One of the most important aspects of marketing is effectively connecting with — and influencing — prospects at every stage of the buyer’s journey.
This is where lead segmentation comes in. Lead segmentation is the process of dividing your audience into smaller groups based on shared characteristics like behaviors, interests, and more.
By segmenting your leads, you can more effectively market to each group and provide them with a more personalized experience. In this blog post, we’ll cover some tips for segmenting your leads and provide a few examples of how you can do so.
1. Collect and organize your leads
The first step to segmenting your leads is to collect them. You can collect leads through a variety of methods, such as online forms, landing pages, social media, and more. Once you’ve collected your leads, you’ll need to organize them in a way that makes sense for your business.
For example, you might want to organize your leads by the product or service they’re interested in, their location, or their level of interest in your business. You can use a customer relationship management (CRM) system to help you collect and organize your leads in one place.
2. Gather lead information
Before you can segment your leads, you need to gather information about them. This can include basic contact information, such as their name, email address, and phone number, as well as more detailed information about their needs and preferences.
You can gather lead information in a number of ways, including:
• Contact forms on your website
• Landing pages
• Surveys and questionnaires
• Social media profiles
• Email sign-ups
• Sales calls and meetings
The more information you can gather about your leads, the better you’ll be able to segment them and provide targeted content and offers. Many eCommerce fulfillment companies also use lead segmentation to identify which clients need storage, shipping, or specialized packaging solutions.
3. Establish lead scoring
Lead scoring is a way to rank your leads based on their likelihood to convert. This is a great way to get a quick look at your leads and determine who you should follow up with first.
To do this, you need to assign a point value to each action a lead takes. For example, you might assign 10 points to a lead who signs up for your email list, but 50 points to a lead who requests a demo of your product.
Once you have assigned point values to each action, you can add up the points for each lead to get their lead score. Then you can segment your leads based on their lead score and follow up with the leads who have the highest scores.
4. Use demographic data to segment your leads
Demographics are another easy way to segment your leads.
You can get demographic data from a variety of sources, including your lead capture forms, your CRM, and third-party data providers.
Some common demographic data points to consider include:
• Age
• Gender
• Income
• Marital status
• Education level
• Occupation
• Location
• Language
• Ethnicity
You can use this information to create segments based on the characteristics that are most important to your business.
For example, if you’re a B2B company, you might want to create segments based on job title and company size. If you’re a B2C company, you might want to create segments based on age and income. Furthermore, if you’re a company that does both like an escape room consider segmenting your leads by whether they are planning for professional purposes or personal enjoyment.
5. Use behavioral data to segment your leads
Behavioral data is any information about how your leads act and interact with your local business. This could include things like which pages they visit on your website, how often they open your emails, and which products they look at most often.
By using behavioral data, you can segment your leads based on how likely they are to convert, which products they are most interested in, and what kind of content they are most likely to engage with. For example, in data marketplaces, behavioral segmentation can help match users with the most relevant datasets or providers.
If you run an eCommerce business, behavioral data can also help you identify customers who are most likely to become brand advocates. With referral marketing tools like ReferralCandy, you can automatically enroll your most loyal or high-LTV customers into a referral program, giving them rewards for spreading the word.
This can help you create targeted marketing campaigns that are more likely to convert, and it can also help you identify which leads are most likely to become customers.
6. Use your sales funnel to segment your leads
If you have a sales funnel in place, you can use it to segment your leads. This is a great way to ensure that you’re sending the right messages to the right people at the right time.
For example, you might want to segment your leads based on where they are in your sales funnel. If someone is at the top of your funnel, you might want to send them a general welcome email. But if someone is at the bottom of your funnel, you might want to send them a more personalized email that encourages them to make a purchase.
You can also use your sales funnel to segment your leads based on their level of interest in your product or service. For example, you might want to send a different message to someone who has just signed up for your email list than you would to someone who has been on your list for a while and has already made a purchase.
7. Segment your leads based on how they interact with your website
In addition to segmenting your leads based on how they interact with your content, you can also segment them based on how they interact with your website.
For example, you can segment your leads based on the pages they’ve visited on your website, the amount of time they’ve spent on your website, and whether they’ve taken any action on your website (e.g., filling out a form, making a purchase, etc.).
By segmenting your leads based on how they interact with your website, you can get a better idea of where they are in the buyer’s journey and what types of products or services they might be interested in.
8. Segment your leads based on the content they consume
Another way to segment your leads is based on the content they consume. This can help you get a better idea of what they’re interested in and what they might need help with.
For example, if you have a lead who has been reading a lot of your blog posts on social media marketing, you might want to segment them into a list of leads who are interested in social media marketing. Then, you can send them more content on that topic and even offer to help them with their social media marketing strategy.
This can be a great way to build trust and show your leads that you understand their needs.
9. Segment your leads based on their social media activity
Social media is a great way to connect with your leads and learn more about them. You can use their social media activity to help you segment your leads.
For example, if a lead is following your company on social media and engaging with your posts, they are likely interested in your product or service. You can segment these leads as “warm” and prioritize them in your sales process.
On the other hand, if a lead is not following your company on social media or is not engaging with your posts, they may not be as interested in your product or service. You can segment these leads as “cold” and focus on warming them up before you try to sell to them.
10. Segment your leads based on their responses to your emails
Email is one of the most common ways to communicate with your leads, and it’s also one of the easiest ways to segment them.
You can segment your leads based on their responses to your emails. For example, you can create a segment for leads who have opened your emails but haven’t clicked on any links, and another segment for leads who have clicked on links in your emails.
You can then use this information to personalize your email marketing efforts. For example, you can send a follow-up email to leads who have clicked on links in your emails, and you can send a different follow-up email to leads who haven’t clicked on any links.
11. Use a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system
If you’re not already using a CRM to manage your leads, you should be. A CRM system is a software tool that allows you to track and manage all of your customer and lead data in one place.
With a CRM system, you can easily segment your leads based on their characteristics, behaviors, and needs. You can also use your CRM to track which leads are the most likely to convert, so you can focus your time and energy on them.
In addition, a CRM system can help you automate your lead segmentation process, so you can save time and focus on other important tasks.
Conclusion
Segmenting your leads is a great way to increase your email open and click-through rates, while decreasing your unsubscribe and spam rates. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.
