DEVOPSdigest

According to Gartner's 2023 CMO Spend and Strategy Survey, nearly half (46%) of B2B CMOs say their company views the marketing organization as a cost center rather than a profit center.
In a recent study by Netlify, The 2024 State of Marketing and Web Development Collaborative Workflows 150 marketing leaders and 150 development leaders both expressed their yearn for autonomy, revealing areas of improvement for the marketer-developer relationship.

Priority Misunderstanding and Misalignment

Marketers and developers have different roles to play in the success of a project. While marketers are often concerned with reaching the right audiences, driving conversions, and getting fresh contacts into the sales pipeline, developers typically prioritize usability, accessibility, and core web vitals.

There isn't a clear line in the sand that signifies where one role and responsibility starts and ends, but clear ownership often makes for better alignment and understanding. In fact, 57.61% of developers say they lack the understanding of what marketers need and 63.91% of marketing and development leaders agree there's a gap in translating marketing objectives into technical requirements. This misalignment can often result in costly rework, which can further damage trust and hamper creativity.

The Tools Available Were Not Designed to Facilitate Collaboration

Miscommunication and shifting priorities can be difficult to overcome. When the tools available suit the needs of one group over another, it becomes a challenge to collaborate effectively.

Marketers and developers alike need innovation to boost their team collaboration, with 56.29% of respondents saying collaborative tools and platforms need improvement between marketing and web development teams. The outdated tools are causing inefficient workflows, with 42.72% of respondents claiming outdated software and hardware is a top technology reason why web developers and marketers don't work efficiently.

Marketers Seek Autonomy Across Teams

Effective collaboration doesn't always mean working with the same tools at the same time. Sometimes, effective collaboration means setting up teams for success by providing the necessary templates, guardrails, and autonomy.

Developers and marketers alike yearn for autonomy — or at least the ability to be more self-sufficient. 87.42% of marketers wish for more direct control over web content without always needing developer support. Furthermore, 68.21% of developers think their marketing colleagues underutilize the capabilities of the web development tools at their disposal.

Marketers want more control, but developers believe the option may be there — it's just not utilized, or perhaps its benefits are unnoticed.

The Bottom Line for Marketing and Web Development Workflows

Best work rarely originates from places of frustration, miscommunication, and misalignment. Making matters worse, 56.29% of developers agree that faster web development cycles significantly improve campaign results. The faster and more efficiently campaigns can be rolled out, the more likely they will strike the right cord in the market and shrink the potential for rework and false starts.

When teams come together to use the right tools, boosts in collaboration can not only make the workplace a better place to work, but also enhance efficiency and drive better business results.

The survey findings reveal that with a single, composable web platform, enterprise-level decision makers can break down silos between marketing and web development teams. Thus, a new world of collaboration, efficiency, and better results is born.