Segmentation

We will look at personalization, which is the ultimate goal of tailored communications and is far more possible than it was just 10 years ago. It is, however, still vitally important to understand segmentation as well.Consumers will always have similarities in their behaviours, demographics, buying patterns and other factors that enable you to group them into segments. This enables smarter, more appropriate targeting and messaging within your marketing communications. These groups will have different uses for products and varying perspectives on services. Their lifestyles will be inherently different as will be their needs, aspirations, opinions and much more.

Five common forms of segmentation – geographic, demographic, behavioural, benefit and psychographic – are listed below, including the advantages and disadvantages of each alongside how businesses use these methods.

Geographic

Perhaps the simplest of all segmentation strategies, this is quite simply the location of the individuals being analysed. Businesses that have regional retail outlets will have some focus on this but it can also prove a useful tool to understand where to target your marketing. That could be outdoor or press advertising but from a digital perspective it may inform your geo-targeting or data selection for your strategy. The disadvantage is quite simply that this is very basic and tells you next to nothing about the individuals themselves.

Demographic 

A very common form of segmentation, demographics includes factors such as age, race, gender, education, employment, income and economic status. It is therefore an area of segmentation that gives a reflection of the characteristics of a group of people. Demographic segmentation is used by governments and a very broad range of organizations as it can answer questions such as 'Who can afford to buy my product?' and 'Will this group of consumers be the right age range for my product?'

The disadvantage of this type of segmentation is that there is a large assumption that people with similar characteristics will behave similarly, which is far from the truth. If someone is a French, 45-year-old factory worker who has had a poor education will they behave the same way as all their colleagues in the factory who are of roughly the same age? No. They will have different passions, hobbies and much more. To understand this in more detail we need to understand behavioural segmentation.

Behavioural 

Behavioural segmentation is becoming increasingly possible. It has historically been difficult to understand consumer behaviour but in the big data world we are able to understand consumers a lot more, especially those in the digital space. This method groups consumers by buying patterns and usage behaviours. This is an excellent way of talking to individuals in a way that is highly likely to resonate with them. It is useful when talking about specific products or use occasions.

Behavioural does not of course give such a black-and-white view as demographic segmentation and therefore is not an exact science. For example, behaviour can change with your lifestyle. Divorce, children and retirement are key examples of when life changes could result in behaviour changes. It is therefore vital to be working with data that is up to date. With behavioural segmentation you have the advantage of being highly relevant to your audience whilst also running the risk of missing the mark completely.

Benefit 

Something that is vital to understand in marketing, and in fact business in general, is that perception is key. How you are perceived will impact your career – we all know the clichés about first impressions. Well, this form of segmentation is based around consumer perceived benefit. Many businesses use this to understand the consumer base and to inform product development and marketing opportunities. A good example of this is the fashion industry. If you imagine retailers of coats and jackets: some consumers will look for warm winter coats for their ski holidays, some for all-weather jackets for their outdoor lifestyle, some for lightweight jackets they can wear whilst exercising, some for smart coats for work and some purely for fashion. The perceived benefit of your coat will appeal differently to each different segment, so perhaps you need to change the perception of your coat or bring out a new range to appeal to a new segment.

Psychographic 

Psychographic segmentation sounds exceptionally complex but it is simply an understanding of a consumer’s lifestyle. This includes studying activities, opinions, beliefs and interests. Understanding these elements can, similarly to behavioural segmentation, result in messaging and products that truly resonate with the individuals. For example, individuals may be environmentalists, Buddhists, body builders or movie lovers (or any combination of these). Creating segments on this basis creates a more 'real' view of the individuals than geographic or demographic segmentation ever could.