You Have to Operationalize Your Segmentation

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Many organizations have plans in place on how to segment their consumers & most of these organizations succeed in putting their consumers into segments. The two key challenges are to make sure that you have made the right assumptions as you build segments & very importantly that your segmentation strategy is operational. Having an operational segmentation strategy means making sure that the segments are working correctly.

Here are a few checkpoints & examples to make sure that things are being done correctly:

Make sure that the segments are being served up appropriate content. My son (18) signed up to receive emails from a electronic game company. The first few emails were targeted and incredible. We purchased things from them. He is now getting offers that are more appropriate for a kindergartner. (We have no one at home that matches that profile.)

Check to make sure that there is no 'overlap' - that your segments are not getting multiple offers. I got two offers to sign up for digital wireless - 40% off, followed by a 35% off - all within 15 minutes. While I was thrilled that I got more, I did wonder if someone else got 50% off.

Make sure that your segmentation strategy is recognized by all your channels, especially your people channels. It makes no sense to call a consumer 'elite' and then make them trudge through long lines, give them the wrong seat, or mess up on their rooms. One of my friends called his credit card company, stayed on hold forever despite being a member of their preferred club. The minute they recognized her, a supervisor took over, apologized, and expediently rectified the issue. Recognize and reward your segments within transactions.

If you mess up, have a plan in place to follow up in near real time versus sending letters / calling when nothing can really be done. This causes even more resentment & moreover diminishes the value of your 'expedient' channels. A cataloger called a customer to apologize about sending the package without gift wrapping three weeks after the 'gift' had been delivered. This just opened up old wounds.

Automate whatever you can and do check up on your higher value segments. You can create rules to check and see 'when' your 'special' segments are going to touch your brand. That way you can follow up with them. Do the same thing on the way out as this will make sure that nothing falls through the cracks. So for example if a high value customer anonymously logs into their internet banking application, adjust your messaging & acknowledge them as they complete their transaction.

If your systems are not able to check on how your segments are traversing your 'sites,' spend money to make them operational. Write use cases on how you think the consumer may traverse or interact with your business. Validate these use cases with your team & test them continuously to make sure that things are working correctly.

Make sure that your people are aware of your segmentation strategy, and give them the power to do things. This way your people are aware & empowered to take care of the most important person - 'your customer.'