“Don’t Waste My Time”: What Developers Actually Want From Your Marketing
What I learned from my conversation with David Macias, ex-MongoDB, Dell Product Marketing Pro.
I just recorded my latest Tech Marketing Rewired podcast with David Macias, a product marketing pro who spent years at companies like Dell and MongoDB. We discussed a timely topic that’s a constant tension for technology marketing: the marketer’s desire to be creative versus the developer’s need for unvarnished facts.
It’s easy to fall in love with a clever campaign, but when your buyer is an engineer, that cleverness can be a liability. Developers are trained to be skeptical. They’ve seen countless “game-changing” technologies come and go, and their tolerance for marketing hype is zero. They don’t want to be sold; they want to be enabled.
My conversation with David was a good reminder of how we always need to be thinking about rewiring our marketing brains to serve this audience better.
Here are my biggest takeaways:
The Golden Rule: Less is More
Summary: David’s core philosophy is that developers are busy and just want to know what your product can do. The more you “sugarcoat” your message with marketing jargon, the faster you lose their trust. Get to the point, and let them explore the technical details on their own terms.
“Just be direct... you really gotta like, you know, cut out the fluff and all the marketing speak, right?”
My take: This is a hard lesson for marketers. We’re trained to build a narrative. But David’s right—for this audience, the most compelling narrative is a clear explanation of capabilities. The story comes after you’ve proven your utility.
They Can Smell the “AI-Washing” a Mile Away
Summary: When ChatGPT launched, almost every tech homepage was instantly “AI-washed”. David points out that your product doesn’t change overnight, and developers see right through this. Trying to ride a hype cycle without substance is the fastest way to lose credibility.
“You’re like your product didn’t change overnight. Really what you do didn’t change. And but you know, we we like anyone, you were like, well, you you kind of have to... make sure that you don’t get passed over.”
My take: The pressure from the board to “have an AI story” is real, but this is where marketers must hold the line. Your message has to be grounded in what’s in production today, not just what’s on the roadmap.
Utility Beats Cleverness, Every Time
Summary: Developers want to see the documentation and the demos—fast. Your high-level messaging should be a direct path to those resources, not a detour through a clever brand campaign. The goal is to reduce friction, not add layers of creative interpretation.
“I think they just want to know like what can you actually do? And then like I’ll go into your documentation or I’ll go into your demos pretty quickly, right?”
My take: This reframes the goal of marketing. It’s not about persuasion; it’s about enablement. Your job is to give them the information they need to make their own decision as efficiently as possible.
The Bottom Line. Don’t. Be. Cute.
Marketing to developers isn’t about stripping away all creativity. It’s about shifting your mindset from “How can I be clever?” to “How can I be useful?” When you prioritize utility and respect their time, you earn the right to have a conversation. Thanks to David, I have a clearer playbook for how to do just that.
Connect with David on LinkedIn.
Listen to the full conversation: Spotify Apple Podcasts YouTubed
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