Customer Segmentation
Luckily we are not all the same. How to effectively use what is different between us?
Although we'd very much like to, it is not possible to treat every customer individually. Every customer-oriented company should however pretend that this is where it's heading. Segmentation - a way to divide clients into meaningful but distinct groups - makes it possible to run mass communication without giving it up on precise targeting and customer relevancy.
Statistics deliver multiple methods to draw desired division lines between segments, assuming that we had earlier integrated all necessary data. In business and in marketing, statistics is where segmentation only begins. What brings it to life is:
- a detailed understanding of each segment's specifics
- a marketing strategy that defines actions addressed to segment's members
- an action plan with appropriate funding.
There is a great likelihood that each of the large service companies you have been dealing with employs some kind of customer segmentation. It's a pity that they forgot to tell about it to the most important person - You.
Before we take any action, we have to carefully understand who our customers are. When you see what is different about them, you can start asking questions summarized by the "4-W" rule - Who, What, When and Where.
Some of the answers can be found within databases you already have (transactions and client attributes), for others you will have to employ market research or external data suppliers. Our role is to help you analyze and integrate both kinds of data. Without one it is hard to formulate a relevant customers segment strategy. Without the other you cannot execute it against your customer database.
