Welcome to Campfire Stories, where we spotlight our Appi Campers and share their stories in their own words. We invite you to get to know and learn from other app marketing pros, experts and friends - as we continue to grow, and learn together as a community.
Olga Noha Campfire Story
Olga Noha is Chief Marketing Officer at SplitMetrics, an Apple Search Ads partner, offering an ecosystem of products and services to help mobile-first companies grow faster and easier. She has over 17 years of experience in building and scaling B2B marketing functions for global tech companies.
The Draw to Marketing
I am an engineer by education, a marketer by profession and a people person in my heart.
I realized engineering might not be the path I wanted to take once I graduated from college. When looking for other opportunities, I kept in mind that I wanted a job where I would still be able to apply the knowledge and skills I gained working with data analysis, while also applying my creative skills. Marketing seemed like the perfect blend of the two.
Marketing, to me, is a “people’s puzzle”. You will not succeed in marketing if you don’t have a comprehensive understanding of your target audience and what drives them. As marketers, we need to know what our customer’s values and motivations are. At the same time, marketing is a huge numbers game. Marketers need to quantify everything they do and understand the data behind their strategic decision-making.
Foray into Mobile Marketing
Compared to many of my peers, I am newer to mobile marketing. My engineering background naturally drew me to data and analytics. This passion led me to mobile marketing. Mobile marketing is a mix of everything that excites me. There are aspects of creativity, human psychology, data analytics and innovative technologies.
My mobile marketing journey started with SplitMetrics over a year ago and I feel very lucky that I found this company. While SplitMetrics is a well known name in the mobile marketing industry, they also prioritize their company culture. I believe strongly in the dogma, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” and at SplitMetrics they have proven this to be true.
Company culture is extremely important to me and something that I keep in mind when entering into a new position. SplitMetrics is 100% committed to the success of their customers and the team. They consistently build relationships with their partners, which is an aspect of marketing I find extremely valuable. There is also a celebration of diversity at the company which features an equal number of men and women, as well as people from a myriad of different backgrounds. I believe this diversity makes us more creative and innovative. We understand all kinds of different perspectives!
Driving Value Through Mobile Marketing
The fast growing and dynamic nature of mobile marketing keeps me excited and energized for the future. I love that we are focused on enabling people to change their lives for the better. Mobile phones have become an indispensable part of consumers’ lives, seamlessly integrating daily routines and enhancing the overall quality of life.
They serve as powerful communication tools that allow us to stay connected with friends, family, and colleagues regardless of distance. Mobile apps cater to our entertainment needs by offering games, streaming services, and social media platforms that help us unwind and connect with others who share our interests. Mobile phones have revolutionized how we communicate, access information, entertain ourselves, and organize our lives, adding immeasurable value to our lifestyles.
The mobile marketing industry is focused on driving real value to the consumer. Mobile devices are set to change the world for the better and our goal as mobile marketers is to deliver value to users via apps.
Creating Value as a Mobile Marketer
Utilizing Technology for Personalized Targeting
The ways in which we drive value as mobile marketers has changed throughout my career. In the earlier part of my time in marketing, we built our retargeting campaigns based on basic user demographic data. This included age, gender, income level, race, employment, location, homeownership, and level of education. We had this layer of personalization and targeting, but nothing more. Not many other tools allowed us to go beyond this basic level. It was big to just be able to target based on demographics!
With technology evolving and the mobile marketing space becoming more crowded, it is essential to dive deeper into what our users find valuable. As a marketer, we are no longer able to deliver value to the user just based on these simple demographic parameters. Users have become more overwhelmed with the volume of information they receive. Consumers are no longer satisfied with being approached simply based on their age or gender. They expect a much deeper level of personalization.
For example, it’s no longer enough to merely target a user by their age range, gender and approximate location. A 20-30 year old female on the West Coast may have completely different preferences and app usage behaviors than a peer of her same demographic in a different location. Their motivations may be completely opposite and therefore, they should be targeted differently.
Again, this is where the data analytical side comes into play!
Focusing on Retention
Another clear way to drive value to users is to focus on retention. With the current economy still unstable, companies should focus on retaining their users. While attracting new customers is essential, nurturing and retaining existing ones is equally, if not more, important. The cost of retaining a customer is lower than acquiring a new one, therefore making retention efforts a priority is a cost-effective way to drive revenue growth. In a competitive marketplace, where consumer choices are abundant, prioritizing retention acknowledges the value of customer loyalty and positions a brand for sustainable success. At SplitMetrics, we work a lot with our customers on scaling their Apple Search Ads campaigns. Many of our customers scale their ASA’s mainly because of this channel’s efficiency in user retention, as well as user acquisition.
Advice for Mobile Marketers
My first piece of advice to anyone in the mobile marketing industry is to stay adaptable and agile. The mobile landscape is in constant flux and while it’s important to have a strategy, it’s even more crucial to stay flexible to these changes.
My next recommendation is to dive into the data. We live in a digital age where data is your compass. You have to trust your intuition, but also pair it with the data that you have gathered on user behavior, patterns and preferences.
Lastly, never stop learning. There is so much information out there and the industry is constantly evolving. Prioritize educating yourself on the newest trends in the industry. Staying current with mobile trends enables marketers to adapt their strategies, develop cutting-edge products or services, and remain competitive in a rapidly changing market. Whether it's understanding emerging technologies, user behavior shifts, or security concerns, keeping a finger on the pulse of the mobile industry trends is a key factor in harnessing your full potential when it comes to mobile marketing.
Want to learn more about growth in mobile marketing? Get in touch with Olga to hear her expert opinions on marketing strategy and retention – or read more about Olga on her Appi Camper page.
