Segmenting “Big Data”
Five Customer Behaviors that Deserve Your Attention Now!
That Plato character was pretty astute. The ancient
Greek philosopher mused, “Human behavior flows from
three main sources: desire, emotion and knowledge.”
Pretty powerful, given that a philosophy introduced
thousands of years ago serves as the basis for all effective
marketing campaigns today. With the introduction
of behavioral targeting tools, marketers now have
the ability to capture data about that human behavior
and use it to tailor marketing campaigns that will conjure
up more desire, emotion or knowledge in order to
encourage a buyer to take the next step — whether
that’s to make the purchase in the first place or to return
to a site to buy more.
And it works. In email, for example, behaviorally
targeted messages perform three times better
in terms of revenue per send over traditional email
communication.
That is, if you’re not using behavioral segmentation
strategies, you’re losing out on valuable conversions.
Here are five customer behaviors that deserve
your attention right now.
Purchased: Past behavior is the best indicator of future
behavior. Segment customers by what they purchased
and send them information on complementary
products related to their purchase. As they purchase
more, you’ll be able to establish a profile of the individual
that gives insights into their wants, needs and
preferences to tailor future marketing.
Viewed Particular Item, But Did Not Purchase:
For these individuals, the desire was strong
enough to begin researching, but not strong enough to
purchase. Did they decide they didn’t need it? Did they
find a better price with a competitor? Segment these
customers by what they viewed
and send email messages that
include positive reviews for the
item or a special promotion for
the item.
Purchased in a Category,
Viewed a Specific SKU: Say
a customer buys something from a
certain product category, then comes
back later and views another product in that category.
Buyer behavior tells us that product is likely his or her
next purchase. Use that knowledge to market at a very
specific level around the latest product the customer is
researching in the category. By marketing at a productspecific
level, it keeps the customer engaged. It keeps
that product top of mind and also positions your site as
the place it should be purchased.
Spent Time on Site, But Did Not Purchase:
There is no commodity more valuable in today’s society
than your customer’s time. Prospective customers
who take the time to “window shop” should be
courted. By segmenting time-on-site, you can get insight
into your most engaged customers, even if they
haven’t purchased yet. You can get specific in your marketing
and highlight the products that were viewed, or
you can be more general. Send an email to these customers
with a special promotion or highlight your easy
return policy. Give these customers a reason to go beyond
engagement to conversion.
Reviewed: No matter what the industry, customers
overwhelmingly say that feedback from peers is a deciding
factor in their decision to purchase. Reviews are
very powerful marketing tools. First and foremost, retailers
should reward their customers who are participating
in the global community of information and
opinion sharing. But more than that, reviews can be
used to personalize marketing. Draw segments around
people who positively and negatively reviewed
specific products, then cross-sell and upsell them, accordingly,
on other products in your catalog. Reviewers
are customers that are already participating in the
conversation about products on your site. Give them
something good to talk about.
In the days of requesting data from IT or laboring
through mountains of disparate sources, behavioral
segmentation was likely just an item on the marketing
wish list. But with easy-to-use tools that can grab
the data quickly and capture it in real time, the lowhanging
fruit of behavioral segmentation is just waiting
to be plucked. Use what you know about your
customers’ intentions to conjure up more desire,
emotion and knowledge; then, watch engagement
and conversions grow.
About the Author: Eric Tobias is the President of iGoDigital


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