September 2014 Summaries

Salesforce, a pioneer in the SaaS model, has been criticized for not being innovative enough. However, it has successfully reinvented itself by providing a platform environment that enables customers to solve problems and bring producers and consumers together. In contrast, Intercom is taking a different approach by offering simple, easily accessible APIs, webhooks, and open-source client libraries, making it easier for developers to build integrations with the platform. Intercom's philosophy prioritizes customer flexibility and creativity, allowing businesses to map their ideas onto the product rather than being dictated by it. The company has recently built a public API, webhooks, and client libraries, which have opened up new functionality and enabled customers to extend their Intercom UI, gain real-time views of customer support, and integrate with sales and marketing software.

We recently released the second generation of Intercom's core feature, in-app messages, which has been redesigned to prioritize personal conversations between businesses and customers. The new design follows three key principles: designing conversations not transactions, supporting the spectrum of interruption, and supporting non-verbal communication. These principles led to the creation of three message styles - big announcements, small announcements, and chats - that cater to different levels of interruption and formality. To minimize risks associated with a large release, Intercom ran extensive private and public beta tests, released the feature on an opt-in basis, and implemented a mandatory review and edit phase for customers switching to the new in-apps.