Building strong brands with customer segmentation

Segmentation is a term we use in branding to start understanding everything we need to know about our customers and their behavior. A customer segment is a group of customers who we can define and understand in an organized way.

And while it can sound technical, any small business owner can start using segmentation right away to develop offers, branding and ways of speaking that their customers connect with.

The result is that customers really love our brand and our offerings, feel seen and understood, and are eager to deepen the relationship.

Getting the dirt on our customers

We know our customers aren’t simple stereotypes — they have layers, just like soil.

So let’s dig deeper.

Age, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity and so on are part of the surface layer — Demographics.

Then there are the things that are a little less obvious.

For example, there’s everything that people do — like go to work, improve their health, eat out, do hobbies, family time, and so on.

And beyond that, there’s who they are — what they like, how they want to see themselves. What drives them. What they find objectionable, and what causes anxiety.

The surface level: Demographics

Demographics— like gender, income bracket, and education level— are important, but they are also just the beginning of our journey. So make sure you understand them, but keep in mind that demographics alone don’t tell us as much as we think.

Sometimes, demographics can become stereotypes that lead to the development of patronizing, inauthentic, or just ineffective messaging.

Question: What demographics do your customers fall into? Do you serve multiple demographics?

-

Digging a little deeper: Behavior

People encounter specific situations where they buy.

People buy dishwashers when their dishwasher breaks down. They stop for coffee while driving to work. They may buy baby toys before attending a baby shower.

Importantly, buying isn’t just about who you are, it’s also very situational. Emotions, occasions, and cycles in our day, week and month lead to purchases.

Personally, I am more likely to go through the fast food drive through if I’ve been working hard or feel stressed. But when I buy groceries and plan out my meals, I’m all about veggies.

At different times, I might act like an entirely different customer type! And that’s pretty typical of all of us.

Understanding customer behavior helps us key into moments where customers need us and be present for them. It affects everything from the placement of an ad to the placement of a physical store.

Question: What are some occasions when customers want or need what you offer?

Personality

Some people are risk takers; others seek comfort.

Some strive for conventional success. Others take pride in creating their own handmade, quirky or unconventional life.

Critically, personality is one of the biggest drivers of brand loyalty and brand relationships because branding itself has a huge personality element.

Brand personalities come through in color symbolism, fonts, voice and language, photography and videography, and so much more.

Contrast the brand personalities of Patagonia and LL Bean - two outdoor clothing retailers. What do their homepages tell you about the personalities of their customers?

Check out this model of personality types and see if you recognize your customers or yourself.

Why we buy: Motivations

The Motivation layer is rich and offers so much usable information, which is why it is my favorite layer of the segmentation model.

All purchases can have emotional motivations. Certainly there are also considerations like price and practicality, but emotion plays a role even then.

Motivations are our desire to feel or seem a certain way, and most of us use products everyday to help achieve those goals. We might be loyal to certain brands because they play into our self-image in a way that is important to us.

Wanting certain things for ourselves — like staying young, feeling attractive, or appearing wealthy — are major drivers of purchases and brand affinity. Some motivations are easy to admit to, while others may be hidden from view. Brands market to both overt and covert motivations, sometimes simultanously.

Question: What are your motivations when you purchase from your favorite company?

What are the motivations when a customer makes a purchase from you?

Tip: Don’t be satisfied with your first answer. Instead, ask: “And why do they want that?” again and again.

The bedrock: Anxieties

In our soil metaphor, anxiety, or fear, is the bedrock - the final layer.

These are the experiences our customers are trying not to have.

We want to be aware of fears and anxieties when we decide how to present our brand and product. We don’t want to inadvertently trigger a fear or present things in a way that our customer would find objectionable.

At the same time, we may have a product that helps address some of those fears, and in that case we may need to refer to or lightly trigger the fear in our ad copy, product listing, and so on.

But no matter what, we want to be aware of it.

Think of a purchase you’ve made recently. What motivated you to make that purchase?

And what’s the underlying anxiety behind that motivation? In other words, what discomfort are you trying to solve or avoid?

Again, dig deep and don’t be satisfied with your first answer.

Question: What do your customers worry about? How does your product or offering help them with their fear?

-

I hope you’ve enjoyed this educational post exploring customer segmentation for small business.

If you’re interested in developing a meaningful brand that authentically connects with your customers, you can schedule a free consultation with me. I develop small business brands informed by branding strategy.