When I work with clients to build developer engagement strategies, I always begin by creating an ideal customer profile. Oftentimes, my ICP for each client overlaps because it is valid for most developer audiences. So, I thought I should share a few common developer personas.
An ideal customer profile is a representation of your most valuable customers. It demonstrates who is most likely to purchase from you, engage in larger transactions, exhibit high satisfaction, and maintain long-term customer relationships.
These profiles often include industry, company size, location, budget, specific needs or problems, and more. This information can be used to improve everything from marketing outreach and sales tactics to product development and community strategy.
For DevRel teams, a developer ICP can be invaluable for delivering an excellent developer experience.
As a whole, developers are a unique audience. One thing they usually have in common? They're extremely busy, meaning they won’t waste time (or money) on a product or community that doesn’t serve their needs.
By understanding the types of developers you’re trying to attract to your community, you can take a more strategic approach to:
If you haven’t done this process before, it may seem daunting. Rest assured, the juice is worth the squeeze.
While they may share a profession, developers are not a monolithic group. They work on different types of products, in different industries, and are motivated by different things.
Before diving into your research, get clear on the scope of the information you’ll be gathering. Demographics will absolutely be important, but also seek out the more nuanced details like specific interests, pain points, and motivations.
Follow these four steps to start creating your developer ICP:
This is different from being able to repeat your marketing department’s elevator pitch. Turn the tables and look at things from the developer’s point of view. Try to understand their specific pain points.
It’s possible that your product could be used by different types of developers or in various industries, but we’re not talking about those use cases necessarily. If your product were a key, which specific solution would it unlock?
The DevRel team has a specific relationship with developers in the community. When you’re down in the weeds every day, it can be hard to zoom out for a higher-level view. This is where other stakeholders come into play.
For example, ask sales about their best calls and their biggest deals to identify your most lucrative customers. Customer service teams can provide insight into who's found the most success with your product, who was eager to upgrade or expand their account, and who is most loyal to the brand. Start looking for commonalities between these high-value customers.
Some of the most valuable ICP information will come directly from the source via surveys, check-in calls, or community conversations. Current customers can tell you what brought them to your product or community in the first place, and exactly how it’s helped them.
Maybe they’re using your product in a way you didn’t expect, so you may need to refine the problem you identified above. Or perhaps you’ll notice that companies over a certain size tend to be less satisfied than others. Be open to both positive and negative feedback!
It’s time to sift through all of the data you’ve gathered and document your findings. As you distill the information, a picture should begin to take shape. It should contain quantitative characteristics such as revenue or business size, and qualitative characteristics like pain points. Document your brand new developer ICP and share it with internal stakeholders.
Remember, this profile will continue to evolve over time. Don’t be afraid to update it as your industry shifts, your technology advances, and your customer base grows.
My ICPs are drafted based on motivation, not just who developers are as a person. I want to know the best way to motivate my target audience to engage with me.
We’ll look at four of my favorite dev ICPs and what drives their decision-making:
They're motivated by:
How they think:
Open -ource developers are passionate about their work and will usually build things with no intent of seeing their investment returned. They are generous about giving back to the open-source ecosystem.
One pitfall with OSS developers is that they're more vocal and opinionated when they feel wronged. Ensure you're listening to them and implementing their feedback.
They're incentivized by:
Keep in mind that OSS developers are not motivated by money. They do appreciate things like thought leadership opportunities, rank, status, and showcasing their work—especially if that work helps them earn an income.
They enjoy swag, but swag is plentiful in the developer space. So be creative if you go the swag route.
If you really want to incentivize these developers, sponsor the open-source projects they contribute to. Not many companies are giving back to open source and it earns major trust with the developer community.
They're motivated by:
How they think:
These kinds of developers use your product frequently in their day-to-day lives.
You'll most likely find these developers working for an agency or freelancing. They use your product to build many projects for clients. As a result, they're hyper-focused on how to better it in ways that would improve their daily work.
They're incentivized by:
Remember that these developers need to use your product or one like it. So the more influence they have over it, or feel like they have over it, the better. If they don't feel like their motivations and needs are being met, they may choose a competitor with more opportunity for feedback.
They're motivated by:
How they think:
Developers who are looking for work are either seeking freelance gigs or their next career opportunity. These folks are both personally and professionally invested in their involvement with you. Every action they take is most likely a strategic move in their job search.
Consider doing showcases and shoutout’s as soon as you recognize that there are job-seeking developers in your community. A solid reputation boost through a social shout out, presentation, or other opportunity to showcase their work will build a very strong relationship with this person. They need financial stability and every bit of public recognition or acknowledgement of their status helps them achieve it.
Depending on how long they’ve been seeking work, they may actually be open to paid gigs. It’s rare that I recommend money as an incentive, but you may be able to swoop in and be a hero when they need it most.
They're incentivized by:
Both paid and unpaid work is appealing to this developer. While they're actively seeking advancements in their career, they may need to add to their portfolio so they can prove their expertise. Remember that anything you can do to help them get more work will incentivize this developer.
They're motivated by:
How they think:
These folks are working hard to build their own personal brand and reputation.
It could be due to their geographical location and their lack of opportunity there. Or it could be that they are seeking to shift into a more public-facing role, such as developer relations, and they want to become a more appealing candidate.
Whatever the reason, something is motivating this developer to care about their reputation. Provide them opportunities to be publicly recognized and showcase their work. They will see this engagement as a major incentive. They care about things like badges and roles in your community. They make great core contributors and moderators in forums, as long as you make sure their work is public.
They're incentivized by:
These profiles are just a start. If you’re creating ICPs for your developer audiences, they may get you close.
Make sure you focus your profiles on motivation in addition to who developers are and what they do. You want to know what's going to motivate developers to engage with you first, then learn more about how to engage with them as they evolve in your community.
This article was originally posted on Devocate, which joined the Common Room family in August 2022. For more developer relations insights and resources, check out the Common Room blog. Learn more about Common Room’s solution for DevRel teams if you're looking for an intelligent community growth platform to educate, empower, and enable your community.
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