Buy-versus-build considerations are interesting martech scenarios. There’s never a clear answer, which makes martech far more an art than a science. At times, there’s also the buy-and-build option to consider.
Recently, in an episode of Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast about vibe coding, guest Noah Brier, co-founder of Alephic, argued that AI models that produce software code are a threat to SaaS vendors. He said that no one uses all of a platform’s features and that vibe coding will make it easier for organizations to build what they need to augment what they buy.
This can also help customers who face situations where they feel like small fish in a large customer pond. If a large vendor understandably can’t justify making adjustments to suit their individual needs, the company can use vibe coding to help fill the gaps.
I feel that vibe coding still needs to mature before it can truly and reliably meet large-scale needs, but it’s headed that way.
Why ‘buy and vibe code’ isn’t the easy path
Organizations that follow the “buy and vibe code” model aren’t taking the easy road. There’s still plenty that they need to fret about and track over time. When using vibe coding to augment their systems, organizations will have to assume ownership and maintenance of the software they develop with the method.
This requires the time and effort of business stakeholders. At larger organizations, this can also involve folks like business analysts, product managers and project managers to ensure what is envisioned is clear and effectively achieved.
A crucial aspect is documenting how the generated code functions and how to maintain it. Since the organization is producing this on its own, it needs to assume this responsibility. Unfortunately, documentation is treated as a supplemental activity that sometimes doesn’t occur due to other pressing needs. However, it helps in the future when the code needs attention.
Additionally, user enablement is another critical concern. Custom code may affect how the core platform functions and the vendor won’t have instructions on how to account for that. If the generated code has effects beyond the platform, users need to be aware of that as well.
As this approach is essentially building new code, quality management needs are also present. The organization assumes responsibility for developing the associated documentation and processes.
Another aspect is business continuity and disaster recovery concerns. For instance, the custom-built code may sit on infrastructure that the organization needs to maintain (i.e., monitoring operating systems, performance, uptime and other related activities). While this may already occur for existing infrastructure resources, it still requires attention.
This option isn’t like hitting the proverbial easy button. It requires long-term time, attention and effort. As any seasoned martech practitioner can attest, even seemingly simple things are rarely how they appear.
How vibe coding affects vendor responsibility
Another factor an organization must consider when pursuing this approach is how it affects vendor responsibilities.
For instance, when something malfunctions, the cause might lie with the additional code. The vendor may not be able to help troubleshoot or address the problem.
Software platforms evolve. An organization may have augmented the platform with some code, but later, when there’s a platform update, that code may no longer jibe with the platform. There’s a decent chance that something may break and the organization will need to hustle to address the issue.
Besides, are vendors liable to keep track and account for all the vibe coding that their customers have done to augment their platform? Customers will need to assume some responsibility.
Your customers search everywhere. Make sure your brand shows up.
The SEO toolkit you know, plus the AI visibility data you need.
Start Free Trial
Get started with
Product teams will need to adapt
Product managers and product marketers will certainly need to step up their game as vibe coding allows customers to develop their own customized solutions more often.
Product teams will need to move closer to customers to better understand their needs and accountabilities. This will intensify existing challenges of creating personas, conducting user research and remaining atop of evolving trends.
Their customer success manager colleagues are certainly a great resource. CSMs should remain close to customers and stay abreast of what they need from and encounter while using the platform.
How martech roles will shift
As AI grows in capability and vibe coding matures, organizations will need to inspire and foster a shift in their employees’ perspective — including martech practitioners.
For instance, while marketing operations personnel will enjoy a reprieve from some of their tactical duties, they will need to shift from a tactical to a more strategic perspective.
As other marketers are expected to use more robust no-code or low-code tools, they will need to learn how to more clearly and thoroughly describe what they need to AI tools with less assistance from business analysts and product professionals. Perhaps facets of the recent prompt engineering fad will reemerge.
On the technical side, a growing comfort with handing over more traditional IT duties to business stakeholders will be required. While some people may welcome the ability to dabble in more business affairs, some folks enjoy a technical role.
From a human resources perspective, such shifts will change job roles, recruiting and career planning activities. A proactive change management (organizational behavior, not IT) strategy will certainly help with such a shift.
As AI tools take over more tasks, it’s important to acknowledge that practitioners will have less experience from working on fundamental issues. Organizations will need to train and equip practitioners with an understanding of the tasks AI tools now handle.
For instance, AI tools may handle more data hygiene tasks in the future, but it’s still important for practitioners to understand what the tools are doing. An important consideration is who will pay for the necessary education — employers or prospects? The answer is likely both and both employers and job applicants should take ownership.
The reality behind the vibes
In many arenas, focusing on the vibes appears easier than addressing specifics. However, that isn’t always the case.
While widely available tools like Claude Code produce viable code that accomplishes most of what’s needed, humans still need to polish up the output. Investors are growing concerned about how this will affect large tech companies. They should also consider how this shift affects companies that purchase software.
Marketers are well-positioned to help with the vibe-coding shift. They should use their acumen that spans both business and technical disciplines to help their colleagues and organizations navigate the changing landscape.
As AI takes over more tactical tasks like executing campaigns, analyzing performance data and building dashboards, marketers can transition to the strategic, but that requires an intentional approach.
