In the highly competitive B2B space, lead generation and conversion has become a priority for businesses aiming to keep ahead of the curve. A one-size-fits-all approach to marketing and sales is just insufficient nowadays. More effectively, the personalised approach has risen to center stage. This is where lead segmentation plays its part as a major game-changer in the industry.
Simply put, by dividing leads into specific segments based on various characteristics, businesses can create more personalised marketing campaigns that resonate with the unique needs of each segment. These characteristics can range from geographic location to buying preferences, from company size to subindustry. This article will delve into the reasons why lead segmentation might be beneficial to you and how to make good use of it.
The benefits of lead segmentation
This is the age of personalisation. There are marketing campaigns all over and businesses vying for attention from all angles. Customers are thus overloaded with choices that are hard to make at such high volumes. What the human mind does is trust its gut. It focuses on those companies that make a stark impression, who resonate with it. The first step is to find business offers that speak to its needs and desires and thereafter compares the offers that are left standing.
We often speak to the efficacy of personalisation in a sales reps approach to closing deals, but the same can be said for planting that initial seed. Lead segmentation allows for targeted marketing campaigns that speak to the pain points of those segments and relates to them in a way that is uniquely resonant with them. With market saturation, lead segmentation is a means of offering tailored solutions and content before talk of purchases are made. In a way, it’s less “invasive” than having an uninvited email or phone call from a sales rep.
Furthermore, by segmenting leads, resources can be allocated differently across different segments. Focusing more resources on segments more likely to convert yields a higher ROI. Resources can be utlised differently as well. It is not all about the amount of resources; different segments might require different styles and approaches while providing the same ROI for the same amount of resources.
However, at its base, personalisation holds the potential for higher conversion rates if done correctly. That is the main draw of targeted campaigns and lead segmentation provides a system for targeting campaigns.
How to implement lead segmentation
Implementing lead segmentation involves a combination of data analysis, customer profiling, and automation.
Data analysis is self-explanatory for the most part. Lead segmentation is just a matter of grouping leads by various data points. The key is finding a pattern to those data points in relevant areas. For example, are there differences in buying behaviour between companies of different sizes? Consider lead behaviour and how they interact with your websites, emails, and content. These provide insights into lead interests and readiness to convert, both of which can serve as characteristics to segment leads by.
Secondly, these data should be coupled with customer profiles. Take note of customers’ preferred modes of communication and marketing channels. Understand what their pain points are, their difficulties, possible challenges that may prevent them from wanting to purchase from you. Consider their goals; what can you provide that they want to achieve? Together with the large amounts of data available, there are many ways in which leads can be segmented.
But this is the era of big data. Personalisation has reached the stage where businesses can group and categorise customers with uncanny accuracy. The key to achieving this is threefold: obtaining data, grouping data in meaningful ways, and acting upon that data. Automation has long reached the point where it can handle all three of those tasks. At each point, a keen mind can still offer input to guide the automation process. What kinds of data will be analysed? Which kinds of groupings are relevant for your business? How can campaigns be tailored to fit with the brand and still resonate with subpopulations of your market? These are all important questions to consider when implementing lead segmentation regardless of whether automation is used or not.
