Every marketer knows the impact a great segmentation can make. Unfortunately, most segmentations simply don’t.
In today’s world, the traditional 2-dimensional segmentation model doesn’t hold up. Marketplaces are moving faster than ever in this increasingly fragmented, omni-channel environment and traditional segmentation doesn’t stand up to change nor provide the necessary precision on when and how to activate our targets. Worse yet, marketers are often so overwhelmed by the amount of insights they have that a segmentation becomes just ‘one-of-many’ research initiatives that sit on the shelf and never become the foundational, driving pieces of insight they should be.
So how do we overcome those challenges? S+R’s Human-Centric 4D segmentation is what it takes to win in today’s context. Here is our approach:
- Build a segmentation that is durable. One that looks beyond what the consumer is doing today and understands why they are doing it. This requires us to look at them in a human-centered, holistic way that takes into account demographics, behaviors, and attitudes. Understanding the core needs and philosophies that are the WHY behind consumer actions will let us create a segmentation that stands the test of time.
- Factor in the 4th dimension of the situational. When we talk about situational variables, we are referring to a category that is often used in psychology, sociology, and many other disciplines within social sciences. They reflect “the aspects of context influencing customer decision-making.” And most important of all, they reveal how the same customer might make different decisions in different situations.
The right ‘situational’ dimension will vary based on the segmentation. For some it may be literal moments of category need – cooking dinner vs. preparing a snack. For a physician segmentation it may be specific patient profiles. Or at times we’ll even tap into “Jobs To Be Done” thinking to understand the distinct ‘jobs’ customers are ‘hiring’ the category to fill. These are not necessarily functional jobs; these jobs might incorporate emotional or social dimensions as well. Ultimately, this means we understand the specific problems customers are trying to solve and the needs they are acting to provide a clear view of the decision-making landscape.
This full view decision-making landscape means we can identify opportunities to act with greater precision. We go beyond identifying WHO to target by also understanding WHEN and for WHAT.
- Inspire team members and stakeholders. Critical to a segmentation’s success is the marketing team embracing and adopting the segments. To ensure this happens, we continuously engage stakeholders throughout the process. Our process includes stakeholder interviews, an initial alignment work session, segment solution selection, and culminates in an activation workshop. At each step internal team members have the power to shape the process to ensure useful, actionable results.
The capstone of the process is an engaging and inspiring activation workshop that builds team empathy, engages their emotions and imagination, and inspires. Teams walk away with a clear, internalized understanding of the segments as well as a shared vision of the opportunities for action.
Our Human-Centric 4D approach to segmentation can bring focus to brand decisions and inspire impactful activities by identifying:
- WHO has the greatest potential?
- WHERE can we reach them?
- WHAT should we say to them?
- HOW can we best serve them?
Let’s connect at [email protected] to help you arm your team with 4D segmentation insights and information to be more efficient and effective in maximizing impact and inspiring customer action.