An understated benefit that gratiflow can provide you is assistance with customer segmentation. Few marketing efforts can provide you with such long-lasting value. It enables you to understand your customers better; helping you keep the ones you have and seek out new ones just like them. It provides you with a framework that will help guide your communications and, most importantly, get you the best returns.
What is customer segmentation?
You’re likely to find a ton of buzzword-laden definitions of ‘customer segmentation’. From marketing textbooks to numerous customer-relationship based corporate websites, everyone has their own soundbite that infuses their own tactics and methods. But, in general terms, customer segmentation is simply separating your customers based on characteristics they have in common. Some simple examples of this could be age, gender, geography, or income. These can be refined even further by pinpointing relevant behaviours; that could be anything from what movies they like to watch to how they’ve interacted with your brand. Just think of how you might talk to someone who purchased your product within the past week compared to a customer who hasn’t made a purchase in a year.
Enhance customer retention
This almost goes without saying, but it’s such an incredibly important ingredient to your business’ success. Quite simply, when a customer gets what they want, they stick around. Putting your ‘customer hat’ on will illustrate the validity of this point. There are likely ads, emails, direct mail pieces, and promotions that you either look forward to or respond to. Others head directly to the recycling bin. Being relevant and anticipating your needs is a major factor in how a message is received.
Improve the efficiency of your marketing
According to outboundengine.com, acquiring a new customer can cost as much as 5 times more than retaining a current one. That’s a huge number – making any retention program well worth the investment. But the efficiencies of customer segmentation are revealed throughout the marketing process. By recognizing the distinctive motivators of your customer segments, you can enhance the relevance of your offers, messages, and rewards. For example, incenting the purchase of tickets to the Demolition Derby with gift cards from a local yoga studio may result in a lot of left-over gift cards and unsold tickets. Segmentation will help you resonate with your audience much quicker and easier with a much better return on investment.
Know your next customers better
The tenet of “know thy customers” has an acquisition benefit as well. Segmenting your customers will help you learn more about them. No one knows your product or service better than you do. And you may be able to extrapolate what motivates your 23-year-old urban male customer and how that may differ from a senior-citizen suburbanite. If there’s any uncertainty, segmentation can make it easier to ask them and/or conduct some research. By generating these customer insights, it becomes much easier to find new customers. Consider it a “fish where the fish are” approach. Now your acquisition strategy has become that much more powerful.
Including customer segmentation as part of your marketing strategy can make a world of difference. Really, it’s too valuable to dismiss. Every program or initiative you execute can be enhanced by even some moderate levels of segmentation. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about who your customers increase the success of your programs.
Let’s discuss your customer-segmentation opportunities. Give us a call at 1-800-559-7364.