Decoding The Truth: Why Software Developers are so Indispensable in Marketing 

Marketing. It’s the lifeblood of influence across all industries and a key element in both purchasing and decision making. Marketing can range from colour psychology – say, for instance using red and/or yellow in food-based business marketing to evoke a sense of hunger, to psychographic microtargeting – as witnessed by the Cambridge Analytica scandal trying to sway voting influence. As with any industry, marketing is being more and more data-driven in its approach. But how we transform that data, and use it to inform both the marketing and sales funnels, is the work of software developers.

Software development for websites

Web development is a staple of the software industry – and one of the key foundations of any company’s marketing efforts. With a slick looking website with easy to navigate pages, the right SEO behind the scenes, security in place, and visitor tracking, businesses can boost their marketing results on web.

Software developers are needed to build the website, whether it’s with WordPress, a headless CMS or custom code, for maximum impact. The basic skillset for web devs includes CSS, Javascript and HTML. Trying to learn these skills as a solo entrepreneur or small business is beyond the limits of many people’s time and capabilities – which is why bringing in a developer is necessary.

Data manipulation and reporting in marketing 

In marketing, it’s critical to ascertain which methods, campaigns, and techniques generate both the most leads as well as reach the widest audience. Tools such as Google Analytics can help marketers and marketing operations specialists manipulate and visualise the data – but it’s limited in scope to what the tool supports.

This field is dubbed Martech – and companies stack multiple tools to gain the most complete picture of the effectiveness of their marketing efforts. Of course, these tools are created and built by software developers, whether it’s Google Analytics or a boutique marketing tool such as Sendoso. For more mature marketing departments, these tools share and combine data to give a bigger picture – or one where data is in the same place.

For truly specialised and targeted marketing data manipulation and workflows, a software developer is needed to build out those ‘go-betweens’, customise reporting, and create innovative new solutions that inform marketing efforts.

A note on affiliate marketing

And of course, we cannot leave out affiliate marketing, because there’s a high demand for skilful software developers in that scene too. Let’s take a typical example: real money online casinos are popular in New Zealand, and their popularity is owed to the fact that these operators are marketed well.

Software developers – bridging the gap

Marketing would be nothing without software development. We’d be relying solely on customer focus groups, paper-based self-reporting forms, and pure sales number to tell us the story. While these type of techniques worked in the past, we now have software to more accurately gauge consumer behaviour, sentiment, and what has a good chance at working.

The issue is often that marketers have such fierce reliance on their current tools and a misunderstanding of how various tools can interact for maximum effectiveness.

It takes a marketing leader with significant insight or interest into the applications of software in the department to make a company a leader within the space. Where creativity intersects with data is where the magic is made and where developers can help bridge the gaps.

Tips for Martech-lead business decision-making

There are quite a number of things to keep in mind in this regard. We’ll be listing the most important points hereunder.

Let an expert take the reins

If you don’t know where to start with building technology-lead marketing for your business, then it’s best to leave it to the experts. Get in a consultant to advise on the best course of action, which may include tools to purchase, building a website and workflows, and more.

Ensure you are measuring the right data points

Is a viral TikTok any use to your marketing efforts if it doesn’t lead to any sales? Probably not. Make sure that you are measuring the right data points in your marketing.

Make sure that creative and your data tracking are on the same page

The creatives on your marketing efforts will often think they know what’s best – but that’s not necessarily the case. With the right data-driven insights from your Martech stack, it’s the data that can help shape their campaigns and ideas. Make sure these two separate functions are in sync or you will find conflict in your marketing efforts.

Stay on top of the best tools and workflows for the job

Marketing is constantly evolving – it’s not something that you can simply set and forget for five years. Keep on top of what’s hot and best practices in the space for the best outcomes for a business.

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