What is segmentation and why is it so important for your business?

We watch series on streaming apps (Netflix) that adapt different content to our personal taste, listen to music according to playlists adapted for us. We live in a world in which everything is personalized. This is the consumer revolution of the new business world and that is what potential clients are expecting of you. The most personalized experience possible.

In an era of digital transformation in which we are all bombarded with content coming from all directions, making your contacts open the email or newsletter sent to them requires a precise adaptation of what interests them, and even more so – of the way they think.
Studies show that starting the moment a person comes across an email or a landing page, it takes them 3-5 seconds to decide whether they would like to continue reading or move on to the next thing.

A proven way to intrigue your client into staying and keep reading is by triggering the right marketing message to the right person. How is it done? Using segmentation.
Market segmentation is a division of audiences into groups according to common characters, out of the purpose of adapting campaigns and automatic processes to them. The more precisely you segment your contacts, the more personally you will be able to address them and increase the chances of the email you sent actually being opened, read, and eventually boosting your campaign as well as the conversion and purchase rates. Studies show that the opening rates of segmented campaigns increased by 14% and clicks by 62%.

So which tools can assist in market segmentation? according to which segmenting categories? And what can be done with all this information? All the answers are coming up…

Tips and ideas for your market segmentation

In order to send each person the content and information that fits them, we first need to locate the common characteristics of the target audience, and in fact, create sub-audiences out of them. Ideas for common characteristics:

• Biographic characteristics – age, gender, type and level of education, field of business.
  This category is particularly important for matching the service/product. The brand of yoga for pregnant women will usually address women. The way of addressing and way of writing (slang, professional) could change when addressing teenagers or adults and helps adapt the message to the target audience.
• Demographic data – living area, family status, etc.
  Helpful mainly in publications of local events and business for which the living environment is relevant.
• Shopping preferences – where your contacts usually shop: online or physical shops. What grabs their attention: offers and sales or being the first to purchase the latest update?
• Significant dates – birthdays and anniversaries, birth, sweet sixteen, etc.
  Relating to personal events and dates of your contacts will increase the engagement and personal contact, through sending a personal card with wishes together with the offer.
• Subscription rate – in order to strengthen the relations with the contacts that went a long way with you or increase new subscribers. For example, sending a card or discount for one year of the date they subscribed.

Which tools are at your disposal to create segmentation?

After defining the right characteristics for segmentation of the target audience to sub-groups, you must have asked yourselves how can we collect all this data… so here are a number of tools and ways to receive this information:

• Using signup forms embedded in your website and popups – the registrations testify to various fields of interest and allow segmentation of your contacts into groups.
  For ex., an interior design website will have a popup show for a webinar on the kitchen design page. The subscribers will be added to a group of people interested in kitchens. On the garden design page, the signup form for the mailing list regarding garden architecture will appear.
• Landing page – a concise and focused web page designated to call for action. This is another great opportunity to add, in the form, additional questions beyond basic contact info.
  For example, a traveling company can ask which kind of vacation you would be interested in: relaxing, hiking or extreme vacation.
• Mailing – did they open, click or share – here you can learn quite a bit about certain content that might interest your contacts – which mails do they tend to open more than others? Those elaborating about a certain content or updated on offers and sales? On which days and times did they open the email, and do they even react to the call for action.

How do we move forward 🙂

Once you’ve fulfilled your obligations and sent the subscribers the thing you committed to sending, it is time to send the same group further relevant offers – but make sure not to spam them. You can send all the subscribers a digital download menu about building websites, emails about opening a website building course in the summer and later on a newsletter with updates in the field.
Once you’ve obtained personal data such as date of birth, anniversary, you can send a happy birthday and gift code on January 1st to all of the people born in January.
This information is valuable to strengthening personal relations with the client.

How can we improve? Using analytics reports – following up on opening and clicking on links will reflect an image of the interest level and responsiveness of your client.
Any answer to any question can be a segment list to which additional mailing should be sent according to the action performed.

 

In conclusion, correct use of market segmentation and implementing the ideas listed above will assist you in sending your clients content that has relevant value for them, significantly increase the chances of the email you’ve sent being appropriately received, and create a loyal client community in the long term.