Audience Segmentation

 

The practice of market segmentation emerged well before marketers thought about it at a theoretical level.[5] Archaeological evidence suggests that Bronze Age traders segmented trade routes according to geographical circuits.[6] 

Other evidence suggests that the practice of modern market segmentation was developed incrementally from the 16th century onwards. Retailers, operating outside the major metropolitan cities, could not afford to serve one type of clientele exclusively, yet retailers needed to find ways to separate the wealthier clientele from the "riff raff". 

One simple technique was to have a window opening out onto the street from which customers could be served. This allowed the sale of goods to the common people, without encouraging them to come inside.  (Wikipedia)

 

Expanding the reach of your store starts with expanding your reach with audiences. But obviously, you don’t want to expand to the wrong places, the “riff raff”.  Today, there are countless options for audience segmentation but here are the three I recommend: 

Social Audiences:

First and foremost, let’s start exporting your customer lists and uploading them to different social platforms. Almost all platforms allow you to upload customer lists to target them and create lookalike audiences. This may be standard practice, but the power of these get really powerful when you start segmenting. Here are some that I have seen success with:

• 0 Purchase - Export any “customers” from your Shopify store that have yet to purchase. Upload and create a special introductory offer.

• 1 Purchase- An obvious group that you can easily convert. 

• Single Product Purchasers - Customers who have only purchased a single SKU. Try cross promoting other products/SKUs.

• Abandon Carts - Export the list of users who abandoned your cart and retarget them with your best offer.

• Lapsed Purchaser - How often does a customer purchase from your Shopify store? Export a list of customers who haven’t purchased in 30, 60, 90, 180 days. Create a win-back offer for them. 

• Top 10% of Purchasers - Do you have a subscribe & save or rewards program? This audience is clearly a good place to start. 

• Not Subscribed - When’s the last time these users heard from you? Probably not in a while given they don’t receive email or SMS. This is a great audience to re-engage via social media. Export and upload! 

There are countless opportunities with segmenting audiences, the important thing to remember here is that it’s not about just uploading your entire customer list, but specific segments. Get particular with your segments, so you can get specific with your offers.

Shopify Audiences: 

A new addition to Shopify (Shopify Plus) is the introduction of Shopify Audiences. A somewhat new rollout from Shopify allows you to target high-intent customers from other Shopify stores. Keep in mind, this works in both directions. By opting into this program you agree to share your customer data as well. 

As of today,Shopify allows you to create lookalike audiences based on specific products, not your entire store. In the limited time I have used these, they seem to be pretty powerful. Give them a try and see how they work for your brand. 

Note - It is worth noting that customer data is hashed and aggregated. No business or Shopify store has access to personal data, it’s all done in the backend. 

Learn more about Shopify Audiences here:

https://www.shopify.com/audiences

Sharing Data:

This may not be the most conventional practice, but I promise you that it happens more than you know. Have you worked with brands in the past? Maybe you have done giveaways or brand collaborations. Well, a great way to truly leverage this relationship is by sharing data. This can be achieved in a couple ways:

Sharing Pixels - If you’re running a campaign with another brand, ask if that brand will share their pixel with you and you will share yours with them. You both can agree to put the pixel on each other’s website for a specific period of time. This will give you access to each other’s audience for that time.

Note- Want to confirm? You can ask for a screenshot or view the inspector on the page to confirm. Facebook Pixel Help

Sharing Customer Data - Again, during negotiating a brand collaboration, agree to putting a product bundle on each other's website. At the end of the collaboration, share the customer data of those who purchased the bundle. 

Audiences are a great way to create highly specific segments that convert. Use some of these methods to expand your potential customers and bring your Shopify store to the next level. 

Now go and grow. 

J