Nowadays the ecommerce offer is very broad, so we should not be surprised when we hear that segmentation is the key to differentiating ourselves from the competition.

Segmentation helps us classify users and select our target audience, since our products are not going to be aimed at everyone.

What is market segmentation?

Market segmentation consists of dividing different clients or potential clients into groups with the aim of reaching a more specific audience and being able to fully personalize the message we want to convey to them.

Thanks to segmentation we can divide and group different users based on the collection of different variables, with the aim of creating a more personal experience based on this data.

Market segmentation is going to be key in the marketing and advertising strategy that we are going to do in our ecommerce, as well as in the launch of new products. In this way we ensure that we do not waste resources and we make our message reach the audience that is really interested in our products.

Characteristics of market segments.

For the market segmentation we carry out to be successful, we must take into account the following characteristics:

• Measurable: it must be able to be measured and quantified.
• Accessible: the company must be able to have easy availability of the group for measurement, observation, analysis, testing and marketing purposes.
• Substantial: the segment must be large enough to generate the desired profitability.
• Actionable: the segment must be operational for the company and allow campaigns and strategies to be applied and directed.

Criteria for successful market segmentation.

There are countless ways to carry out market or audience segmentation. Below we detail the most known and used:

• Geographic or location: the geographical criterion is one of the most used and the simplest when it comes to grouping users. Demographic segmentation can be very detailed, depending on the level of detail we want to reach, but the most common is to use country, region or city variables. Similarly, segments based on the geographical category may also have the same language or the same climate in common.
  
  
• Demographics: we must know our audience very well to be able to apply this criterion in a simple way. To do this we must take into account the following data:
  
  - Age or gender.
  - Nationality.
  - Income level.
  - Education or studies.
  - Adquisitive level.
  - Religious beliefs.
  - Profession or activity you carry out.
  - Size of the family nucleus.
  - Civil status

This type of segmentation allows us to refine more when segmenting the market and reaching a certain target audience. It is one of the most used methods to classify customers.

• Business: based on the attributes of the company such as industry, company size, location, employees... In this way, we will be able to further profile the sector in which the company will position itself and, to do so, we will have to know who the competitors and what products they offer to the market.
  
  
• Behavioral or behavioral: This involves evaluating the behavior and conduct of users to establish a series of common characteristics that allow them to be grouped. With this criterion, specific needs and behaviors are sought, such as:

- How they use your website: What pages they visit, when, at what time they buy, what products they click on, when was the last time they bought... What they know about your products: They already know our brand or are in the research process.
- How much they use your products: are they repeat buyers or do not buy again.
- How they make decisions: they are impulsive customers or, on the contrary, they take a while to make the purchase decision.

• Psychographic: It is a segmentation criterion that takes into account the psychological traits of people and that affect their consumption habits. To classify the audience by this criterion we have to consider aspects such as: personality, lifestyle, values ​​or beliefs, interests, social class and concerns or opinions.

This segmentation criterion, if done effectively, can be the most useful when segmenting our audience.

Advantages of market segmentation for an ecommerce.

As we have mentioned previously, segmentation will allow us to divide our target audience into different groups and in this way we will be able to impact them in a more personalized way and we will be able to:

1. Attract truly interested customers: We will be able to know the profile of users who are really interested in our products or services and we will be able to impact them in a much more effective way. In this way, we will be able to increase the number of sales.
2. Know the needs of our clients and identify new opportunities: By studying the behavior of your clients, you will be able to design more personalized strategies based on their needs and, in addition, you will be able to get ahead of your competition by knowing what your clients are really looking for.
3. Reduce costs and efforts: You will know where you should direct your efforts and you will be able to obtain greater profitability from your advertising campaigns, investing money and resources in the channels most used by our audience.
4. Build customer loyalty: With segmentation we create a more personalized relationship with our customers, this makes them trust us more and choose us over other brands, they can even become prescribers of our brand.

The steps to create a good market segmentation strategy.

1. Market analysis.

The first step to carry out a good segmentation strategy is to carry out a market study, that is, carry out an in-depth analysis of the sector, the competition and the consumers. Once a more general analysis has been carried out, it is important to focus on the market niche on which we are going to focus and carry out a more detailed analysis.

2. Definition of the buyer persona.

Secondly, we must analyze the consumer we want to target and create our buyer persona. It is important that in addition to taking into account the aforementioned criteria, we determine the customer journey that our client can follow, that is, the different points they will go through before making the purchase decision. These points can be positive and negative and we must take them into account, to resolve them so that our client finally decides to purchase our products.

3. Creation of the marketing strategy.

Once we are clear about the previous steps, it is time to design the marketing strategy that we want to carry out to impact the different buyer personas.

4. Analysis of the results.

Once we have launched our marketing strategy, we must analyze the results we are obtaining and adjust what we see is not working correctly.

As we have seen, market segmentation will help us know our potential clients and be able to impact them in a more personalized and effective way. If we also carry out our marketing strategy taking this segmentation into account, we will have more success and therefore more sales than if we carry out a generic campaign.

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