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If you have been following our posts for a while now or are using QuickReply.ai to set up WhatsApp marketing campaigns, you probably know how important customer segmentation of your WhatsApp list is.
We have been talking about segmenting your WhatsApp list from day zero.
But with the new changes brought by Meta to the conversation-based pricing based on template type, customer segmentation is even more important. So we decided to deep dive into it!
Let’s look at the different ways in which you can segment your WhatsApp list.
What is customer segmentation of WhatsApp list?
Customer segmentation is the process of dividing your customers into groups based on common characteristics displayed so that you can reach out to them in a more contextual manner instead of using generic marketing messages. In this case, it refers to segmenting online shoppers who have subscribed to your WhatsApp list at different times in their buying journey.
Why do you need customer segmentation of WhatsApp list?
Here’s why it is worth deep-diving into customer data to segment them:
- Create and communicate targeted WhatsApp marketing messages that resonate with specific groups of customers
- Identify the best time, frequency and campaign type to communicate with different groups of customers
- Find more opportunities to upsell and cross-sell products and services from your catalog
- Establish stronger customer relationships with personalization
- Get insights to improve products/ services or launch new ones
- Identify your more profitable customers
- Optimize your WhatsApp marketing costs
- Provide better customer service
- Improve customer satisfaction rate
Recommended read: Why and how to use customer segmentation for leveraging the WhatsApp Business API
How to segment customers in your WhatsApp list?
While the customer segmentation strategies you use should depend entirely on the type of business you are running, the products you sell and who you sell to, there are a few segments that all brands can benefit from for sending personalized WhatsApp broadcasts and other campaigns.
Geographical segmentation
Based on where the customer is from or where they get an order placed to, create geographical customer segments. This can be especially useful when you have a brand presence in different locations or are reaching out to different markets with different deals and discounts.
Demographic segmentation
Stepping away from geographical data, this type of customer segmentation requires you to look into other demographics - age, gender, job title, etc. This type of customer segmentation in your WhatsApp list can help you create custom campaigns - think, generation-based promotions or gender-based marketing messages!
Point of subscription segmentation
Another effective customer segmentation strategy is to look into where a buyer subscribed to your WhatsApp list from - it is the highest indicator of what they want to hear about from you. For example, did they subscribe from the order confirmation or thank you page, or did they opt--in from your sale page?
Interest-based segmentation
Based on the products a consumer is browsing through, you can also gauge the interest of buyers. For example, products in the women’s, kid’s, men’s, decor, etc collections. The more specific you are at capturing their interest information, the better marketing campaigns you can create. Think about this as sending newsletters based on only what a customer is interested in!
Purchase-based segmentation
Take a look at the type of products that consumers are purchasing. This could include categories, collections and similar data. By creating a purchase-based segment, you get to run personalized WhatsApp broadcast campaigns and even send product recommendations that are more relevant to the buyers in that category.
Purchase cycle-based segmentation
Purchase cycle refers to how frequently customers make a purchase from your brand - weekly, monthly, yearly, quarterly and so on. Or the time periods during which they tend to make the purchases - vacations, seasons, occasions, and similar. Segment your WhatsApp list based on customer purchase cycles to run campaigns at the right time!
Engagement-based segmentation
One of the key customer segmentation strategies we’ve been using to help brands keep their WhatsApp marketing costs controlled is engagement. In the case of WhatsApp, this means looking into how your customers are engaging with different types of campaigns on WhatsApp. With this information, you can then focus on running campaigns that are more focused on consumers who are likely to engage in a positive way - saves costs too!
Buying behavior-based segmentation
This requires you to look into which groups of your customer base are availing what types of deals, discounts and benefits when making a purchase. Their buying behavior gives you insight into their possible purchase motivations, helping you create WhatsApp marketing messages more strategically.
Purchase power-based segmentation
Another way to segment your WhatsApp list is to look into the purchase power of your customers. This means looking into different groups of your customers and calculating the average order values. The idea is to get a sense of how much a group of customers is willing to spend with your brand or how much they’re comfortable making purchases for.
Satisfaction based-segmentation
If you have been running review requests and customer feedback campaigns on WhatsApp (as we recommended before), you know how customers feel about you - positive, negative, neutral. Use that information to create customer segments - imagine risking reaching out to a customer who negatively reviewed your products to purchase more - an absolute no-no!
Activity based-segmentation
This segmentation is more based on the activity of your subscribers and can include anything that happens before and after a purchase is made. Typically, we like to include activities like add to cart from WhatsApp catalog, requesting more details on catalog products, submitting product reviews and ratings.
Is your WhatsApp list segmented?
We know customer segmentation isn’t easy. It’s a learning process for us as well as we create more WhatsApp marketing campaigns for online brands!
But after having actively researched customer segmentation, its types and importance to business growth, we’d like to help you too.
Whether you have just started with WhatsApp marketing or are looking for ways to scale your campaigns, get in touch with our team of Shopify experts to help you get started with customer segmentation.
And we promise you that your WhatsApp marketing costs will get optimized for a higher ROI from each campaign.
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