Marketing & Sales Effectiveness Supported by Segmentation & Messaging

Targeting, Segmentation and Messaging Approaches

for Marketing and Sales Effectiveness

Christy Aronson

[email protected]

www.linkedin.com/in/christyaronson/

The Promise of Integrated Marketing and Sales To profitably acquire and retain customers, we must employ an integrated marketing

and sales approach that enables us to consistently delivery messages and consumer

experience across all media and interaction channels.

Christy Aronson

[email protected] www.linkedin.com/in/christyaronson/

Consumer Intelligence

Market Intelligence

Analytics

Value

Proposition

Messaging

Actionable Insights

KPIs

Acquisition & Retention

Strategy

Channel Strategy

Targeting &

Segmentation

Voice of the

Customer

ROI

Profitability &

Customer Lifetime Value

Product, Pricing

& Service

Excellence

Expansion of an Integrated Approach Beyond marketing and sales, we need to consider other drivers of cost that impact

profitability and lifetime value.

Christy Aronson


Product Innovation

Distribution Channel

Management

Marketing & Advertising

Sales Customer

Service

Account Management

Customer Segments

• Optimize brand equity • Leverage the optimal mix

of marketing channels aligned to customer segment

• Refine account management strategies

• Offer enhanced services to select customers

• Manage at risk customers

• Improve renewal process

• Expand share of wallet

• Develop reference able clients

• Improve overall customer service

• Expand self-service

capabilities

• Focus selling resources on selected customer segments

• Drive sales effectiveness through the right mix of people, processes and tools

• Segment/select the right channels with proper balance of direct and indirect

• Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of sales channels

• Tailor marketing and sales approaches

• Expand/adapt offerings to meet customer needs

• Offer value added packaging/bundling • Proactively manage pricing • Improve collaboration with internal

stakeholders • Increase speed-to-market and

innovation

• Segment customers and identify personas according to needs and behaviors

• Align products to segments/personas • Devise value propositions and messaging for each persona

Profitability &

Customer Lifetime Value

cost to serve

profitability

satisfaction

ROI

growth

lead conversion

innovation

retention

cross-sell

collaboration

responsiveness

velocity

channel mix

cost of sales

How do we create an integrated marketing and sales model? We need to start with a robust understanding of the customers we serve, their needs,

experiences and attitudes. Segmentation, if done correctly, can get us moving in the

right direction. However, many companies fail at deploying successful segmentation

models.

Christy Aronson


Segment: A subset of the target market, defined as a group of people who share similar characteristics and preferences.

•Demographics

•Behaviors

•Beliefs & attitudes

Addressable Market: The defined population of prospective and existing customers.

Target Market: A subset of the addressable market that a company decides to target for acquisition and retention.

Persona: A completed persona will typically include segment

data as well as specific situational goals and aligned value proposition and messages

•Product needs

•Service needs

Projects that stop at segmentation don’t go far enough to make

the segmentation model actionable. Consistency of message is a

key differentiator of successful segmentation models.

Defining our Target Market Before we do any segmentation, we must first look at our target market and confirm

our priorities.

Christy Aronson


1. New Customers (Acquisition-New) Consumers who currently do not currently buy these products, from us or our competitors

2. Current Customers, Same Product (Retention) Consumers who are already our customers and buy this set of products

3. Current Customers, Different Product (Migration)

Consumers who are already our customers but buy from a different product line

4. Competitors’ Customers (Acquisition-Conversion) Consumers who buy this product from a competitor

Employ acquisition and retention strategies

aimed at consumer segments and personas

Why do we need to segment? Segmentation is a process that groups customers according to similar needs,

preferences and/or behaviors. Segmentation allows the development of differentiated

value propositions customized to the needs of a particular customer segment and

persona.

Christy Aronson


Sales &

Marketing

Products &

Services

Support

Needs

Customer

Value

To understand how to reach the customer

To understand what products

and services the customer is

looking for

To understand the customer’s support needs

(e.g. online,

phone, web,

broker)

To understand the value of the

customer

(e.g. profitability)

Segmentation Approaches Segmentation maturity models emphasize a crawl-walk-run approach by evolving the

complexity of the model over time. Some organizations that leapfrog to an attitudinal

approach do not know how to make it actionable.

Christy Aronson


LEVEL

1

LEVEL

2

LEVEL

3

LEVEL

4

Needs Based Segmentation based on Level 1 and 2 plus product needs/attributes and service/tools needs

Attitudinal Segmentation based on Levels 1-3 plus brand loyalty, attitudes and beliefs, preferences for interaction, switching factors, price sensitivity, satisfaction

Behavioral Segmentation based on Level 1 plus purchase frequency, funnel stage gates, funnel velocity (cycle time), product usage, and services/tools used

Customer Characteristics Segmentation based on products purchased and demographics

Segmentation Approaches Different approaches apply for different situations. The chosen approach will be

determined by an in depth data analysis and result in a meaningful set of customer

value propositions.

Christy Aronson


Pros Cons Best Uses

• Provides a more complete view of how to approach customers

• Not measurable • Difficult to access • Difficult to link to

external data • Requires investment

tools to capture VOC

• Retention • Product dev • Brand strategy • Broad acquisition

• Provides a good understanding of how products and services address needs

• Difficult to access • Requires investment in

customer sat tools

• Product dev • Mktg & sales strat • Service

• Measurable • Actionable • Outcomes are

tracked

• Activities leading to a decision is sometimes hard to track

• Targeted acquisition & retention

• Mktg & sales strat • Historical analysis • Service

• Measurable • Easy to access

data

• Hard to link to behavior

• Retention • Targeted acquisition • Service

Customer Segmentation Project Plan

Christy Aronson


Description

Review existing segmentation model and

define objectives for new/updated model

Gather data and define segmentation variables

Group customers based on key elements

Define segment characteristics

Primary Activities

• Validate objectives and identify performance levers

• Review current segmentation models

• Research segmentation best practices

• Define hypotheses • Identify analytical

methodology and data requirements

• Define segmentation parameters

• Identify internal and external data sources

• Collect external data • Collate internal and

external data into an integrated data set for analysis

• Identify segment drivers and customer differentiation factors

• Perform analysis to group customers with similar characteristics

• Evaluate segmentation model fit vs objectives

• Classify customers into preliminary segments

• Finalize segmentation

• Identify characteristics of each segment

• Profile segments based on key variables and analysis insights

• Validate or reject segmentation hypotheses

• Review segmentation profiles with client stakeholders

Deliverables

• Validated business objectives

• Well-defined hypotheses

• Analysis methodology

• Segmentation parameters

• List of all data sources • Integrated database

• Final segmentation scheme

• Segment profiles • Validated hypotheses

Resulting segmentation should then be used to

define personas

Why create personas? Personas enable greater customer intimacy and better decision making aimed at the

customer experience. This process needs to result in a set of messages that will

resonate for each persona.

Christy Aronson


Refocuses teams on the customer (vs the transaction) Reinforces the Voice of the Customer Provides an easy way to embed customers into daily activities

Puts a face to a customer segment

Adds weight to the broader organization as to which segments are the most valuable and how to approach them

Supports agreement on a shared vision of who customers are Can be further customized as understanding of customers evolves

Provides actionable information that business areas can plan/act on Supports a broader effort for an understanding of the customer

experience and the multi-touchpoint view of how the customer interacts with us

What are personas? Personas are a way of bringing consumers to life. Defining robust key messages will

help marketers and sales people to convey a compelling value proposition.

Christy Aronson


Example Persona Mary

Mary is a young mother who struggles to make ends meet for her two young children. She didn’t

graduate high school and is a part time house keeper. She lives close to family and is part of a tight-

knit community that helps each other out as best as they can. She dreams of going back to finish

school, but that dream seems unattainable.

Age 17 - 25

Gender Female

Race White/Caucasian

Income $20,000 - $30,000

Lifestyle Behaviors

Does not work out; eats fast food on the run

Technology Does not have personal computer or high-speed internet, owns a cell phone, communicates via text message

Quotes:

“What will happen to my kids if something happens to me?”

“My employers are cutting back the frequency that they need me to work, and I worry about paying the bills.”

“I watch other families at the park who seem to have no cares. Maybe if I went back to school I could get a better job.”

“Given the time I spend cleaning other people’s houses, I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the things I need to do to keep my own life in

order.”

Key messages:

“We can help you take better care of yourself.”

“There are a variety of products at different price points, features and benefits.”

This section should be built out in great detail.

Personas Project Plan

Christy Aronson


Description

Assess current segmentation and supplement with Voice of the

Customer

Develop personas to describe all aspects of how a person in a given

segment looks, feels and acts

Develop and execute a plan for implementing personas and

embedding them in appropriate operational areas

Primary Activities

• Understand current segments as a starting point for developing personas

• Complement existing data by integrating the Voice of the Customer

• Set objectives and priorities (e.g. which areas will personas be used?)

• Conduct field studies with segments to gather insights on aspirations, beliefs, attitudes, values, goals, needs, behaviors, socioeconomic factors and life stage

• Utilize data gathered to generate persona descriptions that offer a glimpse of their personalities

• Bring personas to life with vignettes

• Ensure that personas effectively define a seamless customer experience

• Plan the execution and integration of personas into the company’s strategy, culture, processes, and infrastructure

• Communicate how personas are to be used by different business areas

• Develop process for ongoing maintenance and review of segments and personas

• Execute persona targeted initiatives

• Develop persona specific dashboards

Deliverables

• Consolidated data including Voice of the Customer

• Analysis of consumer behaviors, needs

• Personas described and detailed • Key messages aimed at each

persona for marketing, sales and service purposes

• Implementation and maintenance plan

• Communication plan and materials

• Dashboards and reporting