Struggling to get buy-in? Ten ways to make the business case for content improvements

The real audience for your documentation pitch

Imagine you are at a meeting or in a discourse channel for technical communicators, talking about the important role documentation plays in your product's success. You are probably surrounded by other content experts, documentation managers, and UX specialists, and you fundamentally agree on shared values such as:

• "Complete code examples are non-negotiable."
• "A clear onboarding guide is essential for adoption."
• "Good documentation reduces support load."

You leave the conversation feeling inspired and validated, armed with best practices that your peers in the field agree with.

Then, you bring that energy and those proven ideas to your business product manager or engineering lead. But instead of nods, you get objections and dismissal like:

• "What's the business impact?"
• "Do we even have developer time for this?"
• "We have more burning priorities right now."

That is the moment you realize: It is easy to get agreement from fellow content experts, as they already share your perspective. Your next challenge is convincing those colleagues who have to strategically distribute the company's available resources among all the projects in their purview.

This article looks at ten common situations where content improvements are necessary, but your need for available resources can be met with resistance. (By content, we mean any documentation by any other name.) We will show a typical brush-off, then suggest business-focused arguments and some tactical steps you can take towards resolution. 

Common issues and the solution

1. The product page does not explain the business value

• The problem: Your product pages are very technical. They describe features but do not explain the business benefits.
• Typical deference: "This is a developer portal. If a business wants to inspect the benefits, they can look at the main company website."
• Your reasoning could be: The developer portal is one step in a customer's journey. A clear message across all websites builds trust. Improving this page helps non-technical people understand the value, and this can increase API adoption since it is often them who make the final decision on which product to use.
• Try this: You can interview the product manager to understand the core business value. Draft a short, clear section at the top of the technical page called "Who is this for?" or "What problem does this solve?" This section can then link to the main corporate site for more detailed information on the use-case, worded towards the business stakeholders.
   

2. The onboarding guide is not clear enough

• The problem: The guide for new users lacks detail and assumes familiarity with the domain and the integration process.
• Typical deference: "All our users get training. They should already know this."
• Your reasoning could be: Much of what is covered in training can be forgotten even if it was applied soon after. If users cannot find answers easily, when and where they need it, they might contact support, and this slows them down or they might even abandon the integration process. Clear and findable content can reduce support tickets and help users get started faster.
• Try this: Create a "Quickstart Guide" that works as a checklist of the most important steps. You can also add callout boxes in the documentation that say, "Key takeaway from training:" to reinforce important concepts right where the user needs them. How would progressive disclosure work best for this onboarding guide?  

3. The API reference is incomplete or outdated

• The problem: The API reference is missing important information, like example requests or response codes.
• Typical deference: "Developers can figure it out from the schema. That is their job."
• Your reasoning could be: Yes, some developers can, but it makes their work harder. Good examples reduce errors, speed up development, and make your APIs look more professional. We need faster validation for better sales, and we want satisfied customers.
• Try this: Work with a developer to get validated, realistic examples for the most common endpoints. Add complete, copy-and-paste-ready code blocks for both the request and the expected response. This is one of the most valuable additions you can make to an API reference.

4. The use case documents are hard to find

• The problem: Documents that explain how to use the APIs for specific tasks are missing or are in different places.
• Typical deference: "The basic docs are there for each API, just use search. That should be enough."
• Your reasoning could be: Developers have to solve problems and solve them fast; they do not want to learn how your company or your product stack is organized. Central, solution-focused documents reduce guesswork. This helps partners integrate faster and makes them more likely to keep using your APIs.
• Try this: Create a new "Recipes" or "Solutions" section. Start by writing one complete, end-to-end tutorial for a common customer problem. This tutorial will link to the different API references needed to solve the problem, showing the value of a user-focused approach.

5. The home page does not guide users

• The problem: The developer portal home page is too general and does not guide users to actionable starting points fitting their needs.
• Typical deference: "It is just a starting point. Users will click around to find what they need."
• Your reasoning could be: First impressions are important. A well-designed home page helps users find value faster, especially with clear call-to-action notions. It guides them to appropriate action, and we can lower the bounce rates. This is not just about UX design; it is about helping users succeed.
• Try this: If you cannot redesign the page, you can improve the words. Draft clear, action-oriented headlines and call-out text for different types of users (e.g., "New developer? Start with our quickstart guide" or "Ready to build? Explore the API reference"). Present this improved text to the product owner.

6. There is no FAQ or troubleshooting help

• The problem: There is no section for frequently asked questions (FAQ) or help with common problems.
• Typical deference: "Our support team handles those questions."
• Your reasoning could be: Without this section, your support team will answer the same questions repeatedly. A self-service FAQ section can lower the number of support tickets. This frees up your support team to work on more complex issues and helps developers build confidence in your platform.
• Try this: Ask the support team for a list of the 5-10 most common questions they get about technical integrations in your purview. Write clear, actionable answers and create a single FAQ page. This is a quick win that provides immediate value.

7. There is no glossary for special terms

• The problem: The portal uses deeply technical words and/or the jargon of the specific business domain without explaining them.
• Typical deference: "People in this industry should already know these terms."
• Your reasoning could be: Even if you could reasonably assume some familiarity from your users with your domain, they do not necessarily use or distinguish related but different terms with enough confidence to be able to build and expand on a failsafe integration for their use-case. A glossary also helps different internal teams work together better, aids new colleagues in learning the company's specific terms faster, and heavily supports non-native speakers. Clear definitions make your portal more welcoming and reliable for everyone.
• Try this: Start a simple A-Z glossary page. As you write other documentation, add any domain- or company-specific terms to the list. This creates a central source of truth and improves the clarity of all your content.

8. There is no way to test or try the API

• The problem: The documentation does not have a "try-it-out" feature or a test environment (sandbox).
• Typical deference: "We do not want to create a security risk. They can test it in their system."
• Your reasoning could be: An interactive "try-it-out" option makes it much easier for developers to get started. It allows them to explore safely and makes your APIs feel modern and easy to use. This is important for earning developer loyalty.
• Try this: If a real sandbox is not possible, you can create a "simulated" experience in your documentation. Provide complete, copy-pasteable code snippets (like cURL commands). Immediately follow the request example with a static, verified example of the exact response a developer should expect. You can also create and share a Postman Collection with pre-built requests that developers can import and use against their test environment or a mock server.

9. The release notes are not clear or consistent

• The problem: Release notes are not published regularly, or they are too general.
• Typical deference: "This is not a priority. We will tell customers if something big changes."
• Your reasoning could be: Regular updates build trust. Good release notes show that the product is stable and improving. They help other teams plan their work and reduce their risk. You can also use them as good evidence of your product's progress in sales conversations.
• Try this: Create a simple template for release notes with clear sections like "New Features," "Improvements," and "Bug Fixes." Take responsibility for talking to the development teams before a release, gathering the information, and publishing the notes on a regular schedule.
   

10. The content does not tell a clear story

• The problem: While each page works on its own, there is no cohesive connection between them.
• Typical deference: "People will use the search function to find what they need."
• Your reasoning could be: A good structure helps users discover content they did not know they were looking for. When you guide users through a learning journey, your portal becomes more than just a library of documents: it becomes a valuable resource that gives you an advantage.
• Try this: Create a single page that acts like a table of contents for a specific goal. It links to existing documentation in a logical order. For example, you could create a pathway called "How to build your first reporting dashboard" that links to five different articles in the correct sequence.
   

How to measure the impact of docs changes

Even if your stakeholder gives you the green light to make the updates, there is still a challenge: "Show me the numbers. Prove that it worked." How can you highlight the impact of your work, especially with a small budget and little technical support?

You do not always need complex tools. Here are some practical ways to measure the impact.

1. Partner with the support team

This is often the easiest and most powerful place to start. Your support team has data on customer problems.

• Before your change: Ask the support team for the number of tickets related to the problem you want to solve. For example, "How many questions do we get about setting up the API?"
• After your change: A month after you improve the documentation, ask for the new number. A decrease in tickets is a clear success. It shows you are saving the company time and money.

2. Use free analytics and feedback tools

If your portal has a tool like Google Analytics, you have access to useful data.

• Look at user behavior: Check the "bounce rate" on pages you improve. If fewer people leave the site immediately from an onboarding page, it means the page is more helpful.
• Add a feedback button: A simple "Was this page helpful? (Yes/No)" link at the end of an article can give you direct feedback. You can also add a link to a simple feedback form.

3. Talk directly to your users

Numbers are important, but stories from users are powerful. 

• Conduct short interviews: Talk to a few developers who use your portal. Ask them about their experience before and after you made changes.
• Send simple surveys: After a developer uses a new guide, send them a one-question survey. For example, "On a scale of 1-5, how easy was it to complete the task with this guide?"

4. Connect your work to business goals

The final step is to turn your findings into a business story.

• Example: "I updated the API reference guide (the action). In the next month, support tickets about the API reference dropped by 40% (the metric). This saved the support team an estimated 20 hours of work that month (the business impact)."

By measuring your work, you are not just proving its value. You are building a stronger case for future investment in content.

How to start when you are on your own

Reading this list, you might feel that it is too much work for one person, especially with no budget. You do not have to fix everything at once. The goal is to start a small, positive change that grows over time. Or, if you are able, find the crux that will then reset multitudes. Some levers are notoriously hard to nudge out of the status quo but the result could be worth it, imagine for example convincing your internal developers to use a shared, unambiguous and meaningful naming convention for all variables.

The key is not to work harder, but to work more collaboratively. Many of these problems exist because teams work in separate silos. The support team knows what users are asking for, and developers know how the technology works. Your role as a writer is to be the bridge between these groups.

Here are some ideas on how to do this:

• Pick one small problem and solve it. Do not try to fix all issues. Choose one high-impact problem, like creating an FAQ page for the top five support questions. Solve it, measure the result, and share the success with the other teams. A small win makes it easier to get help for the next project.
• Make it easy for others to help. People are busy. Do not ask for a lot of time. Instead of "I need you to write documentation," ask "Can I have fifteen minutes to hear about the most common customer problems?" or "Can you spend five minutes checking if this code example is correct?".
• Connect people and information. When you learn something from a developer that could help the support team, share it. By connecting people and sharing knowledge, you become a valuable hub. This changes your position from someone who needs help to someone who provides value to everyone.
• Turn collaboration into a habit. Suggest a short, regular meeting, like a 30-minute "Documentation sync" every two weeks with one person from support and one from development. Discuss one pain point each time. This makes working together a part of the job, not a special favor.
   

You cannot change all processes in the company at once, certainly not alone, but by making collaboration easier available, and showing its value, you can start a powerful ripple effect.