How can client segmentation improve your personalized outreach?

Client segmentation will vary by company, key values, and in some instances by personal communication style. Segmenting helps you become more knowledgeable, ideally becoming a subject matter expert within a specific niche. It also can help you to manage your time and energy in a more effective way. Ultimately segmenting should allow you to truly learn about unique client needs, understand impacts in the industry, economy and develop valued relationships as a business partner.

What is client segmentation IN THE MERCHANT SERVICES world – well it’s not by age, income, location life stage, investment style . . .Who writes this stuff?? – how about we start with FUNCTIONAL NEED – If I were starting anywhere, it would be by what the merchant needs. A pure online merchant needs different information advice and guidance or support vs. someone who is purely a retail face to face merchant. And even more so a merchant client who does both, because now you need to both combine but also show the differentiation between their acceptance models within their business. I’d start with FUNCTIONAL NEED – who cares how old they are, or any of that other AI stuff that was written.

Client segmentation isn't a mere strategy; it's a philosophy of building relationships, one client at a time. It's about understanding your clients as individuals, not just data points. When you grasp their stories, needs, and aspirations, you create bonds that lead to meaningful connections, client loyalty, and sustainable business growth.

Client segmentation is absolutely crucial as different client needs will come into play. Having a one size fits all approach is presumptuous. It's useful to tailor make our proposition or least have the ability to offer a bespoke service.

Client segmentation improves personalized outreach by allowing you to target specific groups with tailored messages, leading to higher engagement, reduced churn, and more efficient resource allocation. It helps you understand and meet the unique needs of different client segments, ultimately enhancing your business outcomes.

Why is segmentation important? – Getting them in the information they need (see above) in a timely manner to support changes in the payment echo-sphere and the continuing evolution of the payment space. One of the keys is pricing, but also changes in regulations surrounding chargebacks and effective fraud management and PCI compliance (different in the online world to the retail world and that is further segmented based on terminal vs POS systems).

Because it enhances customer experience, it's human nature to appreciate when someone "gets" us. Through segmentation, you're offering a more personalized and customer-centric experience. This builds trust, loyalty, and lasting relationships—akin to the bonds you share with friends who truly understand you.

How to segment? – Again, in the merchant space I’d start with NONE OF THE WORDS to the left – “personality, values, lifestyle” – again I’d segment by functional need, and the business model and sub-segment that based on their “high risk” vs. low risk” business and their acceptance model. I’d review them also based on size (volume processed) because the sophistication of a larger client (usually but not always) is elevated in both need and scope to that of a smaller regular retail client.

Segmentation isn't about labels but understanding each client's story. It's rooted in data analysis, allowing you to make informed decisions about your outreach. This human touch is about caring enough to discover their preferences and behaviours.

In payments, we would segment clients based on volume and expansion needs. For instance, a small company might require a license to use the product and turn to customer service when needing assistance. For smaller customers, an assigned customer success manager can handle a large portfolio to provide updates, manage escalations, and upsell. For larger clients that require constant interaction to support new initiatives alongside a SME in risk, compliance, product updates, integrations, etc, a more seasoned CRM will be assigned. The portfolio is smaller because the managed tasks are more complex and require a lot of attention. This is how segmenting support is effective.

Personalized outreach – it’s not “motivation and goals”? – but is more centered around lower prices, effective chargeback management, and key reporting to understand how their card based acceptance is supporting their business model – those are the motivations that drive most (all) merchants in MERCHANT SERVICES – at least they have been in my career to be top ones.

People are drawn to conversations that address their pain points, interests, and goals. Segmentation empowers you to send messages that hit the mark, prompting actions such as opening emails, clicking links, or responding to calls. It's about making your clients feel heard and understood.

Measure impact of segmentation? – Here come the “Data” question – how much of it do we have and how many different ways can we segment it to make numbers show what someone wants (sorry for the sarcasm, but as written – there is nothing here – I’d start with “how many of them are leaving” that has always a good indicator of your value, and at least as important is how many “come back” – and their reasoning. Look at your model, know who your clients are and make sure (in whatever way works for you) you’re bringing value.

Like adapting your communication style when talking to different friends, segmented groups allow you to experiment and fine-tune your outreach. Through A/B testing, you can discover what resonates best with each segment, constantly refining your approach.

Segmenting based on Demographics, Psychographics, Behavior, Geography is traditional way of Segmenting and would not work always. Right method of Segmenting is based on Job. Understand what is the pain point and what is the unsolved problem of the client and your product/service must aim to solve that problem. Jobs are basically pain points of the clients. Ask yourselves what are the pain points of the customer & how well you can tailor your products/services to address those pain points. We will have to segment clients with this approach.