Why is reverse segmentation so sexy?
The sex appeal of big market research data often fades after its introduction because companies don’t know what to do with it.
The central theme is linking your new and terrifyingly interesting research with your own customer and prospect data. Fortunately, there are simple ways to get to market segmentation and break the pattern of mass marketing that lands many companies in the “also executed” state. We call this reverse targeting and it can create legends in the business world.
This is how reverse segmentation works. Almost everyone has a database of customers and vendor knowledge that can provide lists of potential customers. We may use data commonly found in these databases to develop market segments. For example, using data from a customer’s customer list, we take income, education, and marital status as the basis for the segments.
Once these segments were formed, we psychographically profiled each segment using new market research. The key was that the market research project captured the three key demographics, as well as great information about customer needs and attitudes. This allowed us and our client to organize common customer data against what really matters: customer needs, concerns, and motivations. It also allowed us to attribute likely market attitudes and behaviors to each customer in the customer database.
Market research that captured shopper psychographics and graphs yields particularly valuable information because it can be used to show differences in segment loyalty, profitability, and the best messages to reach goals. With this information, teams can target existing customer segments and new prospects with the priority and intensity necessary for greater success. In fact, reverse targeting like this is often what’s needed to justify buying outside of targeted listings.
Careful analysis plus some trial and error may be required, but I’m sure this puts companies in a better marketing position.
