Tracking and analyzing all of the nuances of your SMS marketing campaigns gets complex quickly. With so many ways to approach your marketing, where do you start? You can simplify the process by segmenting your audience to better understand their motivations, likelihood of engagement, and which products and services customers want to buy. 

Here’s how to segment your list and maximize your marketing efforts.

1. Join Date

Segmenting your audience by the date they joined your SMS list allows more customization to brand engagement. The specific date someone signs up reveals valuable information about what type of customer they are. If they signed up for a particular promotion, you know which sales and offers will grab their attention and spark the next sale.

Understanding which offers your audience wants also streamlines your marketing efforts and makes your campaigns more efficient. Budget is also a consideration. You’re likely to spend less and see more ROI when targeting motivated customers ready for their next purchase.

2. Interaction History

Some customers are more likely to interact with your brand than others, making it easier to identify who will leave feedback and reviews. Instead of sending surveys and polls to customers who don’t engage and may not want the messaging, target your segment based on interaction. 

It’s also possible to do a little SMS list prep beforehand. Depending on your KPIs and other goals, send a request for a product review or to complete a survey in exchange for a discount code or special offer. You’ll better understand which customers are motivated to help when you sweeten the deal.

3. Geography

Segmenting your SMS campaigns by geography is an efficient way to spend your marketing dollars. If you sell products and services online and in a brick or mortar store, it’s important to strategize your promotions. There’s no point in sending text message marketing to customers across the state if you want to get more foot traffic in a specific brick and mortar store.

Targeting your audience by geography is also beneficial if you only sell online. You’ll get insights into which regions are most likely to purchase from you. For example, if you sell ski gear, you may discover customers in Colorado are more likely to buy from you during specific months than customers in Pennsylvania. You can then use that data to make informed decisions about product development, promotions, and sales strategies to make the most of your marketing spending.

4. Demographics

Your business likely attracts customers of various ages, educational backgrounds, and interests. Collecting data on customer demographics also offers value beyond selling and creates more efficient and profitable campaigns.

Of course, different marketing channels are effective for different audiences, but the data gathered from your SMS text message campaigns help build a foundation. If you can see that the majority of your customers fall in a particular age demographic, you can set up a highly targeted social media campaign with your relevant data in hand. For example, if you have a large base of 18 to 34-year-olds on your SMS marketing list, TikTok may be a good place to continue your marketing efforts and raise brand awareness.

5. Birthday Month

Leveraging a birthday freebie to entice more consumers to sign up for your SMS list is an effective way to gain momentum in your SMS marketing. Birthday marketing texts are also a long-term way for customers to engage with your business and build brand loyalty. You now have an annual opportunity to delight your customers with customized offers.

Your sales potential also spikes on a customer’s birthday month. Research from Experian found that birthday campaigns drive 481% higher transaction rates. Use the opportunity to revive sluggish product sales and test new offers to an eager segment ready to buy.

6. Opt-In Source

You may not care how a consumer ended up on your list as long as they landed there. It makes sense—building up a marketing list is key to scaling a successful business. However, when you know the channel they opted into your list from, you’ll understand how to craft compelling marketing messages that are more likely to gain traction.

Leaving a link in your bio on TikTok targets a specific audience who likes short, succinct videos. Instagram users are more likely to respond to stunning photos and Stories. Use that data to help shape your content and add more videos to your SMS marketing campaigns.

7. Click Behavior

Segmenting by click behavior is a quick way to understand which products or services your customers are most likely to buy. The data helps you refine your list segmentation to keep your marketing as efficient and profitable as possible. Figuring out who is clicking, but not buying, also provides new marketing opportunities and insights on how to shape your campaigns. You know the customer was interested, but something stopped them from buying. Offering a limited-time promo code or following up to ask if they have any questions are effective ways to prompt the sale. 

8. Purchase History

Give customers more of what they want and drive more sales with purchase history targeting. If you already know customers are more likely to buy specific items together, you can design a text message marketing campaign based on that criteria. This type of segmentation is also a good way to cross-sell and upsell more products and services. 

Purchase history segmentation also provides insights into your past promotions. You may discover certain items sell best when a discount code is offered. Combining a promo with a cross-sell could boost your transactions and revenue without much effort.

9. Loyalty Segmentation

The concept of a loyal customer means different things to businesses, whether it’s sales or engagement. You may value loyal customers as those who respond to your surveys or click on your content. This audience segment may offer a specific type of value that your other customers don’t.

Your business could also design multiple segments of loyal customers. Target customers based on those who always buy with a promo code. Another segment could target customers who click through and consume your content. Now you know how customers are likely to react depending on your goals and what type of SMS marketing messages you deploy.

10. Use Your Own Custom Fields

List segmentation doesn’t have to fall within specific categories or criteria. Instead, you can use custom fields to best suit your business’ needs. The goal is to use your data to make informed decisions while offering the promotions your customers want most. You end up with a more efficient marketing campaign while improving the customer journey.

Final Thoughts

Segmenting your list of customers offers incredible value for your marketing campaign. Ultimately, it could lower your budget, create a more responsive campaign, and delight your customers with highly relevant content. There are so many ways to narrow your marketing list; start by experimenting with the basics like age and location and work your way to more advanced and complex segmentations that drill down to your ideal customers. 

Are you ready to get started with SMS and text message marketing for your business? Contact us today to get started.