“We don’t include Zapier integrations on our app marketplace.”
“Our customers only care about native product integrations.”
“Not everyone uses Zapier, so it doesn’t make sense to add those integrations on our marketplace.”
Let’s debunk the idea that Zapier (or IFTTT, Make, etc) integrations don’t belong on your integrations or app marketplace.
There are many reasons product and marketing teams leave off integrations you can build through Zapier (which they call “Zaps”), whether because they “aren’t real integrations” or because a customer would need a paid Zapier account to use them effectively.
But you absolutely should! And I’ll cover the seven reasons why in this post:
7 reasons to add Zapier integrations to your app marketplace
- Capture attention
- Own the conversion
- Empower users
- Set expectations
- Data-driven decisions
- Build trust
- Leverage support
Whether or not you have native integrations, people are searching for the connections they need to make your software work within their existing tech stack.
For example, let’s say you have an integration with Google Sheets through Zapier.
A quick search in Ahrefs (a SEO tool) shows people search for “Google Sheets integration” with hundreds of other tools monthly:
Most of these more popular tools have Google Sheets plugins or integrations, but your tool could still be one people are searching for.
If it is, you want to have a page ranking first or second. And your marketplace page, optimized with integration details and to convert prospects, is the ideal page for that.
Plus, the searcher is more likely to trust your integration page than Zapier’s auto-generated template page. They’ll know that this particular Zapier integration will actually work for what they need.
Zapier does a fantastic job of promoting every connection. But when people find your Zapier integrations on the actual Zapier site, they’re more likely to be distracted by Zapiers’s offers.
That’s fine if they’re already customers simply looking for solutions to connect their tools.
But you want prospects on your site, because that’s where they’ll be most likely to book a demo or sign up for an account – which is what you want.
Lead conversion is alway more effective when prospects land on a page you own, rather than one owned by Zapier itself. That way, they can sign up for your product then head back to Zapier to create the connection.
Some of your customers will reject using an integration that requires Zapier, but many can still use it. Don’t ignore the second group because the first group claims your Zapier-built integration doesn’t work.
Going back to the Google Sheets example, many of your customers may find a Zapier integration to push new data to a spreadsheet works perfectly for what they need. But they won’t necessarily know that’s an option unless you have the integration listed in your marketplace.
Furthermore, don’t forget that your buyers may differ from users. Even though the person purchasing the software doesn’t prefer Zapier, a scrappy user may set up their own systems after the purchase is made.
Having these integrations listed in your app marketplace will reduce support questions and encourage use (and stickiness).
Although it’s a powerful tool, Zapier has limitations and usage considerations. And depending on the way your Zapier integration is set up, there may be a certain way Zaps can work to exchange data – and ways they can’t.
Lay all of this out clearly with use cases and examples in your app marketplace. That way customers and prospects can quickly identify whether this is a good solution for connecting their tech stack.
If not, they can request to have a direct product integration built, find an alternative solution, or move on quickly to a product that does.
Anyone who would like to use the Zapier solution gets an easy guide to setting it up for their use case. And your sales team can use the app marketplace to quickly and intelligently speak on the solutions available.
If 25 people on your app marketplace visit the page for your Google Sheets integration through Zapier, that’s fantastic. It means you’re providing a real solution for the users of your software.
If 2500 people visit that page, it may be time for you to build a native integration. Especially if you have customer requests, too.
This agile method can help you use data to identify your product roadmap. Create marketplace pages for any Zapier integrations you think customers might use, and pay attention to the traffic each of those pages is getting. It shows what the customers who don’t necessarily request new integrations may still want.
This is a data-driven way to prioritize your integrations roadmap.
An app marketplace is likely to rank higher for more keywords and be perceived as a more valuable resource when it has more listings on it. But we all have to start somewhere.
At Partner Fleet, we think 25 or more integrations is worth having an app marketplace platform, which means smaller programs and companies can really get started quickly.
But since your one Zapier integration offers thousands of potential connections, you can start your marketplace earlier and scale it faster. Having 150 marketplace listings rather than, say, 60 will earn you trust from prospects looking for a connected tech stack. And it’ll help your overall visibility in search results.
After building your integration, Zapier recommends surfacing your integration where users are looking at it and growing usage during the beta phase. They offer an option to embed the Zap builder on your site or app, but a link to the template builder from your listing page could be just as effective (or more effective).
Ultimately, growing usage of your Zapier integration comes down to your promotional tactics. But one go to market campaign won’t be effective in driving ongoing use.
And with each use case being more specific to the tool you connect to in Zapier rather than the Zapier integration itself, a page for each of the most commonly used ones is your best bet.
3 tips for adding Zapier integrations to your app marketplace
As you can imagine, there are right and wrong ways to add Zapier integrations to your marketplace. You want to highlight solutions without being misleading about which integrations are native-built. Here are a couple of tips for setting up your marketplace in the right way:
Create badges for “Build with Zapier”
A badge on your homepage for each listing card will do 2 things:
- Identify for visitors the expansive connection opportunities through your Zapier integration
- Help visitors who want to use only native integrations identify which ones won’t work in a glance
Partner Fleet can easily help you create attractive and informative badges for the cards on your homepage, search results, and category pages.
Offer a “Built with Zapier” filter
While badges can help your app marketplace visitors scan, a filter can help them narrow down integration options. They can click to remove all the Zapier integrations leaving native built ones, or select only Zapier integrations to investigate new options for connecting their systems together.
Provide setup steps for building the Zap
You may be surprised how many customers sign up for a Zapier account for this one integration. But they may not know how building Zaps works or that templates are available.
So we recommend creating a step-by-step setup guide for each “integration.” Although it may take a little time on the front-end, it’ll make set up for your users much faster and easier.
Make sure to include what accounts platforms will need. For example: “A Google Sheets account, a Zapier account, and our free plan or higher.”
Ready to create a scalable marketplace? Use Partner Fleet to build and grow your ecosystem.
For easy filter options, integration badges, and a management tool built just for your app marketplace, check out Partner Fleet. Book a demo to learn more.
