One way to streamline and increase profitability for each customer in e-commerce is to work with segmentation. As we mentioned in a previous article, it is important that the customer sees relevant products when they shop and that you create the conditions for a smooth order process. Most people want the customer to have the best experience when shopping. Therefore, it is not uncommon to create customer-unique solutions, e.g. a front page, product selection, etc., to improve the user experience and to increase sales. It is also a good way to maintain customer loyalty and maintain competitiveness. However, it can be resource-intensive in the long run, especially if you have many different types of customers.
Customer segmentation means dividing your customers into different groups based on their needs, wishes and purchasing behavior. This is common in sales and is usually handled via a CRM tool (Customer Relationship Management). This division enables you to then work more resource efficiently. If your customers have similar characteristics, the probability is high that they also have similar needs. However, it is not as common that the configuration of your e-commerce reflects what you have or want to segment.
Before you segment your e-commerce, it is important to know how and what the segmentation should be based on. Here it is important that you analyze your existing customers and their data. It is also important to identify the characteristics that are relevant.
Below are some examples of segmentations within B2B:
- Industry segmentation: Customers are segmented by industry.
- Size of company: Customers are divided according to the size of the company.
- Geographic segmentation: Customers are segmented by geographic area
(region, country or continent). - Segmentation based on previous purchases: Customers are segmented by
previous purchases, what has the customer bought before, do they buy regularly or
are customers who haven't bought in a while. Based on this can different
offers are adapted and marketing for different customer groups.
When you have divided your customers into different segments, you can then create e.g. common price lists, functions, services, campaigns, offers, product range and adapted front page to a specific industry or product area. This means that you can maintain and keep up to date with your customers in a more flexible way. Regardless of the size and order volume of your customers, all customers want to feel "seen", "heard" and "prioritised". Therefore, it is especially important that you can meet their needs continuously.
If you want to know more about how you can make your e-commerce more efficient with the help of segmentation and analysis of data, don't hesitate to contact us.
Mathias Olsson
Mathias is one of the co-owners of eKompass and is responsible for ensuring that our deliveries to customers are always of high quality and delivered on time. Sometimes, when time permits, Mathias will share his experiences.
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