- Job Role and Position: Tailor emails to C-suite, managers, or technical staff with content that matches their priorities.
- User Behavior: Segment based on engagement, like email opens, clicks, or website visits.
- Company Details: Use firmographics like company size, industry, and location for targeted messaging.
- Customer Stage: Align emails with where the buyer is in their journey - awareness, consideration, or decision.
- Purchase Intent: Focus on high-intent leads using signals like demo requests or pricing page visits.
- Multi-Channel Integration: Combine email with LinkedIn or other platforms to boost engagement.
Quick Comparison
Segmentation Type | Key Focus | Example Action |
Job Role and Position | Priorities by role | ROI emails for C-suite, technical guides for IT leads |
User Behavior | Engagement metrics | Send follow-ups to active clickers |
Company Details | Firmographics (size, industry) | Target small businesses with setup tips |
Customer Stage | Awareness to decision stages | Share case studies for consideration stage |
Purchase Intent | High-intent signals | Follow-up with demo requests |
Multi-Channel Integration | Email + LinkedIn or others | Pair email with LinkedIn outreach |
Start segmenting smarter to see better results - up to 760% revenue growth and 100% higher click-through rates. Let’s dive into the details.
How to Improve Your B2B Customer Segmentation Strategy
1. Segmenting by Job Role and Position
Every job role comes with its own set of priorities and challenges, which means your messaging needs to be tailored to fit.
Targeting Different Job Levels
To craft impactful emails, align your messaging with the specific concerns and decision-making authority of each role. Here's a breakdown of how to approach different positions:
Job Level | Focus Areas | Content Ideas |
C-Suite | ROI, Strategic Vision | Executive summaries, Industry trends |
Middle Management | Operational Efficiency | Implementation guides, Team metrics |
Technical Roles | Product Details | Technical whitepapers, Documentation |
Entry-Level | Practical Applications | Educational resources, Best practices |
Emails tailored to specific roles can boost click-through rates by 15% . For instance, when introducing a new software tool, you might send integration details to technical leads, while ROI-focused insights go to C-suite executives. This approach ensures each recipient gets the information they care about most.
Creating Industry-Specific Content
To make your content even more relevant, focus on industry-specific challenges while keeping role-based priorities in mind. Here's how to do it:
- Research sector challenges: Understand the key pain points in the industry .
- Share case studies: Highlight successful outcomes from similar companies .
- Include relevant metrics: Provide data that resonates with specific roles .
AI tools can simplify this process by analyzing job titles and automatically segmenting your email lists . Pair this with progressive profiling to collect more detailed job role information over time , which helps refine your messaging and improve campaign effectiveness.
2. Segmenting by User Behavior
Knowing how your audience interacts with your emails and website allows you to create campaigns that hit the mark. It’s far more effective than sending the same message to everyone .
Measuring Email Response Data
Email engagement metrics offer a window into what your audience cares about. By tracking specific behaviors, you can group your contacts into meaningful segments:
Behavior Type | Metrics to Track | Segmentation Action |
Email Engagement | Opens, clicks, replies | Group by how often they engage |
Content Interest | Downloads, page visits | Group based on topic preferences |
Purchase Intent | Product page views, pricing visits | Focus on sales-ready leads |
Account Status | Last interaction date | Separate active from inactive |
For B2B campaigns, typical open rates range from 15–25%, with click-through rates sitting at 2–5% . Segmenting based on behavior can dramatically improve these numbers. For example, HubSpot's 2022 segmentation efforts boosted open rates by 38% and click-through rates by 27% in just three months. These metrics help fine-tune your content to align with where your audience is in their buying journey.
Matching Content to Buying Stages
Behavioral data can also show where a prospect is in the buying process. Use this information to send content that fits their current stage:
- Awareness Stage: When someone shows early interest - like visiting your blog or signing up for a newsletter - send them educational materials or industry updates. This helps establish trust without coming on too strong with sales pitches.
- Consideration Stage: If a contact starts engaging with product-specific content, share case studies or comparison guides. At this stage, they’re likely weighing their options, so give them the details they need to make an informed choice.
- Decision Stage: Prospects visiting pricing pages or requesting product info are close to making a purchase. Offer them demos, free trials, or direct follow-ups to seal the deal.
A great example of this in action is Artemis Leads. They combine email engagement data with LinkedIn activity to identify high-intent leads more effectively.
"77% of ROI comes from segmented, targeted, and triggered campaigns"
3. Segmenting by Company Details
Use firmographic data to tailor your messages for specific business segments.
Grouping by Company Size
The size of a company plays a big role in its purchasing decisions, budget priorities, and solution needs. Each group faces unique challenges that your messaging should address:
Company Size | Key Characteristics | Email Focus Areas |
Small (1-50) | Limited resources, quick decision-making | Affordability, easy setup |
Medium (51-500) | Focus on growth and scalability | Adaptability, expansion solutions |
Large (500+) | Complex systems, multiple decision-makers | Advanced features, full-scale support |
For instance, HubSpot's 2022 campaign aimed at small retail businesses saw a 28% increase in open rates and a 15% rise in conversions .
When segmenting, consider both employee count and annual revenue. This approach helps refine targeting. A tech startup with 50 employees and significant funding will need different messaging compared to a traditional small business of the same size.
Next, fine-tune your strategy by incorporating geographic insights through location-based segmentation.
Targeting by Location
Enhance your segmentation by addressing regional differences and tailoring messages accordingly.
- Adapt to Local Practices: Align messaging with local buyer behavior and preferences. For example, strategies that resonate in North America may need adjustments for Asian markets.
- Optimize for Time Zones: Schedule emails to match local active hours. Studies show this can improve open rates by up to 14.31% .
- Comply with Local Laws: Ensure your campaigns meet regional regulations. For example, European contacts require GDPR-compliant messaging, while California audiences are subject to CCPA rules.
Combining location data with other firmographic details allows for highly specific campaigns. For example, Artemis Leads uses this method to connect their clients with decision-makers in targeted regions, ensuring messages reflect local market conditions and regulatory requirements.
4. Segmenting by Customer Stage
Knowing where your customers are in their journey allows you to send messages that actually resonate. For B2B businesses, this is especially important since their sales cycles are longer and involve multiple decision-makers compared to B2C.
Defining Customer Stages
Here’s a breakdown of common B2B customer stages and how to craft emails that match their needs:
Stage | Key Characteristics | Email Content Strategy |
Awareness | Recognizing a problem | Share educational content like industry reports. |
Consideration | Researching solutions | Provide whitepapers and product comparisons. |
Interest | Evaluating vendors | Highlight personalized demos and case studies. |
Decision | Making the final choice | Offer ROI calculators and implementation guides. |
Purchase | Starting implementation | Send onboarding materials and setup instructions. |
Post-purchase | Building the relationship | Share usage tips and upselling opportunities. |
Here’s why this works: Segmenting by stage can increase revenue by up to 760% . For example, HubSpot used this approach in 2022, leading to a 42% jump in email click-through rates and a 15% boost in conversions within six months. The key? Delivering tailored content at every stage.
Once you’ve mapped out these stages, you can also refine how you reconnect with contacts that have gone quiet.
Re-engaging Inactive Contacts
Here’s how to bring dormant leads back to life, depending on their stage:
- Early-stage leads: Share fresh insights, educational content, or examples of social proof.
- Mid-stage leads: Offer exclusive webinars, updated case studies, or competitive comparisons.
- Late-stage leads: Use time-sensitive offers, success stories, or direct resources to reignite interest.
Marketing automation can make this process easier, increasing qualified leads by 20% and cutting down manual segmentation by 30%. For example, Artemis Leads combines email with LinkedIn outreach to re-engage inactive contacts, boosting engagement rates by 20–30% compared to using just one channel .
5. Segmenting by Purchase Intent
Purchase intent signals help pinpoint prospects who are most likely to take action. A 2022 Salesforce study found that using intent-based segmentation increased email click-through rates by 45% and generated 28% more qualified leads within three months. This method builds on earlier strategies by focusing on buyer engagement to identify those with strong intent.
Tracking Content Engagement
How prospects interact with content can reveal where they are in the buying process. Different types of engagement provide clues about their intent:
Content Type | Intent Level | Action Signals |
Product Comparisons | High | Repeated visits to pricing pages |
ROI Calculators | Very High | Spending time analyzing cost breakdowns |
Case Studies | Medium-High | Downloading industry-specific results |
Product Demos | Very High | Requesting live demonstrations |
General Blog Posts | Low | Occasional visits to the website |
These signals are essential for creating a strong lead scoring system.
Using Lead Scoring
Lead scoring assigns numerical values to different behaviors, making it easier to prioritize high-intent prospects. By translating engagement into scores, businesses can refine their targeting:
Action | Points | Intent Level |
Downloads Product Comparison | 20 | High |
Attends Webinar | 15 | Medium |
Visits Pricing Page | 25 | Very High |
Requests Demo | 30 | Very High |
Opens Industry Newsletter | 5 | Low |
Automation tools like HubSpot and Marketo simplify this process by tracking these interactions. Combining these behavioral insights with firmographic data - such as company size and industry - can take segmentation to the next level, enabling even more personalized B2B email campaigns.
6. Adding Other Channels to Email Campaigns
Expanding beyond targeted email strategies by incorporating additional channels can significantly improve engagement. Research shows that companies using three or more channels see a 287% higher purchase rate than those sticking to just one .
Combining Email with LinkedIn
Pairing email campaigns with LinkedIn outreach creates a powerful synergy, especially for professional audiences. LinkedIn's InMail messages boast a response rate that's 300% higher than traditional email .
Here’s how some organizations combine these channels effectively:
Channel Combination | Primary Purpose | Best Practices |
Email → LinkedIn | Initial Contact | Start with a tailored email, then send a LinkedIn connection request |
LinkedIn → Email | Relationship Building | Interact with prospects on LinkedIn, then follow up with a personalized email |
Simultaneous | Full Coverage | Align messaging across both platforms to maximize visibility |
A great example is Artemis Leads, which uses this approach to ensure they connect with their ideal customer profiles across both platforms.
Salesforce provided an excellent case study during their 2024 CRM product launch. By combining targeted email campaigns with LinkedIn sponsored content, they saw a 45% increase in qualified leads and a 28% boost in conversions compared to previous email-only campaigns.
Once you’ve aligned your messaging, the next step is to measure how well these channels are working together.
Measuring Multi-Channel Results
To track success across multiple platforms, you’ll need the right metrics and tools. Attribution models are particularly useful for identifying how each touchpoint contributes to conversions.
Metric Type | What to Track | Tool Examples |
Engagement | Email opens, LinkedIn interactions | HubSpot, LinkedIn Analytics |
Conversion | Response rates across channels | Salesforce, Marketo |
Attribution | Multi-touch conversion paths | Google Analytics 4, Bizible |
ROI | Channel-specific performance | Tableau, Power BI |
"95% of B2B buyers prefer a multi-channel approach from vendors", highlights the Demand Gen Report .
To make the most of this strategy:
- Align your messaging across platforms.
- Use LinkedIn targeting to complement email segmentation.
- Add tracking codes to measure attribution.
- Experiment with different channel combinations for each segment.
- Keep a close eye on engagement trends.
Email offers personalized outreach, while LinkedIn adds a layer of professional credibility, making them a dynamic duo for B2B campaigns.
Steps to Improve B2B Email Segmentation
Refining your B2B email campaigns starts with effective segmentation. It’s proven to boost results: 14.31% higher open rates, 100.95% more clicks, 9.37% fewer unsubscribes, and 77% of campaign ROI .
Segmentation Level | Key Benefits | Implementation Focus |
Basic | Better deliverability, fewer unsubscribes | Job roles, company size |
Intermediate | Stronger engagement, improved targeting | Behavioral data, purchase intent |
Advanced | Predictive insights, dynamic personalization | AI-driven segmentation, cross-channel integration |
A great example: HubSpot’s 2022 role-based segmentation for 1.5 million subscribers led to a 25% increase in open rates and $3.2M in pipeline value within three months .
To get the most out of your segmentation efforts, focus on these steps:
- Keep your data clean: Regularly update and validate your contact lists.
- Use progressive profiling: Collect and enrich customer details over time.
- Leverage automation tools: Scale your personalization efforts effectively.
- Integrate CRM data: Gain deeper insights into customer relationships.
- Track and tweak: Continuously monitor segment performance and refine strategies.
For an extra edge, consider AI-powered tools. These solutions help you create data-driven strategies that respond to customer behavior in real time .