How audience segmentation can enhance your marketing efforts

Audience segmentation starts by breaking a business’ target audience into separate groups based on specific criteria. A “one-size-fits-all” approach only goes so far when it comes to marketing products and services. Segmenting target audiences into subdivisions can help businesses deliver highly relevant and targeted messaging and increase engagement and conversions.

How can audience segmentation enhance your inbound marketing efforts?

It may help to answer this question with an example of audience segmentation.

In creating a marketing campaign, an example of a general, “one-size-fits-all” marketing message for a direct mail piece may read, “This weekend only, ABC Mattress Store is taking 25 percent off all anti-snoring mattresses. Don’t miss this sale!” This is commonly referred to as batch marketing.

With audience segmentation, the marketing message for that direct mail piece could be improved by sending it only to households segmented as married or partnered. “Does your partner wake you every night with their snoring? Make sure everyone gets better sleep with a snore-reducing mattress.  Visit ABC Mattress Store in person or online and use discount code ABCMATTRESSSNORE at checkout to receive 25 percent off your purchase of an anti-snoring mattress.”

This audience segmentation example illustrates how segmenting an audience instantly creates connections with potential and existing customers, delivers meaningful messaging, and results in better leads. Focused audience targeting leads to relatable content and specific calls to action that encourage consumer engagement. Instead of sending a blanket message to everyone at higher cost with lower return, utilizing audience segmentation can result in spending less on a fewer number of direct mail pieces to well-matched potential customers.

By delivering customer the right message at the right time, this type of data-driven marketing can exponentially increase the return on investment for marketing campaigns.

What is audience segmentation?

In addition to understanding what audience segmentation is, it is crucial to understand what characteristics define an audience segment and set it apart from the rest. Every individual is unique, but these unique individuals can be grouped together based on similarities such as demographics, geography, media consumption, product preferences, buying habits, life milestones and more. Businesses use these segments to tailor communication efforts and marketing campaigns, so messages are relevant and actionable for the people receiving them.

Types of audience segmentation

There are many ways to segment audiences, allowing businesses to pick and choose the segmentation categories that best fit their marketing goals. 

Demographic segmentation

Demographic segmentation is one of the simplest segmentation categories. Categorizing people by age, income, education level, occupation, marital status, family status, etc., is a common marketing tactic. Demographic segmentation can be broad and is often best used in conjunction with other segmentation categories to ensure more meaningful targeting.

Geographic segmentation

Geographic segmentation involves grouping people based on geographic traits – for example, the location of their home. Sending targeted messages to households within a certain distance of a physical store location or sending text messages based on weather in a city or state are both examples of geographic segmentation in action. 

Psychographic segmentation

Psychographics are a deeper and more complex way to segment consumers based on their interests, activities and, on an even deeper level, their attitudes, opinions, political leanings and more.

An obvious example of psychographic segmentation is political advertising targeted at voters who share a particular candidate’s values. Another example is the clothing company observing a segment of their customers dedicated to healthy living and an active lifestyle, so it includes messaging to emphasize how their clothing is breathable and perfect for activities. Psychographic segmentation also offers the opportunity to target consumers based on their spending habits, hobbies and even their personalities. 

Behavioral segmentation

Behavioral segmentation refers specifically to how people consume or use products and services and the frequency at which they interact with them. This is useful information to assist not only in initial marketing efforts but throughout the entire customer journey and lifecycle.

While there are nearly endless examples of behavioral segmentation, a more recent addition to the list is segmentation by device usage. This designation can be especially valuable when marketing mobile services or products such as apps. 

What is audience segmentation important?

When campaigns are based on a more personalized approach using audience segmentation, the likelihood of success increases. Using location, age, behaviors, preferences, activities and various other attributes to tailor messages drives customer engagement, creates more memorable interactions and increases conversion rates.

When it comes to inbound marketing efforts, many businesses find themselves overwhelmed and asking, “How can we use audience segmentation to enhance our marketing strategy?” For inbound marketing, segmentation is key. Customized calls to action help attract consumers to a business, relevant messaging encourages them to complete a purchase and personalized follow-up keeps them coming back. 

When a business reaches the right consumers at the right time, it can amplify the response rate and establish lasting consumer connections, making for an incredibly effective marketing campaign.

How to perform audience segmentation research

A great deal of data is required to effectively segment your audience, but not just any data, it must be the right data. Collecting too much or the wrong data can be spendy, both in time and profits. From Census data that provides baseline demographics to more in-depth homeowner information to purchase behavior and lifestyle triggers, the data is out there. 

Audience segmentation research can reveal life events such as getting married, moving to a new home, having a baby or sending a child off to college. These so-called “life triggers” can inspire unique purchasing decisions, but a business must know just the right time to make contact and do so in a way that inspires action.

To reach business goals, marketing teams must know what data would be most beneficial to the campaign and then determine what to do with it. Partnering with an experienced, third-party specialist such as Deluxe Data-Driven Marketing can help businesses reach the largest possible audience with greater speed than the competition. Gathering and effectively utilizing customer marketing data requires a rigorous test-and-learn methodology that comes from a well-established data provider. 

Gathering and utilizing the right consumer marketing data requires strategy and expertise. Deluxe's data is broad and versatile, so it can be used to segment audiences, create audience targets and even predict consumer behavior. 

When a business fully understands its prospective and current customers, it can tailor communication efforts and better meet the needs of each audience. This is often more effective across channels, as campaigns work in synergy with one another in both physical and digital spaces to maximize reach and enhance the customer journey.

If targeting is non-existent or too broad, opportunities get missed and marketing strategies suffer. By optimizing and utilizing audience segmentation, Deluxe helps businesses set targeting goals, provides proprietary data and ensures that campaigns are successful. If your business is ready to reach and connect with more customers using highly targeted consumer data, Deluxe can help.