Customer Segmentation Research
Customer segmentation research divides your market into groups that behave differently and need different things from you. Praxia Insights builds segmentation from primary research and your own customer data, so the groups reflect what people actually do and want, and your team can act on them.
Most segmentation gets built out of demographics, mainly because demographics are easy to collect. You end up with groups defined by age and income, and then nobody can explain why two people who landed in the same group behave nothing alike.
The segments that actually work get built around what people are trying to get done, what's getting in their way, and what they'd be willing to give up to solve it. Groups like that predict what people will do, and they give your marketing team something they can actually write to.
So we build your segments out of research with real customers and prospects, and then we hand them over in a form your product, marketing, and sales teams can each use for their own decisions.
Discuss your segmentation project
When You Need Segmentation
Your messaging works for some people and not others: the same campaign converts well in one group and poorly in another, and nobody knows why.
You're spreading spend too thin: marketing is trying to reach everybody and reaching nobody particularly well.
Product priorities conflict: two groups of customers want different things and the roadmap keeps swinging between them.
You're entering a new market: you need to know which group to go after first with the resources you have.
Sales and marketing disagree about the ideal customer: both have evidence, and it's usually because they're each describing a real but different segment.
How We Build Segments
Qualitative discovery
We'll interview customers and prospects and run focus groups with them, so the segmentation gets built on the real differences people described to us instead of on categories we came up with in advance.
Segment definition
We'll describe each segment by what they're trying to get done, what they're doing about it today, what they value, what they'll pay, and what it would take to make them switch.
Quantitative validation
A survey sized so the segments can be tested statistically, confirming that the groups are genuinely distinct and estimating how large each one is.
Personas
Working personas your team will actually use, grounded in the research and written with the customers' own language, including the objections each group raises.
Behavioral and CRM data
Where you have usage data, purchase history, or CRM records, we bring them in so the segments reflect behavior alongside what people say about themselves.
Targeting recommendations
We'll tell you which segments to go after first given your resources and where you sit today, and how to reach each one, so you end up making decisions instead of filing a document.
Project Examples
A NIH-funded study examining neuropsychological predictors of adaptation after trauma.
A five-year randomized control trial (RCT), funded by the U.S. Department of Ed, to study individualized math instruction.
Led a national survey study in partnership with Berklee BEATL & Adobe to study AI use in the music industry.
How We Work
1. Initial consultation and plan
We meet to discuss your specific needs and confirm this is the right approach for the decision you're facing.
2. Project scoping and budget
You receive a custom scope of work with tasks, due dates, and budget before any work begins. Fixed scope, no hourly surprises.
3. Project execution
You receive updates on progress throughout, including recruitment status and fielding milestones.
4. A true partnership approach
We share insights with you as they come up throughout the project, so your team can start acting on what we learn long before the final report is finished.
5. Project completion
We deliver final insights in the format your team will actually use, whether that's a written report, an executive presentation, or a working session.
Frequently Asked Questions
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It's research that divides a market into groups who behave differently and want different things. Good segmentation is built on needs, goals, and behavior instead of on demographics alone, because those are the differences that actually predict what somebody will buy and what messaging will reach them.
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Three to five for most organizations. Two is usually too coarse to be useful, and beyond five, teams can't hold them in mind and the segmentation stops being used. The right number is however many your team can genuinely act on differently.
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A segment is a group in your market, defined by shared needs and behavior, and it can be sized. A persona is a portrait of a representative person inside that segment, written to help your team picture who they're building or writing for. Segments come from the analysis and personas come from the segments.
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Six to ten weeks for a full study combining qualitative discovery with a validation survey. Segmentation built only from existing customer data and a smaller number of interviews can move faster, though the segments are less firmly established.
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It depends on whether the study includes both qualitative and quantitative work, how many interviews and survey responses are needed, and how hard your customers are to recruit. A qualitative-only study costs the least, and a full study with statistical validation costs the most. We provide a fixed-scope quote after an initial consultation.
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Yes, and we'd like to. Usage data, purchase history, and CRM records tell you what people actually did, and that's stronger evidence than what they report about themselves. We combine your data with new research so the segments hold up on both.
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Statistical segmentation generally wants at least several hundred responses, and more if you expect many segments or want to analyze subgroups inside them. We size it during scoping based on how many segments the qualitative work turned up.
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Segments built on needs and goals hold up longer than segments built on channels or technology, because what people are trying to accomplish changes more slowly than how they go about it. Most organizations refresh every two to three years, or sooner after a major market shift.
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Marketing writes to one segment at a time instead of averaging across everybody. Product prioritizes features by which segment they serve and how much that segment is worth. Sales qualifies against the segments and adapts the conversation. We deliver findings organized so each team gets what they need.
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Yes. An ideal customer profile is usually the output of segmentation: once you know which groups exist and how they differ in value, retention, and cost to reach, the question of which one to focus on has an evidence-based answer.
Our Experience
More than 60 studies designed, including case study, quasi-experimental, RCT, and mixed-method designs
More than 100 focus groups and in-depth interviews conducted
More than $4 million in grant-funded research managed
Clients spanning Fortune 500 companies, startups, nonprofits, universities, and federally funded programs
Our researchers hold doctorates in educational neuroscience, psychology, and related fields
Ready to stop marketing to everybody?
Tell us what you're trying to decide and what customer data you already have. We'll advise on the right approach and what it would take.