B2B Customer Segmentation: The Benefits of Using Forms to Gather Information

What’s your B2B customer segmentation strategy?

Customer segmentation, also known as market segmentation, is the process of grouping customers with similar characteristics in terms of buyer behavior.

It helps a company tailor marketing strategies in the best interest of individual groups according to their needs rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach for the entire client base. B2B customer segmentation can become the bridge between you and your clients, giving you direct insight into your client’s needs.

One study found that segmenting based on client personas equips 90% of firms with better knowledge about their audience. Firmographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioral segmentation are some of the most commonly used market segmentation types, and all can help your business grow.

While online analytics can be an efficient and time-saving method for mapping out customer segments, what’s even more reliable and accurate is directly asking your clients. Without any guesswork, you get to know what you need to do to align with your client’s needs.

How do you do this? By having them fill out forms and surveys.

Here’s what you need to know about B2B customer segmentation and how to effectively use forms to gather information.

The Advantages of Using Forms for B2B Customer Segmentation

By asking relevant questions in a form, you can assess your client’s needs, preferences, pain points, and expectations by directly hearing from them, avoiding inaccuracies and misunderstandings.

Additionally, when you ask for client feedback and actually do something with it, you’ll show your clients that their opinions matter. It’s another way to establish a personal connection with your customers.

Forms are customizable, allowing you to tailor them to your specific client's needs and wants. They have a human element to them, so not only do you get valuable feedback, but you also get insight into your customer's headspace regarding your products and services. You can more effectively deliver a personalized experience to them closest to their idea of an ideal product or service, thereby ensuring maximum customer satisfaction.

How to Design Effective Forms for Customer Segmentation

While forms can be highly effective, they can be tricky. You obviously want to glean all the information you can, but you can’t create a six-page form demanding detailed answers and expect everyone to take the time to fill it out.

People will be more likely to fill out a form when it’s short, sweet, and to the point. Focus more on multiple-choice questions rather than open-ended queries that require customers to do all the writing.

Start by asking what their general expectations are, then go into more product- and service-related questions. This will allow you to segment customers with similar needs, interests, preferences, etc.

You can also ask your customers to rate your products or services. The crux of creating forms and surveys is asking relevant questions. You don't want to befuddle your customers in a maze of questions that might not even matter to you. Keep close to the type of segmentation you are opting for, whether firmographic, psychographic, behavioral, or geographic, and center your questions around it.

Benefits of Gathering Information for Customer Segmentation

Irrespective of the type of market segmentation you base your forms on, they come with great benefits.

  • Forms and surveys help you generate quality leads. Based on their responses, you can carve a niche audience who seek a product or service like yours. When done right, segmentation allows you to outperform your competitors and be an industry leader. Thus, forms help you get in touch with the right clients and also facilitate follow-up activities.
  • Forms also aid in measuring the success of your market segmentation strategy. When you send out forms after conducting market segmentation, it allows you to match the right clients with the right services. So, it gives you a reality check on how well and thorough you are with your segmenting efforts.
  • Forms provide feedback on your products and services. They can help you learn about where you can improve and how to match up with client expectations consistently.

If you aren't using forms and/or surveys in a way that ultimately benefit your customers, we can help. Please reach out to discuss your needs. 

line-art