Three Simple Ways To Improve Your List Segmentation Strategy

p>As a marketing professional, your goal is to engage leads and transform them into customers. You accomplish this by learning more about your leads and targeting your marketing in personalized ways, either through email, social media or specific calls to action. If you aren't already taking advantage of list segmentation tools then you should, and if you already are, then continue on for a few tips to tighten up your marketing strategy. But first, here's a refresher.

What is list segmentation?  

List segmentation is a marketing technique that divides your leads into separate segments. Then, when you create emailing lists, social media tags or personalized links your leads will engage with materials specifically meant for them. This type of middle of the funnel marketing brings in higher conversions. For example, a HubSpot study shows that targeting emails to certain buyer personas increases email click through rates 16%.

Here's how to get in on that action:  

1) Gather contact details. 

When prompted, visitors might leave contact information on forms, but the information on those forms typically contains generic demographic information. This information is useful for email blasts, but doesn't provide you with the specific targeting you need to turn leads into customers.

Instead of depending solely on forms, use analytics and metrics to your benefit. Determine the points at which visitors leave your page when they return, and what they download. This kind of detailed information helps you determine where that lead might be in the funnel. It also provides you with that lead's area of interest.

For instance, a visitor hovering over your pricing page is highly likely to make a purchase. This is valuable, detailed information. Collecting this particular information about this specific visitor determines that visitor's list segment placing. Alternatively, a visitor that arrives on your landing page looking for a wider range of information may not care about pricing yet. This visitor will earn a place on a different segment of your list.  

Why does this matter?   

It matters because the more information you have about your visitors, their behaviors, and interests, the more you will be able to target and send them personalized content. So, when you create forms, emails, and calls to action keep in mind the more data you collect, the better off you are. 

2) Set Your Criteria and Construct Segments.

List segmentation set-up steps differ between marketing software platforms. However, the strategy behind building a list remains the same. You begin with your contact list and develop a segmentation strategy that mirrors yours marketing strategy.

Start by determining your key defining properties. Properties like age, geographic location, budget, and organization type are a pretty standard set of defining properties and a good place to start. However, the number of defining properties are numerous and include such details as seniority level, purchase interests and stage in the sales cycle.   

Once you have set up the defining properties those values are placed in the database. This is where customized software solutions are incredibly helpful. They allow you to easily choose property combinations to create segments.

For instance, if part of your marketing strategy is to send out high-end e-books to senior level purchasing agents, then you will create a segment that includes visitors who are high level, have purchasing power and are hovering near the end of the sales cycle. When a visitor reaches that criteria a personalized email with the e-book attachment is sent.  

3) Track Your Results. 

List segmentation is never finished. It can always be improved. You need to know, with quantifiable evidence, if those senior level visitors responded positively to the ebook offer. If they didn't you need to revamp your strategy.

The best way to determine future changes and customized tweaks is to track your results. Sujan Patel at SEO Journal recommends, "carefully track[ing] your open rates, click-through rates and eventual email-related purchases to determine which of your segments perform best."  

With the right software, you can always change your criteria and re-set your segments to further target specific leads and reach higher conversion rates.