Apparently, there are 500+ products out there that offer a low-code / no-code solution. I’m not sure how many of the 7500+ marketing apps are included in the mix. If I were to hazard a guess, a fair amount.
The number was thrown out in a PMI webinar that I attended that was talking about “citizen developers”. Certainly something to fact-check. The talk was vendor agnostic. They didn’t distinguish between dedicated platforms or low-code / no-code as a feature in a product.
It does emphasize for me something that is true. It is a trend worth considering. Likewise, for us to consider how we make use of it. Are you benefiting as much as we can from it?
So what is it?
At its basic level, it is the ability for people with a pressing business need to create tech “stuff” without the need to have professional development skills. That is to say, without the need to create code. Or if they do, then create a minimum amount of code. By tech “stuff” I mean websites, apps and business workflows.
While the person doesn’t need to be a technical expert, they need to be tech savvy. Or at the least be curious and willing to learn more.
To me, it makes the business driver, well the driver. Someone using low-code / no-code understands the business needs. They may want to experiment. Or innovate. They may want things done immediately. Above all, what they don’t want, is to spend the time or money to wait for an IT team to deliver it.
For SMBs it means that they can quickly create customized websites, ecommerce stores and portals. Think WIX. Squarespace. Even Kajabi. For Enterprise, they can build out apps for business processes in days rather than months. There is a wide range of offerings, including big players like Salesforce and Microsoft. And innovators such as Pega, Betty Blocks and Zoho Creator.
There are some key use cases where Marketers can take advantage of low-code / no-code:
Expanding digital experiences: The pandemic only accelerated an already Marketing need for speed to market. And the ability to connect with customers online. No-code / low-code solutions help us to pivot quickly to customer needs. Even when your technical team creates your online stuff, a low-code / no-code solution means it gets done faster.
Experimentation. Your marketing team can make their own changes when A/B testing. A big speed and agility advantage. No longer do you have to wait for someone eternal to make a small change. Changes happen quickly. Similarly, reversed as quickly.
Prototyping. A live wireframe in many ways. You can use if for mock-ups. Even when your endgame is a website developed by an IT team. And you can prototype live in an ideation meeting. Nothing like an immediate visual to generate even more ideas.
Do you use low-code / no-code solutions today? Has it had an impact on how you connect with customers? Moreover, are you benefiting as much as we can from it?
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