Working as an online team. Part two: What a Developer needs to know about Marketing

Developers and Designers may need some insight into how to work alongside Marketeers as they might have limited knowledge of what Marketeers actually do. Here's some advice and suggestions to aid them.

1. The Conflict of Interest

Developer/Designers are interested in making websites that are impressive. Marketeers, on the other hand, are looking to make something that will make money. Because of this, there are trade-offs to be made.

Just because there’s a conflict of interest, doesn’t mean there has to be a conflict.

2. Online Marketing and SEO are NOT the Same Thing

Nowadays, although not in every case, a marketeer knows about SEO but not web development. They know how the URL structure should be formed without knowing how it’s done, they know the ‘alt’ tag of an image can contain keywords but not that this is not the intended purpose.

Alas, SEO is just a fragment of what online marketing is about. Online marketing includes: SEO, setting up affiliates, sales, networking, advertising, analytics and perhaps usability. Let’s face it: There’s plenty of developers out there who get nervous answering/making phone calls.

Although, it could be said that, a developer knows more than a marketeer about SEO. Online marketing has many more elements to it. This is why marketeers are seen as the experts on making money online.

3. Document and Prioritise

As a developer, I dislike it when the spec, the feedback, or the requested revisions are poor. But it’s up to the developer to make sure that, when they request these, they document how this is to be done.

If you send an email, you’re gonna get an email back. If you send a word doc you’re gonna get a word doc back. Tell the marketeer exactly what you need and how you need it.

There will be times where you’re going to be swamped. Work will be coming out of your ears and people will still be assigning you more.

At this point, you need to prioritise. Ask the marketeers what’s important. Ask them if there’s corners that can be cut, ask them if a deadline can be extended.

Marketeers tend to be very good at prioritising. If overwhelmed ask them to assist you.

4. Business is All About…

Money. Making money to be more precise.

What a developer needs to know is one cruel harsh fact (and it pains me to say it): Sometimes it’s not about the final product. Sometimes it’s not about quality. Sometimes it’s about efficiency, by releasing the product (anything from landing page to a full-blown web application) before the deadline.

Sadly, sometimes it’s about swallowing your pride. Business is ALWAYS about money.

5. Learn How to Accept Criticism

Criticism is your friend. If the feedback is bad and the marketeers are unhappy with your work, listen. It’s the best way to improve as a developer. If they insist, for example, your menu is too complicated for people to use – well then don’t use it!

In saying that if you receive a email that says “I don’t like it” or something similar, you need to get back to them and demand why they don’t like a certain feature.

Accepting constructive criticism will prevent you from a “learning from your mistakes” scenario.

So that’s part two. Part three is next week. Same BrightSky day, same BrightSky channel.

For these articles so far, developers and designers are terms I’ve been using interchangeably. Designers and developers work with marketeers in much the same fashion. Next week, however, I’ll write a piece on how designers and developers can get along better.

Edit: read part 3 here.

Anyway, please leave your comments below.

Tags: Design/Development/Marketing/SEO
Posted in Blog by John |