind customers their plan is about to expire. This hopefully reduces the number of customers lost to expired plans. A custom IPM solution can easily support either scenario and potentially drive higher conversion or retention rates than email campaigns.
IPM is the perfect complementary tool to help push the needle and innovate your marketing and customer support strategy. If you’re having issues getting the right message in front customers at the right time, then IPM might be the solution.
Is In-Product Messaging right for me?
This question is fundamental for you and your team to consider. IPM is a powerful tool that requires significant buy-in across the company. It can take a considerable amount of time before you see a positive ROI, especially if you’re looking for a custom solution.
It typically makes more sense for companies with multiple products or a large customer base to invest in IPM, versus a small start-up app or software company. That way you can spread the cost across multiple teams, products, business units, and strategies.
However, that doesn’t mean smaller companies won’t benefit from integrating IPM into their marketing strategy, or even from a customer support standpoint.
The number one question to ask before implementation: What’s driving our desire to use IPM? Is this a functionality that would be “nice-to-have,” or is it genuinely business-critical? Because implementing, designing, maintaining, optimizing and managing everything involved with IPM can be a significant cost and time investment.
If you’re considering beginning an IPM solution (custom or out-of-the-box), make sure you do your due diligence when vetting possible solutions. Most importantly, focus on whether it even makes sense for your company to invest in IPM.
Final Thoughts
Targeting users with the right message, at the right time is now essential for companies looking to deliver a more robust user experience.
New channels, such as IPM, give companies the opportunity to deliver messages to their customers when it matters most, regardless of whether that message is marketing or support related.
Delivering relevant and helpful in-product messages while consumers use your product, surface, web portal, or visit your website, can help drive your company closer to achieving your overall marketing and customer support goals.
