We’ve all had the experience of developing a product that we’re so excited about, only to have it fall flat with customers.

Or how about when we create a name or logo for our business, but our customers don’t use it, don’t connect with it, and don’t remember it?

It happens because we didn’t take the time to really understand our customers or clients.

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But that process can be confusing.

What information is important?

Are demographics enough? What about motivations, preferences, dislikes?

Most importantly, how the hell do we organize the info so that we understand it and can use it?

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Segmentation is a term we use in branding to start understanding… well, literally everything we need to know about customers and their behavior.

And while it can sound technical, any small business owner can actually start using segmentation right away to develop offers and branding that customers will be passionate about.

Segmentation is how we begin to understand our customers in an organized way and build offers and branding that actually respond to their needs.

The result is that customers really love what we do and are excited to be part of it.

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.
There’s what we see at the surface, like age, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity and so on. This is stuff that is easy to find out.
Then there are more traits — things that are a little less obvious.
For example, there’s everything that people do — like go to work, improve their health, eat out, and do all their hobbies, family time, and so on.
And we can go even deeper and learn even more.

The surface level: Demographics

As small business owners, we should have a good idea of who our customers or clients are.
We tend to know how their demographics group up - what gender, what age, or what job type.
Maybe we tend to know their politics or where they live, their income bracket. All of these traits are demographic.

Demographics are important, but they are just the beginning of our journey. So make sure you understand them, but be prepared to go beyond them almost immediately.

Demographics are just one piece of the picture - and by themselves, they don’t tell us much about how to connect with a customer.

At worst, they can become a stereotypes that limits what we think is possible for a customer, or leads to the development of patronizing, inauthentic messaging. We don’t want that.

It’s often the stuff we don’t see right away that’s the juiciest for supercharging our businesses.

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

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Let’s dig deeper: Behavior

If demographics are who your customer is “on paper,” behavior is what they *do.*

**People encounter specific situations where they buy.**
People buy dishwashers *when their dishwasher breaks down.* They stop for coffee while *driving to work.* They buy baby clothes, books and toys *before having a baby* or before attending a baby shower.
Importantly, buying isn’t just about who you are, it’s also situational.
Personally, I like to get fast food if I’ve been working hard and feel especially stressed. But when I buy groceries and plan out my meals, I’m all about veggies, wraps and healthy snacks.
At different times, I might act like an entirely different customer type! And that’s pretty typical.

I run a small business that sells small novelty items like stickers and affordably priced home decor. We run promotions every weekend, when most of our customers have just been paid and want to buy an affordable treat for themselves or a friend. We know that our customers celebrate certain occasions with greater spending. We know they frequently buy small gifts for their friends.

Understanding our customers helps us plan promotions and launch and highlight products at the right times of year.

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

How we see ourselves: Personality

Some people are risk takers; others seek comfort.
Some strive for conventional success. Others take pride in creating their own handmade life.
Personality encompasses traits that people have — **ways that they think about the world and themselves.**
Critically, personality is one of the biggest drivers of brand loyalty and brand relationships.
**Question:** What are some personality types you’ve noticed among your 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 where we get into the *emotional* experience of making a purchase. The deeper **why.**
This is probably my favorite one, personally. It is just so rich and offers so much usable information as we develop products.

The really important thing to understand here is that all purchases can have emotional motivations. If you sell things that aren’t necessities, it is obvious that there is an emotional driver.

But even paper towel and hiking boot purchases can have important emotional components.

Motivations are our desire to feel or seem a certain way, and most of us actually use products everyday to help achieve those goals. Whether you realize it or not, you are constructing and maintaining your own identity partly through what you buy, and it is probably not all about cost or quality.

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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: Dig as deep as you can. Don’t be satisfied with your first answer.

The bedrock: Fears, worries, and anxieties

In our soil metaphor, anxiety is the *bedrock* - the final layer. It’s always down there, even if you can’t see it.
Traditional customer models don’t always include this layer. I like to include it because I think it gives us the final piece of information we need— the experiences our customers are trying *not* to have.
W
e want to avoid creating those experiences for our customer. We also want to be aware of fears and anxieties when we market or decide how to present products.

Often we will choose to avoid discussing the customer’s anxiety, or reminding them of it. Sometimes we will reference it intentionally. It really depends on the type of product and brand.

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

Think of a purchase you’ve made recently - maybe clothing, perfume or cologne, hair care product, jewelry or a watch, a retinol skin cream, a fun drink. What motivates you to make that purchase?

And what’s the underlying anxiety behind that motivation? What are you afraid you will feel if you don’t get what you want or need?

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

Just like us, our customers also deal with fears, anxieties and general free-floating discomfort, and use products and services to deal with it.

Understanding what your customers worry about is powerful information. It helps to ensure that the branding and product line is meaningful to customers (ei., that it helps the anxiety). It helps ensure you don’t unintentionally trigger those anxieties when you are trying to soothe them.

Usually we won’t talk about anxiety directly in our marketing and branding. Instead, we’ll use the knowledge to guide our decisions, ensuring that we offer things that solve the fear.

We bring comfort or excitement, humor or seriousness, as needed. Our colors, fonts, visual styles and brand voice help to communicate to the customer that we can solve their anxiety.

It’s part of how we understand the role that our products or services play in our customer’s lives.

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

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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 always schedule a free consultation with me. I develop impactful and beautiful visual brands — informed by deep branding strategy — for passionate small business clients.