On the surface, the principle of marketing segmentation is simple: divide your potential audience into smaller groups so you can deliver a tailored message just to that group. Segmentation opens up a world of benefits for your institution and your target audience. By delivering relevant messages to members, you build trust and garner an improved response—raising the effectiveness of each dollar spent.

If it’s so simple, what makes segmentation such a challenge among credit unions? Especially in the age of technology, often the simplest things still require complex infrastructures, analytics, and dependencies for success.

Hoops you must jump through

Credit unions face three distinct challenges on the road to effective marketing segmentation:

1. Acquiring the right data. First you need access to the data, meaning you either need to collect it yourself, purchase access, or work with a partner that has access. Realistically, the latter two options give you the greatest reach, but lead to the second issue.
2. Developing the expertise to optimize your strategy. Not all marketers have the experience and skills necessary to manipulate the data effectively. Building your own segments can be a daunting task. While separating “past account holders” from “current account holders” is a good start, when you begin prospecting for new account holders, things get tricky, fast.
3. Finding time to implement and maintain the program. Even a marketer who is skilled at utilizing segmentation still needs time to build out relevant campaigns, deploy, manage, and report on performance, as well as any other responsibilities. Many institutions lack the staffing resources to really devote the necessary time to proper segmentation.

Segmentation is a game of scale, and it pays to play with a partner who can leverage resources and technology that are out of reach for most credit unions.

The ‘ics’ you should expect

When evaluating segmentation models, there are three key factors to examine:

1. Geographics, or where they live.
2. Demographics, or who they are (i.e. gender, income, age, etc.).
3. Psychographics, or what behaviors, attitudes, and social value groups they exhibit and what motivates them to respond.

Ideally, you will build on insights you know about the consumer characteristics that are the best fit for your institution’s goals, budget, and brand.

Once you have access to the right data, implementation is your next step. Consider partners who can help you establish a fully cross-channel automated marketing strategy to keep up a conscious conversation with your targeted consumers.

Kasasa will leverage their consumer segmentation data and insights to identify consumers who are up to three more likely to open an account with your institution, according to Kasasa analytics.

Real world marketing segmentation examples

Credit unions bear a heavy operational burden with constrained resources and staff. At Kasasa we’re always looking for ways to lighten your load. In our segmentation model, we’ve analyzed and identified groups of consumers who have a high likelihood of choosing a credit union. Each segment, or “cohort,” is designed to let you quickly choose categories that fit your goals—and select the right mix of marketing channels.

Kasasa clients can choose from a variety of cohorts, including:

• Super Suburbans
• Expanded Accumulating Families
• Middle America Families
• Country Comfortable Couples
• Single Strivers

KEITH BRANNAN is the chief marketing officer for Kasasa.