From Spreadsheets to Data Science: Tools for Apps of Any Size — Adam Landis, AdLibertas

On the podcast we talk with Adam about when and why to use an MMP, which subscription events to track in your analytics, and why A/B testing doesn’t always work the way you think it works.

Top Takeaways
📏 Understand what your users are doing to help define — and then achieve — your goal
📈 Spreadsheets are a great start, but growing sophistication requires something more long-term
🔧 Turning events into actions is difficult but necessary

About Adam Landis
👨‍💻 Founder and CEO at AdLibertas
💪 Adam has helped hundreds of apps — including Crossy Road, Temple Run and Audio Mac — influence user behavior through data collection and analysis.
💡 “How do you make sense of all this data that's coming out of the app? How do you understand what users are doing? What is the impact? And then what is the outcome of the changes you make?”
👋 LinkedIn | AdLibertas

Links & Resources
‣ Learn more about AdLibertas
‣ Read AdLibertas updates from Adam
‣ Follow AdLibertas on Linkedin

Follow us on Twitter
‣ David Barnard
‣ Jacob Eiting
‣ RevenueCat
‣ Sub Club

Episode Highlights
[1:44] The OG of apps: At the genesis of the App Store, Google and Apple fought over ads — and that’s when Adam got started. AdLibertas was born just a few years later out of the need to understand the data coming from users.
[6:34] The progression of data sophistication: Brand new app developers are hungry for thousands of data points. But are those really necessary at the beginning? Adam dives into startups getting to 1.0, understanding product market fit and balancing product versus infrastructure.
[9:39] View from the data stack: Adam talks about minimum viability and the importance of understanding what your users are doing before anything else.
[15:27] Every app is unique, but data speaks uniformly: How do you do deep, complex analysis early? Adam offers a smart strategy on what metrics apps should track to garner the most valuable insights.
[24:16] Blending freemium and subscription is an art: Getting sophisticated and buying users means understanding their long-term value and the real sources of ROI.
[25:57] The essential MMP stack: Adam and David discuss the when, what and how of MMPs.
[31:56] SKANing: It’s the mess that no one wants to talk about. But don’t worry: It’s okay not to understand because no one knows what’s going on.
[34:36] All praise to A/B testing: When it comes to A/B tests, losing can be better than winning. Adam explains that the proper way to test is to set the boundary before the test and not look at the data during testing.
[40:05] CRM campaigning: Adam and David talk about getting the most out of CRMs in terms of retention and re-engagement.
[47:13] In with the old, in with the new: Do you focus more on product or marketing? It depends on how big you are.