Lead segmentation helps you divide your customers into groups according to various factors, such as age, location, and behaviour. Segmenting b2b audiences lays the groundwork for delivering a more personalised customer experience by targeting your audience with solutions specific to them, so that they are more likely to make a purchase.
Four different types of segmentation
- Demographic segmentation
Demographic segmentation separates buyers by age, gender, religion, level of education, and income. Through targeted marketing, businesses can segment b2b audiences and tailor products to fit different sections of a population, maximising sales.
- Geographic segmentation
Geographic segmentation classifies buyers based on their physical locations: city, state, country, or continent. Using their locations, you can market products that will most appeal to what events or seasons might be happening around them. Also, different regions have certain products that have more popularity than they might have in other regions.
- Psychographic segmentation
Psychographic segmentation classes individuals according to their personality, hobbies, goals, values, lifestyles. It is a more accurate way to segment b2b audiences because it focuses on individual pleasures and attitudes. The downside is that it requires a vast amount of data collection if you are to group buyers perfectly.
In a B2B setting, a marketing website may target marketing executives who are interested in increasing revenue and sales through widening the platforms on which they market their products.
- Behavioural segmentation
Behavioural segmentation groups your buyers according to their spending patterns and behaviours, and how they rate their purchase. Let us use the example of a small photocopying business and a high school. Both would require a stable paper supply but a high school has higher demand. For this reason, it can be the target of discounts for bulk buying and a contract for long term supply of paper.
Four useful B2B audience segmentation methods
- Customer value segmentation
In value-based segmentation, companies study buyers according to the revenue that they bring in and the average cost of establishing profitable relationships with them. In my experience, this information enables an entrepreneur to determine the eligibility for offers, discounts, and other loyalty perks. Advertising these rewards to businesses that are infrequent buyers will increase sales because of the fear of missing out.
- Customer status segmentation
Customer status segmentation focuses on the purchasing status of the business. Are they a regular buyer, irregular, or did they make one purchase and never return? A business can use this information to increase product awareness and updates about offers. If you were supplying a particular service on a monthly basis and your customer expressed dissatisfaction, you could discuss an alternative with them.
- RFV (recency, frequency, value) segmentation
RVF segmentation leverages factors such as behaviour and income. It examines how recently or frequently individuals purchase a product and how much they spend on average. Business owners can use this information in a variety of ways:
- What types of incentives can I offer to businesses?
- How do I entice a new business to make the first purchase?
- What discouraged a business from making me their sole supplier?
- What complementary products can I introduce that will appeal to businesses
- Seasonal segmentation
Seasonal segmentation mainly relates to brands that operate internationally. It is essential to know the season a region is experiencing to roll out products that will cater to that specific weather. For example, some companies may experience their peak during Christmas and New Year’s, while others might see more business at the end of the financial year.
Six outcomes of lead segmentation
- Improved products and services
Knowing what your customers want will give you the tools needed to better your products. It also gives you the upper hand by equipping you with solutions to problems buyers did not even know they had.
- Increase in sales
With the perfect marketing strategy, you will be able to increase your sales. For example, targeting both frequent and infrequent buyers using different techniques will increase your chances of establishing customer loyalty.
- Higher revenues
Segmenting your buyers will save you many costs in the long run. This is because you will not waste resources on random targeting but intentional advertising. Reducing your average cost of advertising will increase your revenues and profits.
- Increase in customer loyalty
When buyers feel that you are meeting their needs, lifestyle and interests align with your brand, customer retention is inevitable.
- Improved marketing messages
Instead of churning out the same mainstream messages that customers flag as spam or other bad behaviours, lead segmentation enables a company to curate relatable and relevant content.
- Recognising and exploiting new niche markets
Delving into lead segmentation will help you realise hidden areas of the market you did not know existed. With this information, you can introduce more products into the market and enjoy the profits from ‘the novelty effect.’
Four practical ways to segment B2B audiences
- Establish customer segmentation goals
Segment your customers with a purpose. Do not do it just because everyone else is doing it. A good starting point is looking at your long and short-term goals and deciding how segmenting will help you to achieve them.
2. Segment your customers into groups of your choice
After clarifying your reasons for segmenting, it is now time to decide which parameters you want to separate your buyers. Again, this is dependent on your goals and the kinds of people you want to serve.
3. Target and reach your customer segments
After determining your target market, now you have to decide how best to reach them. You have to tailor content that appeals to them and can grab their attention. It could be through email, pop-up messages, descriptive videos, or even blog posts. The key is to target avenues that are most appropriate for that specific group.
4. Analyse your customer segments and make adjustments as needed
Segmenting your clients is not a one-off procedure. Go the extra mile and examine how segmentation has helped your business to grow. Ensure that the new sales realised are from segmenting and not any other variable
The marketing, sales, and finance departments can work together to report buying trends and new customers. Another avenue can be the customers themselves through survey forms and questionnaires.
