How do you build a developer GTM strategy?

You can't think of developer GTM as just another channel you can tack on to an existing GTM motion, like paid social or sponsorships. Developer GTM needs to be an integral component of the company's strategy, with product, engineering, and sales all aligned towards making it successful. It requires hiring a different breed of marketer, specifically developers-turned-marketers, to operate. I think its also a lot easier to build this function during the early stages of your GTM journey to make cross-functonal alignnment easier. 

A developer GTM strategy requires a strong content and community focus. For some companies, especially those that come from open-source projects, the community focus is programmed into their DNA. They need to focus on hiring the right developer marketing team to produce content the community will find helpful. Marketing to developers looks more like education than marketing. Building content, reference implementations, and tools to make developers' lives easier should be the goal. 

But you also need to think about what happens after a developer signs up for your product. There needs to be a well-defined plan to nuture them over time or introduce them to a sales rep to discuss their use case in more detail if they have plans to use it in production. The nature of sales changes too, becoming more solutions-oriented and consultative. 

Building a developer GTM strategy is all about understanding and connecting with developers on their terms. I start with deep research to uncover the pain points they face and the tools they’re already using. It’s critical to make sure our product seamlessly integrates into their existing workflows, so it feels like a natural extension rather than something they have to learn from scratch.

At Sauce Labs, we’re fortunate to have an amazing DevRel team with industry-leading contributors to Selenium and Appium. I collaborate closely with them to create community-driven content and events—whether it’s technical blogs, open-source projects, or an engaged presence on platforms like GitHub and YouTube. We also prioritize hands-on experiences, like interactive demos or sandbox environments, because developers need to experience the product firsthand, not just hear about it.