5 developer pain points backed by dev marketing pros

Here’s some food for thought: how well do you know your audience? Our State of Developer Marketing 2022 report is currently in the oven but we can already share some of the goodies with you.

We asked developer marketing pros worldwide what they believe their audience’s pain points are, and here’s what they had to say.👇

Agenda:

What are pain points?

First of all, let’s look at what pain points really are. In essence, they’re problems or issues that your audience (in this case, developers) are facing and which they need a solution for.

For example, if a developer is struggling with communication issues, one solution could be a tool that allows them to better interact and communicate with the rest of the team, the company, or even externals.

Why did we ask about developer pain points?

Our report aims to be a comprehensive look at the current developer marketing landscape, as we believe that both developer marketers and developer relations (DevRel) experts should understand their audience inside out.

This means knowing the problems they’re having, which can then inform their marketing strategies and guide product development.

Because no two developers are the same, each will have their own pain points – what one struggles with may be a walk in the park for another. This is why it’s so important to have a strong knowledge of your personas, including their likes and dislikes, their requirements and needs, their pain points, and so much more.

By doing so, you can provide a better customer experience too, as it can help you better engage with and reach out to developers.

5 developer pain points identified by our survey respondents

We asked developer marketers: “What do you think are the most common pain points of developers?” – it’s worth mentioning they could pick up to three options for this question.

Finding the right tools

The main developer pain point appears to be finding the right tools for the job (75%), which makes a lot of sense when you consider how much coding, beta testing, programming, etc., developers do.

Depending on the project they’ve got in their hands, they might need different tools than what they normally use, including some that are specific to their new project. If you know your target audience is struggling with this particular problem, then you can swoop in with a solution.

There are many different tools out there, and it’s impossible for developers to try them all out, so make sure you have as much information about your audience as you can. This allows you to create content that raises awareness of your product, for example, or tailor messaging just for the developers (increasing the odds of them choosing your product).

Rapid technological evolution

Another pain point mentioned by our respondents is keeping up with the rapid evolution of technology (68.7%). Tech evolves at almost dizzying speeds – with hot topics including Web3 and blockchain – and developers have to constantly adapt to an ever changing field.

All this innovation improves the way we do things, from advances in the medical field to amazing developments in space exploration, as we’re recently seeing with the James Webb Space Telescope.

However, it also means that developers must be dynamic at all times, have an open mind to new ideas, and find ways to apply products and tools to equally innovative projects.

This is a massive undertaking, and a way you can help solve this pain point is by understanding how the needs of your audience are evolving and how you can answer them.

Lack of resources

We also found that a lack of resources (50%) came in third on the list of pain points. This also makes a lot of sense! Developers are often on a tight budget, working with a software that has limited capabilities, or have a short deadline to finish a project, for example.

If you can know the specific issues affecting them, then you can come in with a solution that blows your competitors’ out of the water. You can send a survey out to them or request feedback from devs to better understand exactly what they need.

Micromanagement

Micromanagement (37.5%) is another issue developer marketers believe developers suffer from. This could be due to a lack of trust between management and the developer teams, for example, but the takeaway is that many devs – like most people – won’t enjoy being micromanaged.

If your company has a tool that allows stakeholders and leads to follow a project every step of the way without constantly asking for updates from their developer team, then devs might not feel as micromanaged anymore.

When you truly understand what your audience needs, you can better provide the solution that works for them, increasing the chances of product adoption and evangelism.

Absence of collaborative spaces

Our respondents also believe that an absence of spaces for developers to collaborate or talk (32%) is a big problem for devs.

There are several ways to address this pain point. Maybe you can create or join a developer community that provides the perfect space for people to ask questions, access expert help, learn from their peers, get a mentor, develop their skills, etc., or maybe your company’s product is a tool or platform that allows developers to gather in one place.

You can read more about the importance of communities in this article:

Of course, there are many other pain points to consider, which we talk about in the State of Developer Marketing 2022 report. For now, we leave you with this teaser!

Additionally, you can also get templates and frameworks designed to help you better understand your target audience, which you can access when you become a member of the Developer Marketing Alliance.

Join a community of like-minded individuals like yourself for networking opportunities, chat to other developer marketing pros, and more!