At the simplest level, segmentation is a useful marketing tool to help business identify and understand the customer and make offerings more appealing, but for the power users of segmentation, it is so much more.
Determining the basis for segmentation is a key strategic consideration for a business and will shape future decisions and profitability. While you need to do the ground work to get the fundamentals right, it need not be a straight jacket.
Today brands are using online communities to allow marketers to define and redefine customer segments according to opportunity. With crm technology behind the scenes, segmentation can literally change according to each offer or proposition.
Online communities are tracking responses to social media to develop highly targeted customer profiles to literally pin point best revenue opportunities. See the web site http://www.visitsweden.com for online community generated content, that both intelligently builds profiles for targeted marketing through user behaviour and tracks community engagement to make content more relevant.
All businesses can benefit from segmentation. Even the smallest business can gain simply by just focusing on the needs of their golden customers, those that bring them the highest revenue.
So here are the big 5 paybacks for investing in segmentation as identified by a Thought Leaders Circle panel of Australia’s leading companies:
1. Develop solutions – offer customer relevant outcomes not just products
2. Strategic segmentation – allowing business to fish where the money is
3. Customer connections – relating to customers more as individuals
4. Targeted investment – enjoying the cost efficiencies of the right service to the right person
5. Customer Glue – rewards systems to keep customers close.
Louise Kelly
Hearts and Minds
www.heartsandminds.com.au
Thought Leaders Circle 