How to market a product for developers?
Is your product targeted towards developers? Developers tend to be more critical and meticulous compared to the average consumer, so you may need to adjust your messaging and strategy accordingly. Here are some tips on how to market your product to developers effectively.
Offer free trials.
Developers are very hands-on and usually test out different platforms before committing to one. Developers tend to not buy into sales or demo calls, but rather, prefer to test out the product themselves. It's therefore vital to offer free trials for them to understand the ins and outs your product.
It's also important to allow enough time and room for the developers to fully test out your product. Hence, we recommend offering a usage limit instead of a time limit for the free trial, so that they can play around with the product at their own pace.
Simplify the sign up process.
Offer users the option of signing up via Google, GitHub, or other platforms for a quick and easy sign up. You can also increase sign up rates by explicitly mentioning that no credit card is required for the free trial.
Provide full access to resources.
Developers are very critical and need to understand the ins and outs of the platform before committing to it. Is therefore important to provide as many resources up front for them to fully understand the platform. This can include video walkthroughs, written tutorials, documentation, and change logs.
Also consider adding an FAQ section on the website to address any common concerns. And FAQ section is also good for SEO, as it improves the chances of your question-answer showing up as a featured snippet on Google, allowing you to overtake traditional search results and show up at the top.
Avoid salesy or abstract descriptions.
Developers are more critical, quantitative, and objective, so try to avoid the following language.
Abstract copy:
Think different.
Just do it.
Buzzwords without much meaning or context:
AI-powered XYZ.
Democratizing XYZ.
Revolutionizing XYZ.
Being the first or #1:
The first XYZ.
Pioneers in XYZ.
The #1 platform for XYZ
While these may work for general consumers, developers tend to prioritize the features and functions. Instead, clearly describe your product or service, stating your competitive edge, value, or ROI. What quantifiable results can developers get out of it?
For example:
Optimize 3D your objects. Reduce memory allocation by X% without quality loss.
Ask developers to review
Developers tend to speak the same language, so try asking your own developer team to review your messaging and marketing approach to see if it resonates with them. Better yet, if you know of any developers outside of your organization, such as friends or connections, it's recommended to get their opinions too. Does your messaging resonate with them? Do they feel inclined to try out the product? Why or why not? An outsider's opinion is more accurate of how a new prospect who has never seen your product would react.
Additionally, ask the developers to test out the product. What did they like and not like about it? What needs improvement? What features would be worth promoting in your branding and messaging?
It's also important to understand the buyer's journey from a developer's point of view.
Ask where or how they would search for a similar product, and focus your marketing efforts on these channels. For example, developers may be more active on platforms such as Stack Overflow, GitHub, Reddit, Discord, instead of the popular marketing channels such as Facebook and Instagram.
Marketing a product to a niche audience requires a thorough understanding of their perspectives, values, and buyer journey. Selling to developers is no different. It's important to understand what developers look for and prioritize when selecting a product. It's important to know what types of branding or messaging resonates with them, and what channels they use on a regular basis to communicate and search for things. Design your marketing strategy around these key points in order to maximize your reach, and improve conversion rates.