6 Unique Customer Segmentation Approaches that Unveiled Surprising Insights

In the quest for innovative customer segmentation strategies, we’ve gathered insights from six marketing and customer insights experts. From leveraging behavioral data with machine learning to segmenting by customer lifecycle engagement, these professionals provide unique approaches that have led to unexpected insights and results.

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Leverage Behavioral Data with Machine Learning

One unique approach to customer segmentation that yielded unexpected insights involved the use of behavioral data combined with machine-learning algorithms. Traditionally, businesses segment their customers based on demographic factors such as age, gender, and location. However, a retail company decided to delve deeper by analyzing customer behavior data—specifically, how customers interacted with their online platforms.

The company utilized advanced machine-learning techniques to cluster customers not just by demographics, but by behaviors such as browsing patterns, purchase history, and engagement with marketing materials. This method revealed distinct segments of users who did not fit traditional demographic molds but shared similar behaviors that influenced their buying decisions. For example, one segment included older customers who behaved similarly to tech-savvy younger demographics, showing high engagement in online shopping and use of mobile apps for purchases, which was contrary to the common stereotype of their age group.

This behavioral segmentation allowed the company to tailor its marketing strategies more effectively. They could create personalized marketing campaigns that resonated with each behavioral segment, leading to improved customer satisfaction and increased sales. The approach also identified a previously overlooked segment of infrequent, yet high-value customers who made purchases in large amounts but sporadically. Targeting these customers with loyalty programs and special promotions helped in converting them into more regular shoppers.

By shifting focus from standard demographic data to a more dynamic behavioral analysis, the company not only gained a deeper understanding of its customers but also enhanced its strategic marketing initiatives, yielding significantly better business outcomes. This approach exemplifies how leveraging technology and customer data can uncover unexpected customer insights, leading to more effective and innovative business strategies.

Charlie Worrall, Marketing Manager, Imaginaire

Create Segments by Marketing Resistance

In the ever-changing world of SaaS and e-commerce, understanding the nuances of customer behavior is similar to navigating a labyrinth; it’s complex, but with the right approach, you can find your way to invaluable insights. At our organization, we’ve taken some unconventional paths in our quest to segment our customer base more effectively. So here’s our one unique approach to customer segmentation that has opened new doors for us:

Segmentation by Resistance: Instead of just focusing on who our campaigns were engaging, we took a unique approach by studying who they weren’t engaging and why. This “segmentation by resistance” involved analyzing the characteristics and behaviors of those who showed resistance to our marketing efforts. To our surprise, this led to the identification of a previously overlooked segment of potential clients who were highly skeptical of digital marketing’s ROI. By addressing their concerns directly through a series of targeted case studies and testimonials, we were able to convert a portion of this skeptical group into loyal clients.

Marc Bishop, Director, Wytlabs

Segment Pet Owners by Personal Diet

As the Customer Insights Director, I’ve cooked up a tasty strategy for segmenting pet owners by examining their personal dining plates—because it turns out, those who carefully choose their own meals often fuss just as much over their pets’ dishes. Through a smorgasbord of interviews and surveys, we’ve discovered that keto aficionados, organic food lovers, and vegans don’t just eat differently—they prefer their pets to follow suit. 

This insight lets us serve up precisely tailored marketing messages and products, ensuring that our communications and offerings are as well-matched to our customers as wine is to cheese. This strategy not only spices up our customer engagement but also ensures our product lines meet the gourmet standards of today’s discerning pet owners.

Nan Zhang, Senior Manager Customer Insights

Utilize Social Media for Industry Segmentation

In Dash Hudson’s Cross-Channel Benchmark Reports, we discovered how social media platforms can be leveraged as a tool for customer segmentation. Our insights emphasize the importance of tailoring social media strategies to each industry’s unique characteristics and opportunities, as different sectors achieve varying levels of success on different platforms. 

For instance, we observed that beauty brands significantly excel on TikTok, capturing audiences with their visually compelling content, which aligns well with TikTok’s highly engaging nature. Similarly, media and publishing brands find a strong foothold on Instagram, where the platform’s visual-centric nature and storytelling capabilities through features like Stories allow them to thrive. These examples underline the necessity of aligning marketing efforts with platform strengths and industry trends to maximize engagement and reach.

Quinn Yung, Customer Insights Manager, Dash Hudson

Zero-Party Data Boosts Conversion

There are seven key building blocks for mobile experience personalization, and our research has shown that explicit preferences (or zero-party data) are highly likely to increase conversion. Campaigns that use these preferences for audience targeting see a 59% lift in purchase conversion. And top performers see a lift as high as 91%.

Jennie Lewis, Sr Manager Customer Insights, Airship

Use a Customer Lifecycle Engagement Segment

One innovative method we pursued involved segmenting our customers based on the lifecycle stage of their engagement with our products. Rather than solely focusing on the immediate transaction, we looked into patterns of repeat purchases, product reviews, and referral activities.

Surprisingly, we discovered a group of customers who, despite making fewer purchases, were highly active in referring our products to others and providing valuable feedback. This insight prompted us to develop a loyalty program specifically tailored to encourage and reward such advocacy behaviors, thereby nurturing a community of brand ambassadors who felt valued and were motivated to spread the word about our eco-friendly mission even more passionately.

Steven Renn, Co-Founder, ACTIVE Clean

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