The View from 30,000 Feet
Working in the cloud offers unique challenges to developers and unique opportunities for software tool vendors looking to address this market. What was a new frontier has quickly become an accepted and established market as more apps, programs, developers and businesses have migrated to internet-based cloud computing. Working in the cloud involves thoughtful development and management to ensure that the cloud user is maximizing efficiency and resources.
What Developers Want
According to the DeveloperMedia User Survey, independently conducted by Evans Data Corporation, developers are highly influential in the decision-making process on which tools to use as well as which cloud services to use. Key decision makers tend to involve developers in the decision-making process because of their technical acumen and general knowledge of capabilities of software tools and cloud services. As you can see from Table 1 below, developers are involved in almost 80% of purchase decisions.
Table 1 – Developer Involvement in Purchase Decisions
| Which best describes your involvement with purchasing of tools or components for your development or operation efforts? | |
|---|---|
| Identify needs and make recommendations | 44.5% |
| Approve/authorize expenditures | 14.1% |
| Approve/authorize expenditures | 10.9% |
| Requisition specific tools and components | 8.6% |
| None | 21.8% |
| Total | 100.0% |
An important distinction to make is that while developers have a great degree of influence in purchasing decisions, many times, large-scale decisions such as cloud selection are in the hands of a development team. According to the Developer Economics/State of the Developer Nation survey published recently by SlashData, even when decisions are assigned to a development team, the developer team leader is usually the key influencer in decision-making.
What Does This Mean to Advertisers?
Put simply, the survey data supports the role of the developer as a key influencer in purchase decision-making. As an advertiser, understanding the needs and motivations of the developer community is key to influencing your target market. There are a number of paths which can be taken to reach the developer audience, as discussed in the Marketing To Developers Field Guide, published by DeveloperMedia. Since events and experiential marketing have not rebounded from the COVID pandemic, digital display advertising remains one of the most effective ways to reach your audience, and is one of the easiest ways to measure results.
When crafting your advertising message and creating an effective call to action, consider the data presented in the surveys referenced above. Recognize that developers are well educated and media-savvy. They know the languages, and as traditional first adopters, they are open to testing new tools to gain efficiency. They trust respected brands, and they have a low tolerance for predatory or annoying efforts to gain their contact information. Trust is earned within the developer community — and timing, placement and frequency can help or hinder your campaigns, depending on how well both are managed.
If you are seeking to connect with the developer community engaged in cloud-based tools, consider partnering with DeveloperMedia to take advantage of their expertise and experience in this area. DeveloperMedia has the resources to help you develop campaigns which are effective and provide measurable results.
Resources
Investopedia – Cloud Computing https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cloud-computing.asp
DeveloperMedia User Survey https://developermedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/DeveloperMedia-Audience-Survey-2021-v210503.pdf
Evans Data Corporation https://evansdata.com/
SlashData Developer Economics / State of the Developer Nation https://www.developereconomics.com/resources/reports/
DeveloperMedia — Marketing To Developers Field Guide https://developermedia.com/marketing-developers-field-guide/
