An evolved customer requires evolved segmentation.
As more online retailers compete for market share, they need additional marketing efforts to find ways to appropriately reach out to prospective customers.
We can confidently claim that past approaches and strategies in this field have been quite 
limited. Take, for instance, the ability to present ads or displays to a certain subgroup of individuals based on geolocation or gender. Today we understand that a user’s IP and gender represent only a fraction of the insightful user data that’s available. While such attributes may have once been pioneering, we must now consider multiple behavioral elements and triggers, especially with the presence of omnichannels and smart buyers who are well aware of alternatives.
This competitive reality has forced customer segmentation to evolve to better attract and engage potential shoppers. Accordingly, merchants and brands worldwide are pinpointing their marketing campaigns and generating more ROI using advanced strategies and tools, many of which are cloud-based.
While it is difficult to argue with the need for marketers to consider advanced customer segmentation in a competitive world defined by one’s ability to maximize conversions, it helps to take a brief dive into how two distinct companies are actually implementing customer segmentation features as part of their product offering:
GetResponse
GetResponse, a widely used email-marketing tool, is constantly seeking ways to improve its ability to communicate with clients and potential leads. However, given that it targets a very large customer base — essentially any entity or individual keen on incorporating an email-marketing campaign as part of its marketing strategies — understanding how to properly segment the audience is a must when ROI is at stake.
Given this reality, the company introduced an advanced email segmentation tool to better target subscribers via emails. This allows users to segment their email contacts according to a wide range of unique characteristics, including subscription methods and the number of previous email engagements.
These and other similar attributes help email-marketing software users take advantage of relevant consumer behavior and past interactions across emails to help filter out specific contacts according to groups. With this information, you can optimize your email campaigns in terms of relevance.
Fanplayr
An emerging e-commerce cloud-based ad tech player, Fanplayr’s take on customer segmentation stems from a thorough analysis of behavioral marketing. This involves focusing on real-time data and past purchasing history, thus helping online retailers capitalize on actionable information behind consumer traffic. Better understanding where, when, and how your customers come across your product helps you create and display more relevant and targeted ads.
For instance, Fanplayr uses a multilayered approach to collect and analyze a customer’s digital footprint. This includes a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of the sales funnel, from first understanding the actual customer profile to determining the main elements and customer incentive points that can lead to more conversion executions. This approach often utilizes A/B testing tools to boost onsite conversions, a common way for marketers to figure out which ads to present to target audiences. While this example refers to an e-commerce case study, this approach to customer segmentation can be adopted across various industries by focusing in on key behavioral attributes.
Win-win for consumers and brands
In today’s marketing world, there is much discussion around improving one’s ROI. By considering different customer segmentation strategies and methods — from targeting specific users according to their past interactions with your email campaigns to gathering intelligence on past product browsing history — your brand can position itself ahead of competitors. With various segmenting options to consider and ways to actually measure results, data-loving marketers can relish the fact that such information is helping maximize conversions and boost profits. This is also good news for consumers, who will see more relevant and targeted campaigns.
Your thoughts?
Familiar with new user-friendly customer segmentation tools? Let us know in the comments section below.
For more insight on the customers experience, see B2B Buyers are Customers, Too: 4 Ways for Wholesalers to Improve the Customer Experience.