Counting The Stars: Why Segmentation Is Vital For Your Ecommerce Success...
Friday 7:40pm
January 24, 2020 (Updated 2023)
Dear fellow Digipreneur & ADthusiast,
Have you ever thought about how many stars there are in the sky?…
Well you probably didn’t know this but there are as many stars in the sky as there are products being sold online.
Now, please don’t Google that, just know it’s a fact; because let’s face it, nowadays, it seems like everybody and their mom has an online store.
Everyone’s trying to get a piece of the pie! Individuals and corporations alike! So, yeah…it’s safe to say that the internet’s becoming quite overcrowded. And not with just sellers, but with buyers too…
Inevitably creating a buyer’s market.
Mo’ Buyers, Mo’ Problems...
Ok, I know you’re thinking “Hey, what’s your deal bro?! What’s wrong with it being overcrowded with buyers? How is that even a problem you fuckin’ moron?! More buyers means more opportunities to sell!”
And to that I say, please save your questions for the end. But in all fairness those are valid thoughts… I’m not judging.
Therefore, I will go ahead and address them. Because it’s the right thing to do.
Now, all kidding aside, what I mean is that you should really be thinking about how a buyer’s market affects you as an ecommerce Digipreneur?
Because, although there are more opportunities to sell your products, a buyers’ market means your prices will be kept really low, you’ll have a lot of competition, and your marketing/advertising won’t be as effective.
Yet, it’s this last point about marketing/advertising that’s particularly important to pay attention to.
Here's Why:
Price and competition are beyond your control.
However, marketing/advertising is not; It’s quite the opposite…You’re in complete control.
But there is a caveat: Most of the ads you run are ineffective.
And no, It’s not because you suck at marketing. Let me explain…
When every buyer is being bombarded with constant advertisements of products for every need and want (because it’s a buyer’s market, remember?) they become desensitized to them.
Which automatically renders most of your ads ineffective.
However, there is a way you can stop this from happening.
All you have to do is simply start with a foundation for your marketing strategy. Everything else will scale from there.
“So, what exactly is this marketing strategy foundation?!” you ask ad-thusiasticly.
Well, it’s very simple:
The foundation or bedrock of any great marketing strategy is segmentation.
Segmen…Wha?
Segmentation.
What's Segmentation?
Long, Professional Definition:
Segmentation in marketing is defined as the process of breaking down the total market for your product or service into distinct subgroups or segments; Whereby each segment may represent a separate target market to be reached with a distinctive marketing mix.
Short, Useful Definition:
Segmentation determines if you’re market’s hot or not by determining which kinds of customers exist.
Why Is Segmentation Important?
Segmentation is important for several reasons:
- It groups your customers, who share similar demand preferences, together within each segment.
- It helps you gain customer insight.
- It helps you truly understand the needs of your potential and actual customers so you know what needs you can serve, what needs you can’t, and what needs you want to serve.
- It prevents your marketing strategy from being a poorly conceived and executed house of cards waiting to collapse.
- BECAUSE NOTHING SUCKS MORE THAN SELLING MERCH THAT NOBODY WANTS!
What Are The Benefits Of Segmentation?
Here are 6 core benefits of doing segmentation for your online store (In no particular order).
- You’ll increase competitiveness and lower the chances of a new competitor entering your space.
- You’ll expand your store into a new territory or new demography and increase your market share.
- You’ll plan your products through the life cycles of your customers and encourage customer retention.
- You’ll communicate better and create promotions that are spot on.
- You’ll focus better and receive better returns.
- You’ll increase profits and have more money, more confidence, a happier, fuller life.
How Can Segmentation Be Used To Gain These Benefits?
Segmentation doesn’t have to be quite as cumbersome as it seems. Here’s what you need to know to quickly and easily segment your market, increase your sales and gain a competitive edge.
Here’s a cheatsheet of the most common types of variables you can use for effectively segmenting your market:
Geographic: Refers to location and includes:
- Region of the world
- Continent
- Country
- East/West/North/South/Central/Coastal, etc…
- Country size,
- Area size and type
- Urban
- Rural
- Suburban
- Town, CIty, Village
- Climate
Demographic: Refers to personal statistics such as:
- Income
- Age
- Gender
- Education
- Occupation
- Ethnicity
- Religion
- Nationality/Race
- Language
- Family size
Psychographic: Refers to traits such as:
- Lifestyle
- Attitudes
- Personality
- Values
Behavior: Refers to traits such as:
- Brand loyalty
- “Heavy user” or “Light user”
- Buying status
- Buying role
- User type
- Benefits sought
Occasion: Refers to when product is used:
- Birth
- Weddings
- Funerals
Don’t forget! Always make sure that your segmentation leads to segments that are:
- Measurable/Identifiable: This means that the variables you used should easily identify and measure the potential customers in each of those segments.
- Accessible: This means that the variables you used should lead to you being able to reach your selected target market with your marketing efforts.
- Meaningful: This means that the variables you used should lead to segments that show clear variations in market behavior and responses to your marketing mix.
- Substantial: This means that the variables you used should lead to segments that are sufficiently large enough to be worthwhile.
Conclusion...
Alright, now that you have a rough estimate of how many stars there are in the sky it’s time to take your new found knowledge (no pun intended) and start building up that foundation we were just talking about.
That way you can soon become the brightest star of them all…
Well, until next time my friend… Stay healthy, stay wealthy.
Sincerely,
John Selvey
P.S. One thing you must do before you can effectively segment your market is create a buyer Persona. This is an extremely Important step. Always remember the ancient proverb that goes “Know thy customer and you shall know thyself”…
Or something like that. You catch my drift.