When they do, what should you be looking for? Here are a few practical tips about what you should see in a market segmentation proposal.  If you see these things, it tells you that this proposal is from an experienced market research firm that understands how to mitigate the risks specific to segmentation projects.

The Kickoff Meeting

Do they specify a kickoff meeting?  How do they describe it?  Do they discuss things like using it as an opportunity to generate hypotheses for the segmentation model? Will they use it as an opportunity to discuss existing models, or to show you case studies of past market segmentation models that they’ve developed?

The kickoff meeting for this type of study is an important time for everybody to come together from the client side, as well as from the agency side, to put their best thinking forward.

Anybody who forgets to mention a kickoff meeting or only mentions it in the most cursory manner is overlooking one of the most important parts of making sure that the market segmentation study goes smoothly. A kickoff meeting is a good best practice for any market research project process—and is especially critical for complex ones, such as segmentation.

Model Development

How does the proposal describe the process of developing a market segmentation model?  And how will it be delivered?  Will the agency come to you with a model at the end of the project and say, “Voila!  Here is your market segmentation model”? That approach usually does not work well.

Market segmentation is not an absolute science.  Usually by the time you’ve done an exhaustive analysis, you’ve found at least two or three viable models that are then evaluated for final selection, using some agreed upon criteria (such as fit with sales strategy, suitability for informing product roadmaps, etc.).

My preference is to have the client involved in that process. And the proposal should set that expectation by offering to involve the client, and stating that at the end of the analysis phase the agency will share the best model options and candidly discuss their relative merits and weaknesses. No model is perfect.

Any agency that just says, “We will find the best model and that’s the model we will present,” well frankly, that’s just too simplistic.

Now, is it possible that after exhaustive analysis one really attractive model does come about? Sure, but that’s never been my experience. In fact, I’ve done projects where we’ve had four or five reasonable models to choose between.

Actionability

Do they say anything in the proposal about what will make the market segmentation actionable?  For example, do they talk about how they will be sure to find customer groups that will be feasible for you to actually reach or identify? Do they lay out a framework for how their segmentation analysis will be designed to support the tactical or strategic decisions that you’re going to want to inform by using the model?

Timeline

Segmentation takes time.  It is an iterative process. If they claim that they’re going to be doing the analysis part of the project in 7 business days or less, be skeptical.

Visual Display Examples

It’s always important to get a sense of how well a company can communicate research results through visual displays.  If their proposal includes visual display examples that you find intuitive and logical, then that gives you a good idea that they’ll be able to do the same for your project. Given a choice, avoid market research firms that can’t communicate their research results clearly.  After all, when you select your segmentation model you will need to share it within your organization—an experienced agency knows that and will know how to help you successfully communicate the model to your audience.

Bottom line

Selecting an agency for a market segmentation project is a big decision. Compared to many other types of research studies, segmentation is more complex and therefore riskier.   Evaluate the proposals you’ve received carefully to weed out agencies that clearly are not experienced or are offering a too-simple-to-be-true solution.

[Any questions about hiring a market research agency for your next market segmentation study? Check out our online class here, or email your question to KKorostoff@ResearchRockstar.com or use this form to request more information: InfoRequest].

Or was it?

The session started off benign enough. A classic segmentation study. Start with some qualitative, proceed to quant. SOP.

Key pointers from the session included:

• Be sure to spend sufficient time planning the project
• Be sure to have clarity on objectives (how the segmentation model will be used)
• Include stakeholders in the process
• Start with qual as a phase 1

All good, basic points, but certainly not 2.0.

But they did do two things not currently done in all segmentation studies.

1. For the qualitative Phase, Southwest used ethnography. Tammy Sachs was their partner for this phase, and she shared some great video snippets from their ethnographic interviews.  I must say, it was very compelling to hear customers talk about their attitudes and perceptions of Southwest as well as of other airlines.  Those who felt strongly about getting miles—and listening to their passion about it was impressive. Those who value a good deal were also very articulate and compelling. And so on. There is nothing like hearing—and seeing—people  talk ad lib to really get a sense of their attitudes and values.  So ethnography is cool, and applied very well here…but is it “2.0”? Debatable.
2. They used an “a priori” segmentation model. Yup, that’s right. They went into the study with a hypothesized set of segments in mind. The segments were based on behavioral data from their existing customer database.  During the presentation, this confused me. We were, after all, in a session on conducting segmentation. The process was defined as qual, leading to quant. But the speaker occasionally referred to the segments they started with. Isn’t a segmentation study usually used to derive segments?  Well, not in this case.

Southwest was concerned about having a model that would be actionable with its existing customer database. So they opted to create a segmentation model based on variables they already have, and build from there.  The market research was then designed to do two things:

1. See if they missed any important segments
2. Profile the segments they had created from the database

Now I confess, upon hearing this, I was stunned. This is not 2.0 in my mind…this is 1.0.  But after my initial reaction, I digested a bit. And there is some important merit in their approach.

Consider this:

• They have a model that allows them to easily tag customers into segments (so no risk of having a model that is academically interesting but hard to apply to real business tactics)
• They have a model that will likely resonate with their decision makers (since it uses variables that are familiar)

So is it 2.0? I don’t think so. But it brazenly defies a lot of current thinking about segmentation. And that is refreshing.

Southwest is often described as a low frills airline that delivers great value. Perhaps this also describes their segmentation approach.

[For more on segmentation, check out this video preview: Video Link]

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Segmentation models vary from basic to complex, and the approaches to developing and applying them is a topic for an entire book itself. But here are three examples of the very real benefits a segmentation model delivers:

1. Plan product roadmaps. It’s a lot easier to craft a roadmap when you have internal agreement about the profiles—including needs and behaviors—of the most attractive customer segments. If decision makers share a common view of what the most attractive segments are, and their emerging needs, planning new products and product improvements becomes a far more time and resource efficient  process. Not to overlook the obvious benefit that customer-inspired product ideas are more likely to succeed.
2. Embrace niche marketing. Few companies can afford to compete with the big fish in the big pond. Instead, a segmentation model shows you how to be a big fish in a little pond—or several little ponds.  A segmentation project can be designed to identify, profile and select profitable niches.
3. Setting your budget. Why let a marketing budget be set by something arbitrary, such as percent of sales? A segmentation model can provide a more meaningful, analytical approach. Given the size of attractive segments, and objectives for each segment (awareness/preference/market share, etc.), a strategic budget aligned with actual goals can be built. When you take this approach for the first time, you will likely find yourself investing less in some marketing programs, and more in others.

These are just 3 examples—there are many more. Indeed, there are many ways that a segmentation model can help your organization make money and save money. That said, actually creating a segmentation model is fairly complex, and success requires a very thoughtful planning process. Before you start, I strongly urge you to get assistance from someone who has experience with these types of studies—either a  consultant or a market research agency.

For those interested in learning more about market segmentation, I have three offers for  you:

First, please check out my new white paper, “9 Ways Market Segmentation Improves Business Success.” GET WHITE PAPER

Second, check out the preview of the new, 53-minute online introduction to market segmentation, “Divide & Conquer: Practical Steps to Market Segmentation Success.” CLASS PREVIEW [Research Rockstar VIP members: please note that this class is currently available in the members’ area—just log-in, click, and view!]

Third, for those interested in on-site training, I now have a more in-depth, 2-hour version of the online class, which includes interactive exercises for teams planning to create a market segmentation model. For a class outline, email me at KKorostoff@ResearchRockstar.com. Thanks!

Do your clients (whether internal or external) prefer 6 small “meals” a year? Or 2 giant ones?

Do they like a 4-course meal spread over hours, or everything stuffed onto one overflowing plate to be consumed in 20 minutes?

The frequency and size of meals varies dramatically country-to-country—as anyone who travels internationally knows.

And companies’ tastes for data vary as well.

I have worked with organizations where internal clients simply have no appetite for mega-studies. They simply can’t—or won’t—tolerate them. Fine; in those cases we just have to get a little creative and break their research (either how it is conducted or how it is delivered) into more bite-sized pieces.

I have also worked with organizations where the internal audience thrives on data. Where, in fact, the more elaborate and sizable the research, the more they respect it.

So what type of appetite do your clients have? Do they like to graze or gorge? Do they like to eat fast or take their time? And what does it mean for how you share customer insights and other data with them?

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