The Utility and Importance of Python for Marketers
                     THE UTILITY AND 
IMPORTANCE OF PYTHON 
FOR MARKETERS
Python for Marketers | Python for Digital Marketing |
Python for Marketing Analytics
Python is the buzzword that’s making the rounds across all major business circles these 
days. Ever since data has become the focal point of business, programming skills is a 
feather that most serious professionals want in their caps. 
For marketers, huge data sets are a part and parcel of everyday life. From processing 
large amounts of product data over a million years to figuring out which customer 
demographics responds the best to a shiny, new campaign, marketers may find 
themselves drowning in figures for a majority of their careers. 
Learning how to code can help wade through some of these issues.
Should You, as a Marketer, Learn to Code?
While coding is in no way a panacea to all marketing problems, it can make number 
crunching and analysis simpler. 
Some may argue that MS Excel does that job just fine – after all, a single spreadsheet can 
handle up to 2 GB of data. Yet, feed your Excel file over 50 MB of data at once and watch its 
efficiency and speed flounder. Moreover, with Excel, you will find yourself submerged under a 
pile of repetitive tasks, applying the same formulae over and over again across different 
products and clients. With coding, you can ditch the repetition and focus all that extra time 
on innovation! 
Besides, with the world going digital, learning at least basic tech speak will only help your 
case with digitization and a stronger online presence. Here is how coding can help you up 
your marketing game:
• You can communicate with tech partners better about what exactly you want from your 
website or portal. 
 You can save time and money with automating mundane tasks. 
 You can build more targeted marketing campaigns using analytics. 
 Programming will teach you better problem-solving skills. 
 Coding will give you better digital marketing skills. 
Choosing the Right Language
Once you’re convinced that coding can help you bring your a-game to the table as a 
marketer, the next step is to choose the right language. Several languages may come to 
mind: SQL, JavaScript, R, Python. For those who’ve done some research in this sphere, 
you will know that the contention is between R and Python for marketers, really.
While both languages are rooted in data science and subsequent visual representation, 
which can be a huge boon for marketers, there are some basic differences between the 
two. R is a functional programming language that was built by academicians and 
statisticians. Hence, the language is more nuanced. Python is largely object oriented, 
with user-friendly language that makes it accessible to non-math or non-tech folk. 
Simply for its accessibility and ease of learning, Python for Marketers is a clear win, at 
least at the start of the journey. Moreover, Python is better at automation of manual 
data processes when compared to R. While R may be better for deep-dive statistical 
analysis, Python is more useful for deployment and reproducibility of said analysis. In 
short, Python for digital marketing is a sure shot to better visuals and consequently, a 
more engaged audience. 
Four Ways Python Can Spruce Your Marketing Game
If you are still on the fence about whether python for marketers will be useful enough, here 
are four ways to use the language in marketing: 
1. Python for Marketing Automation
As already noted above, Python is great when it comes to automation. For instance, say you 
need to analyze weekly sales data every Friday. Instead of manually downloading it to Excel 
every week and then sorting through a slush pile of information, an appropriate Python 
script can pull relevant information from a database, write it onto a spreadsheet and sort it 
to your liking within seconds. You will only need to write the code once. In subsequent 
weeks, you can focus on data analysis and representation. Saved time, effort, and money! 
2. Python for Campaign Automation
Say you bag an e-commerce client who needs an extensive marketing strategy that involves 
separate campaigns for each of its products. If the company has products in the tens, then 
individual marketing campaigns can be relatively easy to create. Now, imagine a client with 
100+ products – creating and updating campaigns individually for each of them can be a 
nightmare. Python can help you automate the repetitive aspects of the campaign, thereby 
saving you a considerable amount of time and effort. 
3. Python for Search Engine Optimization
In addition to content, social media, email marketing, video, ads and promotions, SEO is an 
important component of digital marketing. Python for digital marketing can be a powerful 
tool that will help not only with automating the SEO process, but also integrating all these 
components into an effective marketing campaign. Tools like SEO analyzer in Python can help 
you improve your word count, meta descriptions and on-page keywords to attract more 
traffic. Python will also help you check and fix broken links so your users have fewer error 
messages to deal with. 
4. Python for Marketing Analytics
Apart from using Python for marketing research, automation and optimization, Python can 
come in handy for analysis and visualization as well. Python can help with A/B testing to 
figure out which website version works best, generate keyword negatives, analyze user 
behaviour patterns, pinpoint campaign reach and outline demographics and help with 
decision making in general. Python is also a great tool to analyze customer feedback. Using 
natural language processing, you can automate customer feedback processing and generate 
valuable insights. 
How to Get Started
Now that you’re convinced about adding Python to your marketing CV, getting started on 
learning the language is fairly simple. Python is an open-source code, meaning that the 
resources to learn the language are available for free online. Download the program on 
Python.org as the first step. 
Many online educational platforms like Coursera, Udemy and Udacity offer excellent courses 
to help you get started. For instance, Udemy’s 
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python Programming will have your basics covered. Or you 
could check out the Automate the Boring Stuff website directly to understand how to use 
python for marketing automation. 
If you want to get started right at the basics, check out Coursera’s Python for Everybody. If 
you’d rather read, check out Python Crash Course by Eric Matthes for a pretty 
comprehensive beginner’s guide. To get answers from other fellow Python coders, post any 
doubts you may have on Stack Overflow, Reddit or GitHub to crowdsource solutions!  
Key Takeaways
• Coding, though not necessary, can help marketers crunch data, analyze and visualize 
better. 
• Python is the go-to programming language for newbie marketing coders due to its simple 
language, easy accessibility and wide-spread applicability.
• Python can be used for marketing automation, research, analytics and optimization. 
• Since pythonPython can be a boon for digital marketers, given its analytical and 
visualization capabilities. 
• Python is an open-source language, you can get started with classes online.