<story><title>Marketing to Engineers (2001)</title><url>https://www.bly.com/Pages/documents/STIKFS.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>mgdev</author><text>I disagree with point three. Engineers do make purchases based on emotions, just different ones than typical consumers.&lt;p&gt;Engineers are driven by emotions like:&lt;p&gt;- Desire for intellectual respect: Choosing innovative products to appear forward-thinking.&lt;p&gt;- Risk aversion: Preferring established brands to avoid project failures.&lt;p&gt;- Professional pride: Selecting high-performing solutions for personal satisfaction.&lt;p&gt;- Peer validation: Making choices they believe colleagues will approve of.&lt;p&gt;- Cognitive bias: Favoring solutions that confirm existing beliefs.&lt;p&gt;What looks like logical decision-making is often an emotion-driven choice justified with technical arguments. This is evident in online discussions where product critiques are framed logically but stem from emotional responses or biases.&lt;p&gt;Effective marketing to engineers should recognize these emotional drivers while providing the technical depth needed to rationalize decisions. It&amp;#x27;s not about ignoring emotions, but addressing the specific emotional needs of a technical audience.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>ozim</author><text>I would expand on risk aversion.&lt;p&gt;If I am running a service as an engineer I already have huge amounts of stuff that can go wrong. If that stuff is in my control so I can do something about it when it breaks I feel safe and confident.&lt;p&gt;As soon as I get to depend on a 3rd party who might or might not have resources to fix my issue I feel nervous because I have my own stuff to deal with and now I get 3rd party tool that might bring more problems.</text></comment>
<story><title>Marketing to Engineers (2001)</title><url>https://www.bly.com/Pages/documents/STIKFS.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>mgdev</author><text>I disagree with point three. Engineers do make purchases based on emotions, just different ones than typical consumers.&lt;p&gt;Engineers are driven by emotions like:&lt;p&gt;- Desire for intellectual respect: Choosing innovative products to appear forward-thinking.&lt;p&gt;- Risk aversion: Preferring established brands to avoid project failures.&lt;p&gt;- Professional pride: Selecting high-performing solutions for personal satisfaction.&lt;p&gt;- Peer validation: Making choices they believe colleagues will approve of.&lt;p&gt;- Cognitive bias: Favoring solutions that confirm existing beliefs.&lt;p&gt;What looks like logical decision-making is often an emotion-driven choice justified with technical arguments. This is evident in online discussions where product critiques are framed logically but stem from emotional responses or biases.&lt;p&gt;Effective marketing to engineers should recognize these emotional drivers while providing the technical depth needed to rationalize decisions. It&amp;#x27;s not about ignoring emotions, but addressing the specific emotional needs of a technical audience.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>andrenotgiant</author><text>I think it goes even further.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;m not sure if it&amp;#x27;s unique to developers, but many have tools and vendors that they HATE or LOVE with an irrational passion.&lt;p&gt;HATE - Seems often about tools or vendors that they had no choice in, but had to spend a great deal of time working with.&lt;p&gt;LOVE - Seems often about tools or vendors that they associate with advancements in their career.&lt;p&gt;These feelings of LOVE and HATE lead to emotional decisions.</text></comment>