Self-directed Learners: How Developers Source, Evaluate, and Adopt Solutions

How can we, as marketers, best support a developer’s journey to adoption? In our most recent Developer Panel we learned about preferences, needs, and barriers at each stage of the journey.

Developers play a pivotal role in identifying solutions that support their projects and drive success for their companies. However, the technical demands of their work mean a one-size-fits-all marketing program won’t cut it.

How can we, as marketers, best support a developer’s journey to adoption?

In 2022, we hosted the first Developer Panel at CatchyFest, our annual in-person team event. The panel allowed developers to share their experiences, perspectives, and opinions across various topics, from how they find products to the role communities play in their purchasing decisions.

Fast forward to 2023, and an expanded group of developers returned to CatchyFest to share their thoughts on the marketing practices shaping the industry.

Senior Strategist Ziwei Chen was joined for the panel by:

• Alex Burner: Founding Engineer at Dropzone AI

• Andrie Lin: Risk and Data Analyst at TE Connectivity

• Trevor Stubbs: Senior Software Engineer at Axiom

Why We Host Developer Panels

Developer Panels allow our team to connect directly with the audience our work reaches. Through moderated conversations, they generate insights our team can use to support our clients’ marketing initiatives.

We compile questions throughout the year based on what our team sees in their day-to-day work. They cover various topics, including industry insights, developer motivations and pain points, preferred media channels, community resources, and best practices in developer communication.

Key Takeaways

1. Developers Spend Most of Their Time Solving Problems

“Brainstorming and coding go together for any project I’m working on.” Alex Burner

The challenges developers face in their day-to-day work require constant solutioning. A lot of their time is directed toward activities like research, brainstorming, and coding. Their problem-solving processes also lean heavily on collaboration, through their networks, third-party forums, and community resources.

2. Developers Prefer Solutions from Internal Sources

Developers in our panel agreed that internal solutions are often the quickest and easiest methods for solving problems. Internal solutions are typically sourced directly from an internal code base, internal wiki, or their existing network of colleaguesIf internal help is unavailable, then developers often turn to community resources like Slack, Hackernews, Stack Overflow, and YouTube.

3. Events are a First Impression - Not a Sale

“Developers enjoy content and want to get something out of the event. Demos and hackathons are especially popular.” Andrie Lin

From the perspective of our developer panelists, community events are most useful for first impressions. They provide exposure to new products and supporting content to contextualize potential applications. Similarly, they provide common ground to connect with other developers and grow their network.

Don’t expect developers to be sold on a product or engage with an initiative at an event. According to our panelists, most engagement occurs after the event when they can direct the process on their own terms and connect with other attendees one-on-one.

4. Evaluation is a Guided Path

“The best tools provide a branching path to what you need, allowing you to choose whether you start playing now, go to the docs, or view a tutorial.” Trevor Stubbs

While evaluation is a self-directed process, it’s up to us, as marketers, to show developers the path and allow them to walk it at their own pace. Our panelists want to “start where it makes sense to” with a get-started or introduction. From there, they want to find basic information about how to use the product, how their company can integrate it, and where to go next to continue exploring.

5. Content is Key to Adoption

Easy discoverability and navigation are crucial starting points for content. Across the board, our panelists referenced technical documentation as a fundamental part of the developer experience. “Good” content directed them to try things out without pulling them in other directions. Product claims without supporting evidence unsurprisingly mean very little.

6. A Sales Focus Loses Developers

“Are the docs written with a bunch of sales jargon? Or do I really feel that they’re written for me as a developer?” Trevor Stubbs

Terms like “click to subscribe” and “contact sales” were referenced by our panel as common barriers to adoption. As self-directed learners, developers are looking for useful information that supports their process and their work.

If they think it’s the right product, they’ll want to experiment with it, and developer-friendly resources can guide them forward on the path to adoption.

What’s Next

Stay tuned for more developer insights!

The Developer Panel is expanding, meaning more frequent opportunities to learn about developer marketing directly from members of our audience. Until then, check out the recap of our previous Developer Panel to learn how developers lean on community for products, resources, and support.