B2B marketers hate being reliant on developers. I hear it at every industry event. Having worked both sides of this relationship, here are five practical recommendations.
1. Plan in advance
Establish documented expectations covering contact procedures, response time standards based on request type, and costs. Set different timelines for new features versus urgent bugs.
For external developers, documented plans should specify contact persons, communication methods, response time expectations, and costs.
2. Document requests
Use ticketing systems, project management tools, or email to maintain written records and clarify priorities. This creates accountability and provides records useful for performance reviews and budgeting discussions.
3. Use video for async communication
Recording quick screenshare videos is a high-bandwidth way to make a request or document a bug. Screen-sharing recordings with voiceovers help developers understand requests more clearly.
This reduces back-and-forth and minimizes interruptions to programming work. Transcriptions enhance clarity.
4. Establish a shared vocabulary
Clarify terminology differences between marketing and development contexts. "GTM" means something different to each side. So does "deployment."
Clarify terminology across teams to prevent confusion about technical and marketing concepts.
5. Make requests early
Submit requests with sufficient lead time, recognizing that technical tasks often involve unexpected complexity and iterative processes.
Technical work often requires more time than anticipated; advance notice enables better planning.
Key takeaway
Following these recommendations helps teams deliver high-quality web experiences more reliably, with less stress and fewer surprises. Communication is the name of the game for improving developer-marketer relationships.
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