Launching this week, Tiger Pistol provides SMEs with the ability to create Facebook apps and tabs, and understand the value of their fans.

Target market

Whilst anyone can use the Tiger Pistol platform, its creators see SMEs as the key audience. “Where we see the opportunity for us is to capture a disproportionate share of the smaller guys. There's a lot more of them and they need a lot more help. They need things to be a lot easier, they're a lot more isolated and they've got less experience. We think there's a big opportunity for those guys because those guys aren't currently being served,” says Tiger Pistol Co-founder and CEO, Stephen Hibberd. “We have a lot of larger businesses that have already signed up to use our app, and a lot of agencies we're already working with and they will also use our platform,” he adds.

Off the shelf solutions

A range of off the shelf apps including custom tabs, sweepstakes, contests, share and win, coupons and promotions are available. Whilst there are many opportunities to customise the apps, the process is extremely easy, and users often input variables directly into a mock-up of the app. As Hibberd puts it, “Instead of putting all the ingredients for a chocolate cake on the bench and saying, ‘hey this could be fantastic,’ we present you with a chocolate cake and you can play around with the chocolate cake and see what works.”

Pricing

A range of pricing options are available from $9.95 per month for a custom tab to $29.95 + $2.95 per day per promotion for standard membership, and $249.95 plus $4.95 per day per promotion for a pro membership which will allow use of the apps without Tiger Pistol branding.

Marketplace

For those who are after help with prizes, design or copywriting for their apps, Tiger Pistol has a marketplace where providers can be found. “You can access our marketplace so you can find a freelance designer, you can find a social media consultant, you can find a product or a prior supplier through our marketplace, and obviously if you are a provider of those services you can register your services there, and attract new customers out of it,” shares Hibberd.

Data

The advantage for anyone using Tiger Pistol is that data for each campaign is collected and can be used to influence future campaigns. Whilst this information can be collected when a custom app is developed, having all of the information in one place and automatically captured is an advantage. “The thing you don't get with custom development is you don't typically get continuity of data and buildup, you have to find a way to do all those things separately,” says Hibberd.

Influencers

“We're able to know who's done what, so there are some insights around individuals. We can identify who we get the highest level of engagement from in our fan base,” says Hibberd. Whilst some user information can be drawn from Facebook, information gathered within the app is more reliable.

Reports are available detailing individual behavior with regard to the app, including who has participated, shared (and who they’ve shared with) and the rate of engagement of the people shared with. Accordingly key influencers can be identified.

Benchmarking

Another advantage of having multiple apps being developed through one platform is the ability to benchmark apps against one another. Whilst all of the results are anonymised, Tiger Pistol is able to give businesses an idea of the kind of response they might expect. Whilst costs of producing an app are relatively low, even an investment of $200 for a small business can be substantial. “If it's going to cost me $200 to launch a really sexy promotion; I can be having another staff member on the floor on Saturday for that and I'm not prepared even to spend that without have a sense of the return. So the whole point of the benchmarking is a way to demonstrate really simply, first that our product is outcome focused, but also the sort of outcomes you should be expecting,” explains Hibberd.