Strategies for App User Acquisition | Faheem Saiyad from App Samurai

Ernesto Quezada: Pathmonk is the intelligent tool for website lead generation. With increasing online competition, over 98% of website visitors don’t convert. The ability to successfully show your value proposition and support visitors in their buying journey separates you from the competition. Pathmonk qualifies and converts leads on your website by figuring out where they are in the buying journey and influencing them in key decision moments. With relevant micro experiences like case studies, intro videos, and much more, stay relevant to your visitors and increase conversions by 50%. Add Pathmonk to your website in seconds. Let the AI do all the work and get access to 50% more qualified leads while you keep doing marketing and sales as usual. Check us on pathmonk.com. Welcome to today’s episode. Let’s talk about today’s guest. We have Fahim from App Samurai, director there with them. How are you doing today, Fahim?

Fahim Saiyad: Hi, I’m good.

Ernesto: Absolutely.

Fahim: It’s good to be with you. How are you today?

Ernesto: I’m doing great. Thank you so much for asking. I do appreciate that. Well, I’m sure, Fahim, our listeners are tuning in, wondering what App Samurai is all about. So let’s kick it off with that. In your own words, can you tell us a little bit more?

Fahim: Perfect. So, App Samurai is a user acquisition and app growth platform based out of New York. We are a Series A VC-backed startup with over 80 people globally. To put it in a small nutshell, every app, be it a brand, a game, or a non-game, needs to grow. Often, the channels used are social channels and paid marketing. App Samurai steps in as an alternative channel for marketing where you can leverage an ecosystem of solutions with programmatic placements, on-device solutions for pre-installs, and grow your app at scale.

Ernesto: Definitely. Thank you so much for sharing that with us. So that way our listeners can get a good understanding, Fahim, of App Samurai. What would you say is the key problem that you guys like to solve for clients?

Fahim: The app space is growing massively. Everybody that makes an app, and with AI coming into play, everybody can easily form an app. Once you create an app, the next step is user acquisition. How can you grow your app? How can you bring more users to the app? This market is highly competitive now. You have the big players like Facebook and Google, then you have everything that lies outside of these channels. That’s where App Samurai steps in. We have two separate portfolios. One would be the gaming sector, which is projected to grow to almost $700 billion in the next eight years. It’s a massive space for growth. Then there is the non-gaming side, which includes e-commerce, fintech, crypto, and the like.

For the gaming clients, we collaborate with different genres across the board. For example, if you’re a casual game, our flagship solution called the rewarded playtime helps you maximize user engagement. With this unique SDK, you reward users for every minute they play your game, maximizing your LTVs and ROAS. For games that monetize heavily via ads, such as hyper-casual or hybrid-casual games, we support them with offer walls.

For non-gaming clients, we offer a DSP that allows clients to buy programmatically with a focus on in-app campaigns. We also offer pre-installation solutions for Android devices, where your app can be pre-installed before the device is sold. This innovative approach helps brands be front and center when a user activates a new device.

Ernesto: Definitely. Okay, very great to hear that from you guys. So, how would somebody usually find out about App Samurai? Is there a top client acquisition channel for you guys?

Fahim: We have a healthy split of outbound and inbound strategies. We rely heavily on outbound efforts, with a team of BDRs doing prospecting. We focus a lot on ABM with customized LinkedIn approaches because we have solid value propositions. At the same time, we are investing in paid channels like organic SEO and Google, which are leading channels for driving organic leads. We are also empowering our team for advocacy efforts, making them all storytellers to cultivate a thought leadership approach. This helps increase brand awareness and drive more leads.

Ernesto: Definitely important. So, that way our listeners who are tuning in, Fahim, can go ahead and check you guys out. You can always visit them at appsamurai.com. What role does the website play for client acquisition, Fahim?

Fahim: Every aspect I mentioned earlier, from different features depending on the genre of the app and what you’re looking for, is designed with a very user-friendly UX on our website. The idea is that when a user comes to the website, with attractive call-to-action buttons, they can easily navigate through our pages based on their intent. The website is our biggest platform for driving sign-ups. We constantly release new blogs, webinars, and podcasts, so when a user searches for us on Google, one of these resources might pop up and bring them to our website. From there, they can easily navigate to the value propositions relevant to them. We redesigned the website a few months ago, and it plays a massive role now.

Ernesto: Definitely important. On that note, Fahim, are there any tools, tips, or methods that you would recommend to our listeners for website lead generation?

Fahim: Definitely. As you mentioned with Pathmonk, intent data is very effective for conversion. Data points are crucial for us too. We focus on understanding user patterns—whether they can find what they came for after clicking on an ad or search result. All our landing pages are data-driven. We conduct A/B testing and leverage Google Analytics to ensure that users spend time on our content. We’re constantly testing new graphics, banners, and call-to-actions. Plus, keeping the mobile website accessible is crucial because most people visit via mobile, not desktop. Having a mobile-friendly website is essential.

Ernesto: Definitely important. Thank you so much for sharing those tips and tricks with us, Fahim. Let’s switch gears a little bit and talk about you as a leader. You’re the director at App Samurai. What are some key tasks you focus on in your day-to-day work?

Fahim: Things move very dynamically in our space, as I’m sure they do in yours. We have a global team of over 80 people, with 35 actively working on operations for App Samurai. Since we help clients grow their apps every minute of the day, that’s a common focus. We often have team meetings and stand-ups. I also work closely with the marketing team to stay updated on what’s happening in the market. We have weekly sessions where we brainstorm new blog ideas, webinars, and product features. My day-to-day usually involves making sure the teams are self-sufficient and driving maximum value.

Ernesto: Definitely important. Thank you for sharing your day-to-day, Fahim. In the time you have available, since it sounds like you have a full plate, how do you stay up to date with marketing trends and strategies? Is there a preferred channel you like to use?

Fahim: I’m quite active on Medium. I love reading Medium blogs because they’re very organic, with a lot of thought leaders in the ecosystem. LinkedIn is also a key resource for staying updated. I spend a lot of time on both platforms, leveraging hashtags on LinkedIn to find relevant posts and insights.

Ernesto: Perfect. Thank you so much, Fahim. Let’s move on to our next section, which is our rapid-fire question round. Are you ready?

Fahim: All right, let’s go.

Ernesto: First off, if there were no boundaries in technology, what would be the one thing you would want to have fixed for your role as a marketer today?

Fahim: I think the ability to gather data. If there were no boundaries, I would focus on improving data collection. With all the changes in cookie policies, data collection is a big challenge for marketers. So, being able to read data and intent more clearly would be on my wish list.

Ernesto: Absolutely. Perfect. Great to hear that. Next up, what is one single thing that App Samurai is focused on the most at the moment?

Fahim: Right now, we’re focused on maximizing in-app purchases for games. As the industry grows, more gamers mean more purchases. That’s where App Samurai is focusing, especially with the rewarded playtime SDK.

Ernesto: Perfect. Thank you for sharing that. Lastly, you have a lot of experience in marketing, but what is one piece of advice you would give yourself if you were to restart your journey as a marketer today?

Fahim: I would have started looking at data points much earlier. Often, you go to market and launch something, and then the data comes in later. Ten years ago, searching for data points was much trickier. If I could start over, I would leverage market and data insights from the beginning, which would save a lot of time.

Ernesto: Perfect. Thanks so much, Fahim. We are coming to the end of the show today. But before we wrap up, I want to give you the last word. If someone forgets everything about this interview, what is the one thing they should remember about App Samurai?

Fahim: The one thing to remember about App Samurai is that it’s a one-stop shop for user acquisition. You come in with an app, and you leave with tens of thousands of users. That’s where App Samurai comes in.

Ernesto: Definitely. Perfect. It’s been a pleasure having you on. To our listeners, thank you so much for tuning in, and I’m looking forward to our next episode of Pathmonk Presents. Thanks a lot, Fahim.

Fahim: Thank you, Ernesto. Thank you for having me.