How DocuSign Increased Their Developer Marketing Conversion Rates By 50%

About DocuSign

DocuSign provides electronic signature technology and digital transaction management services. With a workforce of approximately 6,000 employees, they have established themselves as a leader in their industry. Serving over one million customers, DocuSign enables individuals and organizations to securely sign, send, and manage documents digitally, revolutionizing traditional paper-based processes. Their innovative platform has generated annual revenues reaching $1B.

Our team at DocuSign was responsible for developer marketing, encompassing various growth initiatives, social media, email campaigns, product marketing, and branding. Our role was to support businesses that leveraged our developer platform. During our annual planning process in Q4 2021, we uncovered new insights into the types of customers signing up for DocuSign. Our initial hypothesis about larger companies being our primary users was proven inaccurate, as our data showcased a nearly equal distribution between small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and market/enterprise customers. 

The Need to Broaden Our Marketing Approach

To address this, we recognized the need for a more comprehensive developer marketing plan that catered to the diverse range of individuals coming to our platform. Our team proposed changes to multiple aspects of our marketing strategy, including updating the developer center, refining our social media presence, revamping email programs, and rethinking existing programs entirely. This required us to align with non-developer teams and persuade them of the value and purpose of the developer platform. 

Throughout this project, key stakeholders, including the product and engineering teams dedicated to the developer platform, all played a crucial role. We collaborated with these teams, along with the marketing and content teams, to align our efforts and drive meaningful change. Each team brought their expertise and objectives to the table, working together to create a more integrated and successful developer marketing program at DocuSign.

We worked with the following key internal stakeholders:

• Product Management

• Developer Relations

• Technical Content Writers

• UX

• Core Product Marketing (PMMs focused on DocuSign products such as eSignature or Contract Lifecycle Management)

• Engineering

• Corporate Marketing (Web, Email, Demand Gen, etc.) 

• COO

• CTO

• Sales

• Solutions Engineering

Goals

Our goals for this project were to improve funnel metrics, such as email click-through rates, follower counts, and event attendance. We wanted to assess the effectiveness of our marketing efforts by tracking business impact metrics like developers signing up for trials and the number of integrations that customers put into production.

Framework

Principles of Developer Marketing

These are my keys for effectively going to market to developer personas.

1. Knowing the User and Connecting with the Product
   Similar to Google's mantra of "Know the user, know the product, and connect the two," we understood that developers have distinct tendencies and preferences. They are always eager to try new things, and they strive to be the smartest person in the room. They ask tough questions, cut through marketing fluff, and are driven by the desire to hack and outsmart solutions. Their inquisitive mentality is rooted in their passion for building things. Thus, our approach to storytelling had to be nuanced to this technical audience. 

2. Polished Messaging and Immediate Action
   In developer marketing, polished messaging is key. Relying on vaporware or super futuristic promises wouldn't excite developers and drive them to the next step. Instead, we needed to provide tangible value immediately. Unlike the traditional pre-launch approach, focused on driving general awareness, developers want to see demos and jump into the code right away, without a six-month waiting period.
   

3. Catering to Different Developer Segments
   Developers operate in various segments, such as full-stack Java, machine learning, and more. Each segment has its unique environment and nuances that we needed to consider. Understanding developers’ immediate action-oriented mindset, we adjusted our content and product launches accordingly, ensuring we catered to their specific needs.

4. Providing Tangible Value and Relevant Information
   To meet the expectations of developer personas, we recognized the need to provide immediate access to valuable resources. This meant delivering thorough and technical documentation, and offering codelabs and demos/sandboxes that allowed developers to try our product in their preferred language and IDE (integrated development environment). 

5. Understanding Paths of Usage and Tailoring Support
   Addressing the diverse needs of developers required a deep understanding of their paths of usage and providing the right support. We recognized that different platforms and integrations would be utilized by developers, and we tailored our messaging and materials accordingly. For example, we provided specific excerpts and support for Salesforce environments, while offering relevant resources for developers building on their own.

6. Timing of Product Launches and a Drip Delivery Approach
   Timing plays a crucial role in developer marketing. Instead of a traditional pre-launch approach, we adopted a drip delivery strategy. We gradually informed developers about upcoming releases, building anticipation. When we finally launched, we made sure to have a full slate of supporting materials, including blog content, webinars, sample documentation, and updated developer resources. 

7. Focusing on Relevant Channels and Materials
   Executing developer marketing effectively requires a focus on relevant channels and materials. We understood the significance of code labs and samples in different languages to address the diverse preferences of developers. Additionally, we developed a well-defined route-to-market strategy, considering partnerships and integrations with other platforms or software commonly used by developers. This ensured that our product seamlessly fit into their existing workflows and maximized its value.

Diagram: Principles of Developer Marketing

Developers are not one person, but segment into different personas

First, it’s important to recognize that there are different types of developers depending on who they are and what they are trying to do. We mapped our personas into four buckets:

1. SMB developers who are handling a lot of responsibilities

2. Enterprise developers who are part of a more specialized team within an enterprise IT system

3. “Doer” developers who focus on building applications

4. ISV partners who are using and evaluating systems to develop solutions for end clients.

Diagram: Developer Product Marketing Personas

Second, we took each persona and mapped their progression through the marketing funnel to understand their journey and what they are thinking and feeling at each step. This provided a more detailed explanation of what they need and where to focus marketing efforts in order to drive the business forward. Think of this as your buyer personas and marketing funnel combined into one view that centers on the buyer’s emotion at that stage of the journey. 

Example (see accompanying template):

5-Step Process to a Diversified Developer PMM Strategy

Our approach to diversifying DocuSign’s developer product marketing followed five key steps:

1. Developed Hypothesis: We identified a considerable amount of SMB customers, and sought data to back the hypothesis up.

2. Collect Data: We collected data and incorporated it into a comprehensive pitch deck to showcase new marketing opportunities.

3. Map the Journey: We built an action plan that would involve several departments to work together.

4. Get Buy-In: We pitched our journey to internal stakeholders to build alignment.

5. Translate to Individual Project Plans: We moved on to translating our high-level plan into individual project plans.

Diagram: 5-Step Process to a Diversified Developer PMM Strategy