This week in our ongoing examination of art vs. science in marketing, we discuss the powerful strategy of segmentation. When it comes to dividing markets, software and technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence are bringing new horsepower to segmentation analytics.

There is no doubt that rapidly-improving technologies can provide data insights that are critical to market understanding. But machines aren’t yet highly accurate in inferring buyer’s needs and motivations, which inform the most powerful forms of segmentation.

The team discusses how marketers can best combine art and science to get maximum insights from segmentation strategies.

In this episode you will learn:

• How to combine motivation-based segmentation insights with behavioral data
• Why B2Bs actually have an advantage over B2Cs when segmenting
• How to use scientific concepts like cluster analysis to improve segmentation

Here are some quotes from the team’s discussion:

“No matter how much science you use in segmentation, you must start with a hypothesis – which is art.'”

“Understanding behaviors is instructive, but understanding motivations is predictive.”

“Your best sales reps do segmentation naturally — the art of understanding what’s in their heads is extremely valuable.”

We hope you enjoy the discussion and gain some helpful insights!