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See the pollSegmentation
Not everyone in a market wants the same thing. Segmentation groups people by what they need and how they behave, sizes each group, and gives you a simple way to spot them again.
needs+behavior→groups
The problem
One message or one product rarely fits a whole market. Without segments, teams aim at an average customer who does not exist, and the budget is spread thin. Segmentation finds the few groups worth winning, shows what each one wants, and tells you how big and how valuable each group is. Then you can choose where to focus, and what it will take to win there.
Play with the model
Change the number of groups to see why four was kept, then open a group to meet the people in it.
How many groups?
Same group on a re-run: 89%
Kept: the four groups hold up on a re-run, differ clearly on what they need, and each is big enough to profile.
Training for a set goal: a race, a weight, a personal best.
What they want most
In their words: a video answer, transcribed
“I have a half marathon in May, so every session has to move me toward it.”
TranscribedRelevance 0.94
Keeping a steady habit for their health.
What they want most
In their words: a video answer, transcribed
“Monday, Wednesday, Friday before work. If I skip one, the whole week feels off.”
TranscribedRelevance 0.91
Fitting short workouts into full days.
What they want most
In their words: a video answer, transcribed
“If it takes longer than fifteen minutes I will not do it, so it has to be quick and need nothing.”
TranscribedRelevance 0.89
Exercising mainly to switch off and feel calm.
What they want most
In their words: a video answer, transcribed
“It is my half hour to switch off. I do not want a coach shouting numbers at me.”
TranscribedRelevance 0.87
A typing tool, in three questions
Answer to see which group you would fall in.
Answer all three to see your group.
Drawn on the worked example further down: Example: who a home-fitness app should serve
Demographics describe the segments. They are not used to form them.
Segments that vanish on a re-run are not segments.
Each segment needs enough people to profile: usually 1,000 to 2,000 people in total.
In CatalyseAI today
In CatalyseAI today, audience groups can be saved to your account and matched to other surveys, every report compares up to five groups, and every video answer is transcribed and searchable.
How the model works
Targeting, new products or messaging? We shape the questionnaire around the decisions the segments need to drive, because that decides what people are grouped on.
One survey covers needs, attitudes, behavior, spending and media. Each segment needs enough people to be profiled, so the sample is larger than for most studies.
One survey covers
GoalsRoutinesEquipmentSpendingApps they useMedia
A larger sample than most studiesEach segment needs enough people to be profiled
Statistical clustering suggests several possible solutions. We compare them and keep the one whose groups are stable, clearly different and make sense for your business.
Several solutions compared: the one kept is stable, clearly different and makes sense for the business
Each segment gets its size, its value, its needs, habits and media, written up as a portrait your team will remember.
Routine builders
Share of people31%
Share of spending29%
Keeping a steady habit for their health.
A short set of questions assigns anyone to a segment, so the segments can be used in later studies, in a CRM or in a sign-up form.
Three questions, one group
Busy minimalists
The deliverables
Every CatalyseAI report downloads in these formats.
How many people fall in each group and what share of category spending each one accounts for.
Needs, attitudes, behavior and media for each segment, compared side by side.
One page per segment, with a name and a short description your team can remember.
Short video answers from people in each segment, transcribed, so the groups have faces and voices.
A short questionnaire that places new people into the right segment.
Which segments to focus on and why, written from the evidence.
Every respondent tagged with a segment, in Excel and CSV.
The terms, in plain words
Worked example
A US home-fitness brand wants to know which buyers to aim a new app at. It surveys a large sample of US adults who exercise at home about their goals, routines, equipment, spending and the apps they already use. In this example four groups emerge, from people training for a set goal to people who exercise mainly to unwind. Each group gets a size, a share of spending and a portrait, plus a few questions the brand can add to its sign-up form to tell new users apart.
FAQ
Usually 1,000 to 2,000, so that each segment is large enough to profile. The right number depends on how many segments you expect and how narrow your market is.
Longer than most studies, because the design and the analysis need care. We agree a timeline with you before we start.
We look for groups that hold up when the analysis is run again, that differ clearly on what matters, and that your team can find and reach. Segments that vanish on a re-run are not segments.
Yes. Ask the same typing questions in a later CatalyseAI study, save the segment rules to your account, and every chart can be split by segment.
If you know little about the category, it helps. A usage and attitude study describes the market, and segmentation finds the groups inside it. Sometimes one survey can do both jobs.
Related
Tell us the decision the segments need to support. We will propose what to group people on and how many people to ask.
Nearest office: Orlando, FL (corporate office)